Seabright Productions by arrangement with Gag Reflex presents

Toby Hadoke - Now I Know My BBC

Written and performed by Toby Hadoke. Directed by Mark Attwood.

Premieres at Edinburgh 2010. Available for touring in 2011.

The long-awaited second Edinburgh Festival Fringe show from Toby Hadoke, the Dawson Award winning creator of the critically acclaimed, Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf.

A heartfelt love letter to Auntie Beeb, this show will be passionate and stroppy enough to have been on Points of View (during the Wogan years – of course).

Young Toby grew up in the countryside in the middle of nowhere. Sounded Posh, had no money, so was bullied at school for two different reasons. Thus, instead of taking advantages of the delights of the world outside, he immersed himself in the TV - particularly the BBC - and soon became consumed by a fascination for that most taken-for-granted of art forms.

For Toby the BBC became an embodiment of all that was great about Britain: intelligent, smart, with a rich sense of history and the shocking ability to put Jimmy Saville on prime time television. He was therefore, aghast as the BBC was pilloried in the tabloids for bias, shocked as the corporation was forced to become ratings conscious, and amazed that Casualty could do essentially the same episode every week. Now, as the corporation is under threat and scrutiny by those with increasing power and a vested interest to remove this national treasure, Toby sends a passionate love letter to an institution we lose at our peril. And slags off Carol Voderman while he's at it.

Seabright Productions in association with Hungry Moths and Gag Reflex presents

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf

Written and performed by Toby Hadoke. Directed by Mark Attwood.

Extensive UK tour 2008/9/10 including West End season. Available for touring in 2011.

Following two sold-out Edinburgh festival seasons, a national tour and a two-part BBC Radio adaptation, this delightful comedy by Toby Hadoke is once again touring the UK.

Get out from behind that sofa and get aboard award winning comedian Toby Hadoke's TARDIS on a trip through time, charting the rise, fall and subsequent rise of a television legend. A swift, personal, satirical and razor sharp comic odyssey from child to man, through obsession, joy and disappointment.

A must see show for anyone who's ever had a passion for anything. Intimate knowledge of Doctor Who not required, though a disdain for The Daily Mail, George Galloway, The BNP, football hooligans and Hollyoaks would be useful.

What the papers say…

'I was truly surprised at how much this show affected me. I went in expecting something jovial and lighthearted, much of which I probably wouldn't get - only having found my way to the Whoverse with the premiere of Russell T Davies' new series. Instead, I found myself profoundly moved by Hadoke's tale of being a childhood geek obsessed with an imaginary universe which seemed to hold the answers to all life's problems. This expertly-constructed show begins when Hadoke's father leaves his family and follows through to Hadoke's own experience of bonding with his son over the new series of Who. It is a warm, gentle, and utterly hysterical look into the life of someone for whom sci-fi has truly made the world a better place, and Hadoke does an expert job in spreading a bit of the doctor's positivity and joy to his audience. Along the way, he also gives neophytes a basic primer in the workings of the dedicated Dr Who fan.'
***** British Theatre Guide

'To Hadoke, Star Wars is all brash spectacle, expensive but soulless, while Doctor Who is an inventive, intelligent, educational show pushing a tolerant, liberal agenda. Oh yes, he sees the subtext, is eloquent about expressing his opinions and especially forthright when it comes to defending his beloved show against his detractors. Just don't get him started on the notorious reputation for wobbly sets. It's these passionate emotions that make the show, not Hadoke's infallible knowledge of every bit-part actor in every episode ever made. He can conjure up indignant rage with the best of them, getting swept away with his arguments of why this cheap British sci-fi is an inspiring analogy for life. Appropriately enough, there's a lot more inside Hadoke's show than appears on the outside. It's not just one 32-year-old man's fixation on something he really ought to have grown out of. Instead he uses the programme to draw analogies with his own life, from unrequited teenage passion to bonding with his own son his life unfolds with every regeneration of the Doctor. Hadoke's a charming, self-aware guide with a witty touch. And crucially, this is an object lesson in how to structure a show, using the nerdish obsession to explore the man within, subtly spinning threads of ideas though the show that culminate in a neat, touching pay-off. It makes for one of the most entertaining hours this side of Gallifrey.'
Chortle

'Toby Hadoke is a self-confessed Timelord anorak. He can name every single actor that ever graced the series, and even knitted his own endless Tom Baker scarf as a teenager. At one point his fanaticism led his mother to worry that he might start drawing very detailed sketches of buildings. Hadoke goes beyond his 30-year obsession to reveal how the escapism of this very British sci-fi helped him through his troubled adolescence in a wittily nostalgic journey.'
The List