Author Archives: Ed Williams

South Of The Border

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Originally published on Panic Dots.

South Of The BorderIt could be said that Oliver Stone’s movies have gone off the rails in recent years (I stopped watching after U-Turn), but there’s still some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to his documentaries. If you haven’t seen Commandante, the 2003 documentary Stone filmed around his visit to Cuba and the notorious interview with Fidel Castro, do it now.

Stone’s follow up, South of The Border, focuses mainly on Hugo Chavez and his rise to power within Venezuela. It’s also a damning critique of the US media and its relationship with foreign policy; from 9/11, the Iraq invasion and its failure to locate WMDs, and its insistence on portraying South America’s democratically elected leaders as dictators.

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Phil Nichol: Comedian

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Originally published on Panic Dots.

This weekend the country gathers together to celebrate a Royal Wedding, but while your Grandma gets smashed on Pimms under the bunting, all the real people will be flocking to Camden on the 30th May to watch The Comedy Crawl. We’ve managed to wangle our way on to the press list for the festival, so we’ll be spending the weekend sashaying from venue to venue, pint in one hand, pen in the other, to bring you highlights from some of the world’s top comedians.

Until then, we’ve been hassling some of our favourite comics until they agreed to let us interview them for the site. First up is Canadian funny man, Phil Nichol, 2006 winner of the If.com Eddie award, respected theatrical actor and former member of musical comedy trio, Corky And The Juice Pigs. I managed to catch Phil on the phone a few weeks ago (after he’d just suffered the indignity of a bank cashier queue), and gently quizzed him.

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Camden Comedy Crawl 2011

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Originally published on Panic Dots.

Camden Comedy CrawlMy first mistake was drinking the leftover beer in the fridge without eating. It’s not my fault, I asked my wife if I should have a beer, and she told me I deserved one. Who was I to say she was wrong? As my head swelled around me, I remembered the Jamaican lamb patty I’d been saving for lunch on Monday. I attacked it, cold, short crust pastry taking residence in my beard like a swarm of delicious head lice. I had less than 2 hours to get to the crawl, and I still wasn’t sure of the line up schedule. Cue a quick email to the PR company, and – hey presto! – one line up pdf.

I leave the house and meet my first obstacle. A gaggle of Londoners without the foresight to check TFL before setting off on their journey, blocking my path to the ticket gates. In an age where even Mount Everest has 3G and Wireless hotspots, this never fails to make my blood boil. Especially when it results in me missing my train. Despite the initial setback, I make it to the media call early – and it’s complete chaos. The beer garden of The Black Cap is filled to breaking point with cameramen, soundmen, and people mooching around waiting for Rich Fulcher and Tiernan Douieb to turn up. I mistakenly thought this would be set up as a press conference – turns out everyone’s jockeying for a brief one on one interview with the two comedians.

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Dr Max Pemberton: Author and Columnist

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Originally published on Work:Ethic. All photos courtesy of Matt Piper.

Max PembertonBefore I met Dr Max Pemberton, author of Trust me, I’m a Junior Doctor, its follow up, Tell me where it Hurts and columnist for the Daily Telegraph, I expected some hardened veteran Doctor, with a thousand yard stare to send chills down your spine.

Here was a man who wasn’t afraid to tell the rest of the world how utterly out of his depth he felt during his first year as a Junior Doctor. Not only that, he didn’t give a shit if his bosses or the government didn’t agree with his opinions, or the way he portrayed the NHS.

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Max Schaefer: Author

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Originally published on Work:Ethic. All photos courtesy of Matt Piper.

Max SchaeferAs first novels go, Max Schaefer‘s Children of the Sun is refreshingly controversial. Most writers would shudder at the prospect of making their central character a committed fascist, especially considering today’s political climate and the rise in popularity of Nick Griffin and the BNP.

To make that same character a closeted homosexual reveals a depth of literary ambition that is lacking in a lot of contemporary authors. While he doesn’t share their penchant for stylistic punctuation (or lack thereof), Max’s style is reminiscent of Brett Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh, sharing their ability to capture the idiosyncratic language of his characters while tackling subject matter that would leave a foul taste in even the most liberal reader’s mouth. I can’t wait to read his next novel.

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