Romford Horror Festival shares video of audience with Ian McCulloch

Ian McCulloch on stage at the Romford Horror Festival 2024

THE ORGANISERS OF Romford Horror Festival have posted an official online recording of the audience with Ian McCulloch which took place on 2 March 2024.

In this session McCulloch plays his guitar and sings, discusses his early musical career, his work on stage and television and his appearance in three Italian horror films Zombie Flesh Eaters, Zombi Holocaust and Contamination.

Although the focus of the weekend was the horror genre, McCulloch does discuss (17ms-25ms) his role as Greg Preston in Survivors, his relationship with Terry Nation and producer Terry Dudley and the three episodes that he wrote for the series.

An audience with Ian McCulloch, Romford Horror Festival 2024
An audience with Ian McCulloch, Romford Horror Festival 2024 – Survivors section

Ian McCulloch to appear at Romford Horror Festival on 2 March 2024

An audience with Ian McCulloch at Romford Horror Festival on 2 March 2024

IAN McCULLOCH (Greg Preston, Survivors) will be appearing at the ‘Horrhiffic’ Romford Horror Festival on Saturday 2 March 2024, taking part in two separate talks as well as a signing session.

McCulloch will join a panel of actors from celebrated horror movies, discussing different aspects of screen horror and the work of horror writers and filmmakers. Later in the afternoon, he’ll be interviewed on stage in ‘an audience with Ian McCulloch’ .

McCulloch will also be present for the screening of some pre-release footage from the upcoming The Witches of the Sands film, in which he appears. Finally, McCulloch, along with other panel guests, will hold a signing session for attendees.

Ian will be with us to discuss his career and will be doing signings on Saturday and possibly Sunday. He’ll also be present for some sneaky footage from upcoming movie The Witches Of The Sands, in which he stars.

Romford Horror Festival

‘The afternoon show’ panel discussion (15:00)

A casual afternoon panel discussion with Ian McCulloch, Cinzia Monreale, Caroline Munro and Pauline Peart. Over the course of an hour we’ll discuss a wide range of topics in the world of horror. From the classic to the modern day indie.

Romford Horror Festival, 2024

An audience with Ian McCulloch (17:00)

Ian McCulloch found demand on both British Television and Italian Horror, from the chilling BBC Sci-Fi drama Survivors in which he played the leading man for the first two seasons, Italian Horror where he starred in three controversial movies Contamination, Zombie Flesh Eaters and Zombie Holocaust and even a stint in Doctor Who. It’s sure to be a quirky hour of chat.

Romford Horror Festival, 2024

Tickets for these events (and all-day passes to all events) can be purchased in advance from the Romford Horror Festival web site.

The Romford Horror Festival takes place at Premiere Cinemas, Level 3, The Mercury Mall, Mercury Gardens, Romford RM1 3EE, between 29 February and 3 March 2024.

Full programme details can be found on the festival web site: https://www.romfordhorrorfestival.com/

Ian McCulloch as Captain Horst Markway in The Witches of the Sands - close-up

Ian McCulloch as Captain Horst Markway in The Witches of the Sands 

Ian McCulloch as Captain Horst Markway in The Witches of the Sands - close-up with sword

Keith Jayne (Mick, Corn Dolly) to appear at Whooverville 2022

Keith Jayne - Survivors - Corn Dolly

KEITH JAYNE, WHO memorably played the role of Mick in the first series Survivors episode Corn Dolly, will be one of the guests at the Whooverville convention in Derby on 3 September 2022.

Whooverville 13 is, as the name suggests, a Doctor Who themed event, celebrating all the different eras of the show. Keith played the role of Will Chandler in the Fifth Doctor story The Awakening (alongside Denis Lill), but is probably best known in genre circles for playing the title role in the 1981 television adaptation of the much-loved children’s story Stig of the Dump.

Advance tickets for Whooverville 13, which proudly promotes itself as “the East Midland’s biggest annual get-together for fans of the BBC TV series Doctor Who” can be purchased online.

Keith has fond memories of his time working on Corn Dolly. “I remember it being a very friendly cast,” he told the Survivors: A World Away site. “As the youngest of them I used to enjoy the cuddles from Annie Hayes [Lorraine] – especially when it was so cold. Lucy and Carolyn were also kind to me. However, of them all, Denis was really helpful.”

Keith did have some concerns about taking on the part of Mick so early in his acting career. “I felt the part was too big for me at that stage,” he concedes. “But with [director] Pennant [Roberts]’s constant encouragement and the kindness afforded me by the other cast members, I got through it.”

Whooverville 13
3 September 2022
QUAD, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby DE1 3AS

June Hudson joins Fantom Events ‘Signing Spectacular’ – 27 August

COSTUME DESIGNER JUNE Hudson is appearing at a signing event in London on 27 August 2022.

June joined the production team on Survivors in its first year and designed the clothing for the show’s leading series one characters. During her career at the BBC, June worked extensively on Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 amongst other classic shows.

Tickets for the event organised by Fantom Films, at which numerous Doctor Who cast and crew members are appearing, cost £15 (including a free gift).

Tickets can be booked in advance (as numbers are limited). Anyone unable to attend can also purchase a signed photo in advance.

Fantom Events August Signing Spectacular
27 August 2022
St Michael’s Centre, Elmwood Road, Chiswick, London W4 3DY

Ian McCulloch discusses his career on screen at Uni-Versal festival, Aberdeen

IAN McCULLOCH (GREG Preston) will take part in an ‘in conversation’ session at the upcoming Uni-Versal 22 mini-festival hosted by the University of Aberdeen on 5 March 2022.

With this strand of Uni-Versal focusing on the history of film, McCulloch will be reflecting, in particular, on his post-Survivors work on three Italian cult horror movies. Pre-publicity for the event summarises his screen career as follows:

Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor best known for his performance as Greg Preston in Survivors (1975). In the 1970s and 80s, McCulloch found himself in classics of Italian horror, playing Peter West, the lead male character in Lucio Fulci’s notorious Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) and also displaying his thespian skills in Luigi Cozzi’s iconic splatter template Contamination (1980).

UNI-Versal Film: In Conversation with Ian McCulloch (Zombie Flesh Eaters)
Room KCF8, King’s College, Aberdeen AB24 3FX
Saturday 5 March 2022 – 20:00-22:30

Tickets: £5.00-£8.00
Tickets became available to purchase online from 10:00 on 1 February 2022.

The session is part of a programme of events that includes Screenwriting with Sergio Casci, Shaken Not Stirred – Bond: Past, Present & Future and a panel discussion on Driving Diversity in the Arts.

UPDATE – 1 FEBRUARY 2022: Organisers have now confirmed that the event will include a screening of the most well-regarded of McCulloch’s three Italian horror movies Zombie Flesh Eaters. As a result, the runtime of the event has now been extended to 22:30.

Uni-Versal - Dark Nights - Ian McCulloch - Zombie Flesh Eaters screening - 5 March 2022

Hampton Court ends its visitor season as new lockdown confirmed

Hampton Court - Herefordshire

HAMPTON COURT IN Herefordshire, the principal filming location for the second half of the first series of Survivors, has closed to visitors for the remainder of 2020.

Hampton Court had reopened the grounds of the estate in early July, once the first Covid-19 lockdown restrictions had been lifted (the site usually reopens from its winter break in March or April, but had remained shut during lockdown).

With the new restrictions unveiled by the Johnson government taking effect from 5 November, and running to early December (in the first instance), the owners of Hampton Court have decided to end the visitor season with immediate effect, forgoing any plans for Xmas and end-of-year events.

An announcement on the Hampton Court Castle site explains:

We are closed to day visitors for the 2020 season. We will reopen in April 2021

Hampton Court, Herefordshire reopens to visitors

Hampton Court - Herefordshire

HAMPTON COURT IN Herefordshire, the main filming location for the last seven episodes of the first series of Survivors and a regular travel destination for fans of the show, re-opens to visitors on Wednesday 8 July 2020.

Hampton Court estate has been closed to public access during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions that were imposed towards the end of March. Lockdown meant that the estate remained shut even as its usual April opening date passed.

From 8 July, the estate will again open to visitors (from Wednesday to Sunday each week).

UPDATE, 7 JULY: Details of exactly which facilities and services will be available, and what social distancing arrangements will be in place, have been published on the Hampton Court site.

In summary, the grounds and main garden will be accessible, and the Orangery restaurant will provide a limited menu of refreshments. However, the castle, the maze, the play areas, sunken garden and gift shop will all remain closed, in order not to conflict with social distancing and safety guidelines.

Covid-19 Update

We are delighted to announce that we are reopening the majority of our gardens and grounds to visitors from Wednesday 8th July. Our new opening hours (until further notice) will be Wednesday – Sunday, 10.30am – 5pm.

To keep within government guidelines, some areas are still closed for the time being, including: the maze, sunken garden, play areas, gift shop and the castle itself. These are areas where we feel that government safety guidance would be challenging to uphold.

Due to this, entry prices in July have been reduced – adults £6, children £3 (4 -15 years) and under 4’s are still free. At present, we won’t be offering any other concessions, accepting discount vouchers or group bookings. We’ll also only be taking card payments and encouraging contactless wherever possible.

We are pleased to be able to open the Orangery Café, albeit with a limited menu and reduced indoor seating. There is plenty of outdoor seating available and visitors are welcome to bring their own refreshments.

With regards to safety measures, we have implemented a one-way flow system in some areas of the gardens and staff have been issued with appropriate PPE. The cleaning of facilities has been increased to every hour and hand-sanitising points are available throughout the grounds. As these are new circumstances for all of us, then we would appreciate visitor feedback. Please speak to a member of staff during your visit or email us on hello@hamptoncourtcastle.co.uk 

Carolyn Seymour to appear at Nottingham’s EM-Con, 1-2 May 2021

https://nottingham.em-con.co.uk/guest/carolyn-seymour/

CAROLYN SEYMOUR WILL be a guest at both days of the upcoming Nottingham EM-Con 2021 convention, being held at the city’s Motorpoint Arena on 1-2 May 2021.

Seymour will be offering both autographs and ‘photoshoot’ opportunities for visiting fans, both of which can be booked in advance.

We’re happy to welcome Carolyn Seymour to our guest line up for EM-Con Nottingham. Carolyn has many credits to her name, most notably are the ones in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5, and Star Trek: Voyager. Others include roles in Quantum Leap, Space 1999 and many others. Gamers will know that more recently Carolyn voiced the roles of Queen Myrrah in Gears of War, and Dr Chakwas in Mass Effect.

While none of the convention’s promotional material mentions Seymour’s involvement with Survivors, the event is a great opportunity for fans of the series to meet up with Carolyn face-to-face.

Almost thirty convention guests have been confirmed by the EM-Con team so far, including Blake Harrison (Inbetweeners), Hannah Murray (Game of Thrones), Norman Lovett (Red Dwarf) and John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory). Other names will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the show, which are available in ‘General Admission’ format along with four ‘added feature’ bands (Bronze to Platinum), can now be purchased online from the EM-Con site.

EM-Con 2021 Nottingham
Motorpoint Arena, Bolero Square, Nottingham NG1 1LA 11
1-2 May 2021.

Note: This event was originally scheduled for 2-3 May 2020, and then rescheduled to 18-19 July 2020, before being rescheduled again to 1-2 May 2021. The event finally took place on 28-29 August 2021.

Denis Lill on tour in The Lady Vanishes

Poster for the 2019 national theatre tour of The Lady Vanishes, which features Survivors actor Denis Lill in the cast

DENIS LILL IS out and about “treading the boards” once more in a national touring production of The Lady Vanishes, a new adaptation of the classic 1938 Alfred Hitchcock big-screen thriller. Very appropriately, this latest live version has been brought to the stage by the Classic Thriller Theatre Company.

Lill plays the role of Charters, one of a pair of cricket enthusiasts sharing the ill-fated train journey through the country of Bandrika. The play has been commissioned by the Bill Kenwright company, responsible for numerous touring theatre shows within the UK. Lill has been a cast member on many previous productions, including a number of the Agatha Christie plays for which the firm is especially well regarded.

The tour began in Swindon in early September, and has moved on to runs in Weston-Super-Mare, Bury St Edmunds, Coventry, Cambridge, Derby and Darlington. The tour continues with runs at Horton, Exeter, Brighton, Yeovil, Torquay and Croydon, and concludes in Eastbourne in early December.

A review in the Teesdale Mercury by Arts Critic Andrew Mercury offers a very positive assessment:

Cricket loving Charters, Denis Lill, and Caldicott, Ben Nealon […] bring a touch of comedy to the proceedings and show we perhaps have not changed that much as the Englishman abroad.

The set (Morgan Large) effortlessly transforms from the station to the interior of the train and back again. The atmosphere is enhanced with subtle lighting (Charlie Morgan Jones) and sound (Dan Samson). Direction by Roy Marsden is slick throughout.

The intrigue and suspense of The Lady Vanishes will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow the twists and turns trying to spot the red herrings.

This new production is directed by Bill Kenwright regular Roy Marsden (who appeared as a cast member in the third series of Survivors back in 1977 as The Captain in “Long Live the King”).

For full information on dates and locations, and to buy tickets online, visit the The Lady Vanishes site.

A publicity shot of Denis Lill in the 2019 touring production of The Lady Vanishes
Charters (Denis Lill) and Caldicott (Ben Nealon) in The Lady Vanishes
The cast of the 2019 national touring production of The Lady Vanishes
A production still of the full cast of the new production of The Lady Vanishes (Lill, right)
A publicity shot for the 2019 touring production of The Lady Vanishes, which features Denis Lill in the cast
Iris (Scarlett Archer, left), Ms Froy (Gwen Taylor), Charters (Denis Lill) and Caldicott (Ben Nealon) in a scene from The Lady Vanishes

Posting Letters to the Moon completes New York run

LUCY FLEMING AND Simon Williams completed the New York run of their spoken-word production Posting Letter to the Moon earlier this week.

The three week run at 59E59 Theatres was the first overseas tour for the show which offers “a romantic, funny, and touching portrait of life during the early 1940s featuring readings of wartime letters between Oscar- nominated actress [and Lucy Fleming’s mother] Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) and her explorer and writer husband Peter Fleming (brother of James Bond creator Ian Fleming).”

Speaking to Hollywood Soapbox, during the run, Fleming suggests that the letters shared by her parents reveals:

the depth of their love and the bravery they showed each other from thousands of miles apart, the jokes they sent each other to keep their spirits up, their optimism throughout the five years of World War II when nobody knew who was going to survive, the way they dealt with the deprivations of rationing of food, petrol and clothes.

A copy of the full-colour programme from the US run is available for download below.