3 Jun 2012

Together in Electric Dreams


Scytheplays can now proudly announce their next collaboration with Lass O'Gowrie Productions: Together in Electric Dreams, which is playing in early July as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Sir Clive Sinclair, inventor of the pocket calculator and the Sinclair ZX81 (the first ever personal computer), was Britain's pioneer entrepreneur-boffin and a constant innovator in electronics.  But by 1986 the bottom was falling out of the British electronics industry and to save his ailing company Sir Clive was forced to strike a desperate deal with arch-rival Amstrad - the new big name in home computing started by one Alan Sugar.

Together in Electric Dreams spotlights the tense and tactical dinner-date between the two business kingpins as they each try to secure the advantage while enjoying supper in a traditional Japanese restaurant.  Funny and poignant, it's a revealing look at a little-known historical encounter, and a portrait of two apparently different men who found themselves fighting over the same turf and changing millions of lives in the process.

Playing Alan is Matthew O'Neill (pictured left) while Daniel Thackeray plays Sir Clive.  Matthew and Daniel have worked together before in the acclaimed sci-fi-comedy audio series Nova Star Hunters (available to download online here) while Matthew regularly writes and stars in comedy items produced by Vexation Audio which can be listened to for free at Vexation's audio channel.  Daniel (pictured above in character and sitting outside the Lass in an authentic 1985 example of Sir Clive's C5 electric cars!) previously appeared in The Say Can Blues and co-directed The Ballad of Halo Jones.

Together in Electric Dreams performs twice daily on Wednesday 4th July (7pm and 9pm), Thursday 5th July (7pm and 9pm) and Sunday 8th July (2pm and 4pm).  To book tickets please go to the Lass O'Gowrie website.

Together in Electric Dreams is based on an idea by Gareth Kavanagh.  Main photo by James Goodwin and C5 provided by Lance Colwyn.