His Majesty’s Theatre – 2005

‘Flying Pig reached the pinnacle of their success with their awesome debut on the newly refurbished stage of His Majesty’s Theatre.’

—Evening Express, 29 December 2005

After managing to lure a good number of hardy souls out to darkest Hilton in the bleak mid-winter, a long-standing ambition was realised when, in an unguarded moment, those in charge of HMT asked if we’d like to come and play in the Big Theatre. Being the sharp, professional operation we are, we checked the contract, hummed, hawed and kept ’em in suspense for a number of tenths of a second before saying yes in a thrilled, but slightly feart, collective voice.

Selma and Eddie added a fresh twist to the Mither and Faither saga; Minker TV Gold made it’s debut, Hilton John’s candid confession was a musical highlight and Aberdeen’s bid for the 2016 Olympics provided both a setting for a host of old favourites and new characters and a suitably grand (and daft) finale.

They asked us back you know. Some folk never learn.

Cast
John Hardie
Moray Barber
Craig Pike
Susan Gordon
Steve Rance
Elaine Johnston
Greg Gordon

Script
Greg Gordon
Lyrics
John Hardie
Moray Barber

Directed by
John Hardie
Musical Arrangements
Steve Rance

Sponsors
Sparrows Offshore
Town & County
CMS Cameron MCKenna

What the Papers Said

Aberdeen Evening Express 12/11/05

Flying Pigs Root Out Crackling Comedy.

Anyone following the progress of Flying Pig Productions knows they reached the pinnacle of their success this weekend with two sell-out shows at HMT. The local comedy group’s popularity has exploded since its first show at The Lemon Tree in 1998, later moving to the Arts Centre and finally alighting at HMT at Hilton last year. Now the company makes an awesome debut on the newly refurbished stage of His Majesty’s Theatre with The Seagull Has Landed. The beauty of the Flying Pigs is its ability to fit any venue, and please any audience. Last night, with its familiar pink sets and costumes, and carefully blended comedy and music, it finds the perfect home on Aberdeen’s largest stage. Greg Gordon’s side-splitting scripts reacquaint audiences with old favourites Mither and Faither, Archie and Davie and The Liar, while introducing Scotland The What?-style characters Selma and Eddie, the jobsworth Doctor’s Receptionist and Aberdeen City Council’s Licensing Board. With Aberdonian Pavement Dances taught by a line-up of couthy experts, and music fro The Buckie Drifters, Glen Camphill and Hilton John, local comedy has found a home in a new generation. Pigs might fly – only time will tell us how far.

Previous show: Best Back – 2004

Next show: Desperate Fishwives – 2007

While employed as Chief Electrician at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, Kelvin moonlighted as Lighting Designer for Flying Pig Productions at The Lemon Tree. This involved sitting in the dark for many hours, occasionally feeling John Hardie’s light touch upon his shoulder as he softly whispered gentle words of encouragement in his lilting Doric brogue. Leaving HMT and going freelance, Kelvin soon found himself working on a variety of much-lauded Lloyd Webber and ‘Cammie Mack’ productions, but after a visiting a number of international airports and five-star hotels, he soon discovered that these extravaganzas of music and light were a poor substitute for the understated artistic splendour of Flying Pig.

Realising that nothing could compare, Kelvin left the theatre world to run the UK’s scientific diving programme in the Antarctic, and now runs his own company, Silvertip Expedition & Diving Management.

Cold weather survival gear buffs will be eager to learn that Kelvin is wearing an Interspiro AGA Divator Mk II Full Face Mask with customised Swedish DYK visor-mounted LP bailout block.

Theatrical harlot Mr A J Brebner is regularly seen galumphing around the stage in a series of musical comedies and operettas. In the real world, which he does his best to spend as little time in as possible, he is a self-unemployed graphic designer (portfolio on www.brebdesign.co.uk). Andrew received his extensive training at Ashley Road and Airyhall Primary Schools, Hazlehead Academy, Aberdeen College, Aberdeen University, The Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen College again. The current crisis in student funding can’t be blamed on him in it’s entirety, but it’s gye close.

He made his theatrical debut with Miss McKenzie’s Primary 3 class, in the role of ‘lava’ in a white vest. This was followed by dual roles as ‘Singing Cowboy’ and ‘First Train Carriage’ in the unforgettable Primary 5 Concert and only 13 years later, he appeared as ‘Chief’ in a self-penned 5-minute abridgement of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for Aberdeen University English department. His use of a boiler suit, a long black wig and a tin of brown Kiwi shoe polish is still talked about to this day. Mostly in seminars about diversity awareness.

Aside from countless Student Shows and songs and sketches for Flying Pig Productions, his writing credits include several dozen books, dictated to his mother between the ages of 4 and 6, which currently await publication. In his loft.

Moray brings to the cast a cheeky smile, a dropped shoulder & large fanbase of women under 70, (perfectly complementing Craig’s more mature following). When not justifying himself to his leftie mates / family about the morality of advising on the complex tax arrangements of large corporations, Moray enjoys cycling. He can often be seen cycling into town, cycling into work and cycling into car doors as drivers open them without checking their wing mirrors on North Deeside Road.

Theatre; a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, playing to cast members’ grannies and local tramps in for a free heat, and audience member at Hamlet at the RSC, in which he thought David Tennant was very good.

Television; Young Krypton Factor 1988, in which he was runner up to Simon Horner from Yorkshire in a nailbiting series final. 20 years later; he is entirely comfortable with coming second.

Moray comes to Flying Pig Productions direct from The Office. Not the TV programme, just his work.