Friday 4 November 2016

Do You Mind If I Smoke? The Memoirs of Fenella Fielding

 
 
As you'll no doubt be aware Carry On legend Fenella Fielding has been working away on her new audio book of memoirs. "Do You Mind If I Smoke?" will be released on CD in 2017 but in the meantime, Fenella will be performing extracts from the text over eight Saturdays at the Phoenix Artist Club in London.

The first of these shows will take place this Saturday, 5th November and I'm delighted to be going along for a unique afternoon of entertainment in the presence of a true legend.

Fenella Fielding is best known for her film appearances in Carry On Screaming (1966), Doctor in Clover (1966) and Carry On Regardless (1961). She was the voice of the Blue Queen in Dougal and the Blue Cat (1970) and the telephone operator and loudspeaker voice in The Prisoner (1967). Her stage credits include the title roles in Hedda Gabler (1969) and Colette (1970). 

She’s fondly remembered for a number of appearances on the Morecambe & Wise Show (1969-1972) as well as playing The Vixen in Uncle Jack (early 1990s). Her most recent TV appearance was Skins (2012).

During her career, Fenella has worked with many of the greats and has known, or at least met, practically everybody else. She has amazing recall and can tell a story about most of the people who were special in the 60s or 70s… Kenneth Williams, Peter Cook, Tony Curtis, Francis Bacon, Joan Sims… the list is endless.

There are stories about innocence, her struggle to get started, family strife, professional jealousies and intriguingly a chapter about London tarts and gangsters. The stories are witty and beautifully observed scenes from her life and all told in that unmistakable and ever alluring Fenella Fielding voice.

Each performance will include a short Q&A about the book with Misty Moon's special guest MC Simon McKay, co-author of the book and a personal friend of Fenella.

There’s also an opportunity to pre-order the audio book with extra goodies included.

As I've mentioned, the first of these appearances will be on Saturday, 5th November at 2.30pm at The Phoenix Artist Club in London's West End. More details can be found here

I will be blogging a little review of my trip to the Phoenix so stay tuned to find out more over the weekend! 



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