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Written by David Innes. Directed by Rob Lloyd.
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who had a dream. She wanted more than ever to be the internationally super famous British spy 007. But then, the world changed. This little girl grew up - and she is going to kill James Bond. Will she find the man from MI6? And what caused his number one fan to be his number one enemy? A BOND AMONG US celebrates sixty years since the release of the first James Bond film in the official franchise, Dr No. DAVID S. INNES and ROB LLOYD pay homage to a long lasting film series with a satirical adventure from the perspective of a henchman. There promises to be thrills, spills and fun-facts! |
Cast and Crew
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DAVID S. INNES
Rev. Samuel J. Smith III Ernst Stavro Blofeld Jaws Boris Grishenko Irma Bunt Headmaster Soldier Chorus Writer Sound Design Poster & Image Design |
ROBERT LLOYD
Dad Professor Dent Number 6 Mandibles Dennis Alec Crumpet-Smythe Soldier Chorus Director Lighting Design Publicity & Social Media Props |
SEON WILLIAMS
Upper Hand LOUISA FITZHARDINGE Tammy-Faye Smith Number 4 Dolly Pussy Galore Singer Soldier Miss Volpe |
JAKLENE VUKASINOVIC
Technical Director MUSIC Matthew Hadgraft Caleb Garfinkel PHOTOGRAPHY: Fab Evans VIDEOGRAPHY: Nick Hill |
About the Show
PERFORMANCE HISTORY
11th - 17th April, 2022
BACKGROUND
With the success of Mina Harker Monster Doctor, the Innes Lloyd team were ready to complete the final part of the Mina Harker trilogy entitled "Mina vs The Martians". Unfortunately, Jen Speirs was unavailable in 2022 and neither Innes nor Lloyd were interested in recasting the role. So another show had to be formulated. One of the ideas that occurred to Innes was that 2022 was the 60th anniversary of the release of the film Doctor No and, hence, the Eon James Bond film franchise. So a James Bond homage was on the cards.
Both Innes and Lloyd weren't fond of James Bond parodies. They all seem to involve bad imitations of Sean Connery or end up becoming pale knock offs of Austin Powers, rather than do or say something different. So the idea was formulated about a show that dealt with Bond from the villain's perspective. This gave an opportunity to satirically portray Britain's influence over the world and its colonising tendencies. The idea was then born of creating a henchman's backstory - why do they "hench"? Where do they come from? Why do they do what they do? The idea of revenge against the Western powers seemed like a really powerful story. Then, add to that, write the henchman as a woman. Not only shine a light on the British imperialistic front, but also on the awful misogyny of James Bond.
Then, during the writing process, this just became sadder and sadder and felt inappropriate to make a fun, Comedy Festival show out of it. It was on a train ride home from work that Innes suddenly came up with what seemed like a ridiculous idea: what if James Bond was The Thing? It would explain why so many actors have played him. This then sparked a story: a group of henchmen being picked off one by one akin to Alien.
Initially, all the henchmen were parodies or versions of actual henchmen, but this just wasted a lot of time trying to establish five or six brand new identities. Using established figures from Bond lore made it much easier to "cut-to-the-chase" and hopefully provide some long lost back story to the characters. Initially the play was written to be a full cast of five or six, but this was then rewritten for practical reasons. It was decided to have the henchman be played by one actor, and all the other roles by Innes Lloyd and another actor.
Seon Williams had worked with Rob Lloyd in Shakespeare Aliens. She impressed both Innes and Lloyd with her audition and brought a great energy to the part. For the swing role, an actor was sought for who could sing (they would sing the title song) and could play multiple roles. Louisa Fitzhardinge had worked with both Innes and Lloyd in the improv circuit and she is an incredible singing talent. Both Williams and Fitzhardinge fit in perfectly with Innes Lloyd's style and absolutely made the show.
11th - 17th April, 2022
BACKGROUND
With the success of Mina Harker Monster Doctor, the Innes Lloyd team were ready to complete the final part of the Mina Harker trilogy entitled "Mina vs The Martians". Unfortunately, Jen Speirs was unavailable in 2022 and neither Innes nor Lloyd were interested in recasting the role. So another show had to be formulated. One of the ideas that occurred to Innes was that 2022 was the 60th anniversary of the release of the film Doctor No and, hence, the Eon James Bond film franchise. So a James Bond homage was on the cards.
Both Innes and Lloyd weren't fond of James Bond parodies. They all seem to involve bad imitations of Sean Connery or end up becoming pale knock offs of Austin Powers, rather than do or say something different. So the idea was formulated about a show that dealt with Bond from the villain's perspective. This gave an opportunity to satirically portray Britain's influence over the world and its colonising tendencies. The idea was then born of creating a henchman's backstory - why do they "hench"? Where do they come from? Why do they do what they do? The idea of revenge against the Western powers seemed like a really powerful story. Then, add to that, write the henchman as a woman. Not only shine a light on the British imperialistic front, but also on the awful misogyny of James Bond.
Then, during the writing process, this just became sadder and sadder and felt inappropriate to make a fun, Comedy Festival show out of it. It was on a train ride home from work that Innes suddenly came up with what seemed like a ridiculous idea: what if James Bond was The Thing? It would explain why so many actors have played him. This then sparked a story: a group of henchmen being picked off one by one akin to Alien.
Initially, all the henchmen were parodies or versions of actual henchmen, but this just wasted a lot of time trying to establish five or six brand new identities. Using established figures from Bond lore made it much easier to "cut-to-the-chase" and hopefully provide some long lost back story to the characters. Initially the play was written to be a full cast of five or six, but this was then rewritten for practical reasons. It was decided to have the henchman be played by one actor, and all the other roles by Innes Lloyd and another actor.
Seon Williams had worked with Rob Lloyd in Shakespeare Aliens. She impressed both Innes and Lloyd with her audition and brought a great energy to the part. For the swing role, an actor was sought for who could sing (they would sing the title song) and could play multiple roles. Louisa Fitzhardinge had worked with both Innes and Lloyd in the improv circuit and she is an incredible singing talent. Both Williams and Fitzhardinge fit in perfectly with Innes Lloyd's style and absolutely made the show.
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REVIEWS:
"A Bond Among Us is a homage with a decided difference. It celebrates 60 years since the release of the first James Bond film in the official franchise, Dr No. If you are of the belief that the ultimate tribute is to laugh and have fun with a movie series that has stood the test of time, you should buy a ticket to see this. Peals of laughter are a mainstay for a production that can be enjoyed by generations of Bond fans." - The Blurb. "Not only is ‘A Bond Among Us’ a brilliantly wonderful take on an extremely popular franchise, but it is also a loving companion piece of the Bond films. Through the little fun facts and story that unfolds, this clever production provides some insight into the backstories that are usually overlooked. Innes Lloyd are incredibly aware that James Bond would not be James Bond without the villains that he must kill. There are many shows that I have seen at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival but only a few of them have hit the ‘I must see it again’ status. I can happily say that ‘A Bond Among Us’ is now up there at the top of that list. A must-see experience for all film, theatre, and James Bond fans alike." - Lilithia Reviews. |
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