Some of you might know Stephen Briggs as the award-winning narrator of the unabridged Terry Pratchett audio books (e.g. on Audible). Not as many people will know that the occassional Pratchett collaborator is also heavily involved in bringing Pratchett to the stage. Indeed, he has exclusive rights to produce stage adaptations of Sir Terry’s novels and all world premieres happen in the small town of Abingdon in South Oxfordshire.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for last Friday’s show of “Wyrd Sisters – The Director’s Cut”, marking Discworld’s 25th anniversary and the Studio Theatre Club’s 18th (as far as staging Discworld adaptations is concerned). The plays are staged in the Unicorn Theatre in one of the few remaining buildings of Abingdon’s medieval abbey. The play was good fun, amdram, yes, but good amdram, staged with a love for detail and a good bunch of actors that obviously enjoyed themselves as much as the audience did in the sold out theatre.
Although Mr Briggs only had a small part in this play his performance reminded me again why I wanted to check out his audio books. If his ability to brings Discworld to live as a playwright and actor is any indication I reckon I won’t be disappointed by the audio books either.
If you intend to pay a visit to Oxford and are into Pratchett you might want to check out the Studio Theatre Club’s website. But be warned! Tickets are not expensive but they usually sell within a couple of weeks and you should be willing to buy several months in advance. But if you’re lucky to get one you can be there for a world premiere – and a lot of fun.
Anyone who would like to stage one of the 16 available adaptations or is interested in some (fairly reasonably priced) Discworld merchandise and/or Stephen Briggs himself should check out his website, C.M.O.T. Dibbler.
Posted by Carsten Schmitt
