Category: #interview

#Interview with Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls writer, Stan Zimmerman about suicide prevention play Right Before I go showing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival #RightBeforeIGo #suicideprevention #GilmoreGirls #goldengirls #wellbeing #theatre #play #EdinburghFringeFestival #EdFringe

Interview with Stan Zimmerman
on Right before I go

interview by Louise Cannon

First of all, I am humbled to have the opportunity to do this interview with Stan Zimmerman, writer of Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls and on a much talked about and very important subject matter. Right Before I Go is a suicide prevention play. Do read on, he is very serious about this and has answered questions informatively, sensitively and it’s interesting. It is also worth noting his show comes with support and from what I’ve read, it sounds a very well thought out and responsibly put together show for audiences.

He says “I decided to create a play in the vein of The Vagina Monologues, easily produced with actors on stools, reading the script from music stands. My hope is that this will create much needed discussion about a very complicated issue,” said writer and actor, Stan Zimmerman.

Let’s warmly welcome, Stan Zimmerman to Bookmarks and Stages.
pics are Stan Zimmerman (writer and actor) Abigail Morris (director), Wendie Malick (Shrinking, Young Sheldon), Emily Kuroda (Gilmore Girls). Check them out and then let’s begin the interview.

1. Stan, you are bringing your show Right Before You Go, a suicide prevention play, driven by the suicide of your real life friend, to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Who or what inspired you to bring the play from NYC to Edinburgh?

“Having one of my plays performed at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival has always been on my bucket list. But it felt like a far off dream. It only became reality after our very successful UK industry reading of it this past March at the Soho Theatre. I was honored to share the stage with a stellar cast including Vanessa Williams, Matt Henry, Iz Hesketh and Olly Alexander. The Pleasance Theatre came to that reading and invited me to Fringe for the entire month. We’re hoping to bring the play back to London after Fringe in September, which is World Suicide Prevention Awarness Month.”

2. In the UK, suicide is starting to gain awareness. Why do you feel it is so important to talk about suicide on stage and in the hope of preventing it.

“Theatre can be a powerful tool. I know firsthand. Finding my tribe on stage saved my life.  I want to end the shame surrounding the subject of suicide and talking about it, in this forum is a start. Especially with young people, which is why we’re in discussion tour this play in schools throughout the UK in Spring 2027.”

3. You use real suicide notes of celebrities, veterans, bullied teens, those identifying as LGBTQ+ and those who have experienced mental health issues.

How did you go about getting permission to use letters that are so raw and sensitive?

“All of these notes are in the public domain. They’ve been posted, broadcast or released by family members. Usually with the intent of saving other individuals from suffering in silence. Something I learned when first creating this play, was that newspapers used to regularly publish suicide notes.

5. Right Before I Go is followed by a talkback with a mental health professional.

For those going to the performance, how does that work in practice?

“I made it part of the agreement when licensing my play from TRWshowsUK, that you must do a Talk Back after the show with a local mental health professional. I often find that part of the show, is the most gripping. After I’ve been so open and honest in the play, audience members sometimes reveal feelings and stories that they’ve kept hidden for years. Even decades.”

6. What do you hope the play will achieve by the time people are leaving the auditorium?

“I already know that this play has saved lives since we debuted at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2015. Being in Edinburgh, i hope the piece is introduced to the global theatre community. The high suicide rate knows no boudaries of countries. This subject must be addressed through a worldwide lens. On a personal level, I hope that audiences leave the theatre and check in with their friends to see if they’re doing okay.” 

7. How do you and others in the  star-studded cast from Gilmor Girls, Young Sheldon look after own wellbeing after rehearsals and performing in-front of audiences, in-particular after this play which carries such a necessary, important but emotional topic.

“I get asked that question a lot during our Talk Backs, because it’s obviously still so emotional for me to talk about losing my friend to suicide in the play. But it’s also extremely empowering to know that using my craft can make a difference in other people’s lives. Of course, I’ve only done the play two days in a row in the past. I’ll be performing in twenty-four shows in Edinburgh. So if you see me staggering through town, buy me a pint!” 

8. Money will be raised for SL24: Unlocke the Light Foundation, based in Delaware. Can you tell us more about this non-profit organisation?

SL24: UnLocke the Light Foundation is a Delaware-based nonprofit organization with a threefold mission: to educate, assist, and support young people on their mental health journey. For more information on their educational and Peer24 Support programs, please visit www.unlockethelight.com. I had the privilege of meeting Chris Locke during a mini-East Coast US tour starring Virginia Madsen and some “Gilmore Girls” cast members. He lost his son to suicide and created this amazing organization. He said he plans to come to Edinburgh and is a very eloquent speaker on this subject.” 

Tickets can be purchased and further synopsis looked at on the official website for The Pleasance at Edinburgh Fringe Festival here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/right-i-go

#EdFringe Interview with award-winning comedian Tom Little on new show – Tom Little in His Comfort Zone @thisistomlittle @TheFreeFringe #comedy #interview by Lou

Interview with Award Winning Comedian Tom Little on his show –
Tom Little In His Comfort Zone

Interview by Louise Cannon

Genre: COMEDY
68b carte blanche! at PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms
8 – 30 Aug 19:20 1 hour
Strictly 18+
see EdFringe ticket details at the end of the interview.

Tom Little has been a comedian for over a decade and performed for 10 years at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to much critical acclaim. This year he focuses on his hot topics such as masculinity, the “manosphere,” male loneliness and his comfort zone. His answers are revealing and thoughtful about these subjects and interestingly, how things can change as a comedian has an idea that sparks a slightly different one that is then the one to go with. There is a bit of light, clever humour in the interview as well as honesty and thoughtfulness, making it a fascinating, insightful read. He also has future plans and places you can check out his comedy for yourself. You can find links to that and how to book your tickets after the interview.

Tom Little is from Cumbria, in the North of England. He won the 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, and his 2018 Edinburgh show was nominated for the Amused Moose Comedy Award. He wrote and starred in the online sitcom ‘Don’t Overthink It,’ which won ‘Best Comedy’ at the 2023 NYC Web Fest awards, and his film ‘Gurning to Win’ is nominated for ‘Best Short Form Documentary’ at the 2026 Broadcast Digital Awards. He was on BBC Radio 4 for five minutes twelve years ago. 

‘Unique is an appallingly overused word. But you know it when you see it. I see it in Tom Little.’ **** – Kate Copstick, The Scotsman. 

‘His fast-paced stand-up style is replete with surreal detours and promises an hour of pure fun. Catch him on his way to stardom.’ – Rachael Healy, The i Paper. 

Let’s warmly welcome Tom Little to Bookmarks and Stages and I also thank him for discovering my blog and getting in touch:

1. You’ve been a comedian for 13 years, performed at 10 Edinburgh Fringes and won awards. Who or what inspired you to be a comedian?

This is mean but before I started comedy I saw a comedian on television and thought he was really crap. And that was really inspiring because I thought ‘if someone as unfunny as him get on television then it must be really easy to become a professional comedian. I don’t even need to be good. I just need to not be worse than this unfunny loser.’ But 13 years on, he’s still on telly more than I am. So that’s me told.  

2. Your new show focuses on masculinity, including Andrew Tate and the manosphere. What do you make of the manosphere and how do you turn that into comedy and at the same time get your message out about this serious topic?

Andrew Tate was something I was thinking about when I was putting the show together, but in the end I didn’t write any jokes about him and don’t mention him in the show at all. I reckon he probably gets enough attention as it is anyway.  

Instead my show has ended up being more about the way men are, more generally. Or the way men are expected to be, and probably have been for centuries. I found that funnier. I’m not just talking about weirdos on the internet. I’m talking about ‘normal’ men. The men in my audience, or the men reading this interview, or some other men. You know men. You’ve met them before. You know who I mean.  


3. Loneliness is also a much talked about topic and one which you cover.

What do you think might help this epidemic in the male population?

I saw the phrase ‘male loneliness epidemic’ online a while ago and thought that was interesting. I’m sure there lots of lonely women too but lonely men get more media attention. They must have better PR.  

It’s easy to be sarcastic about ‘male loneliness’ but I think, across the genders, there’s a lot more loneliness than there used to be and that’s worth talking about. Technology has changed our lives, community has broken down and we’re all a lot more likely to spend our lives alone in a room looking at a screen all day instead of with other people in a pub or a church or wherever it is people used to go in the good old days. We’re not meant to live like this.  

I’m not sure how to fix everything but I suppose a good start would be if everyone left the house and met up in a specific place where other people were. Like a comedy show for example. Or more specifically, my comedy show. If everyone just went to the Edinburgh Fringe and saw my comedy show that’d probably solve the loneliness epidemic. And a lot of the rest of the world’s problems too, I reckon.  

4. You invite people to enter your comfort zone. What is your comfort zone in relation to your show and how do you show this and the, perhaps stepping out of it in your show?

The title of my show is ‘Tom Little in His Comfort Zone.’ I chose that title before I knew what the show was going to be about. I chose it just because I’ve been doing stand-up for years and should surely know what I’m doing by now, but I’m aware that I still look like I don’t. I was very nervous when I started doing my first gigs 13 years ago, and all these years later, however confident I feel, I still seem to be locked into the speech pattern and body language of a nervous man trying not to have a breakdown. And I know that’s a bit odd for the audience. So I thought I’d call my show ‘Tom Little in His Comfort Zone’ just to reassure the audience that I’ve done this before and there’s no need to worry. We’ll see if it works.

 5. At the top of your synopsis, you ask the question, “are men ok?” You’re a man and I am going to assume you’re one of the better ones. But what is happening with men and how do you convince people that not all men are in the manosphere and do you try to in your show?

Haha. Thank you but I promise you I don’t go around calling myself one of the better ones. If you’re talking about any social issue in comedy I think there’s a danger that you can come across as a bit preachy if you’re too earnest with it. Or like you’re trying to show off about what a good person you are.  I don’t want to do that. I want people to laugh, not applaud because they think I’ve made a good point. So if I feel there’s any danger of me sounding like a really great guy I have to balance it out with a bit about what an arsehole I am. Really I just want to be judged on how funny the show is. But hopefully I say something interesting at some point too.  

I don’t think people need to be convinced that not all men are in manosphere and I’m certainly not trying to restore the reputation of men in my show. I don’t think that needs doing. I think you can talk about terrible men without people assuming that all men are terrible. But a lot of things about being a man are just ridiculous more than anything, so that seemed like a fair subject for a comedy show. To be honest, the only reason I’m doing a show about men is because I am one myself and I know a lot of people are men and even people who aren’t men have usually at least met a man, so I figured it’d be relatable.  

6. What’s next for you show or your next project?

After the Fringe I’ll go back to doing stand-up at comedy clubs around the country. And I want to do more online comedy sketches this year. I did loads during lockdown but haven’t done much online recently. It’s something I need to get back in to. I have a feeling the internet is going to be big. Follow me on all platforms! 

7. Where can people follow you/your show ‘Tom Little in His Comfort Zone’?

I’m @thisistomlittle on all social media. All my best stuff is at youtube.com/tomlittle 
so I’d really appreciate people subscribing to my YouTube channel as well. Thanks.  

Check out ticket details here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tom-little-in-his-comfort-zone

#Interview with Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls writer, Stan Zimmerman about suicide prevention play Right Before I go showing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival #RightBeforeIGo #suicideprevention #GilmoreGirls #goldengirls #wellbeing #theatre #play #EdinburghFringeFestival #EdFringe

Interview with Stan Zimmerman
on Right before I go

interview by Louise Cannon

First of all, I am humbled to have the opportunity to do this interview with Stan Zimmerman, writer of Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls and on a much talked about and very important subject matter. Right Before I Go is a suicide prevention play. Do read on, he is very serious about this and has answered questions informatively, sensitively and it’s interesting. It is also worth noting his show comes with support and from what I’ve read, it sounds a very well thought out and responsibly put together show for audiences.

He says “I decided to create a play in the vein of The Vagina Monologues, easily produced with actors on stools, reading the script from music stands. My hope is that this will create much needed discussion about a very complicated issue,” said writer and actor, Stan Zimmerman.

Let’s warmly welcome, Stan Zimmerman to Bookmarks and Stages.
pics are Stan Zimmerman (writer and actor) Abigail Morris (director), Wendie Malick (Shrinking, Young Sheldon), Emily Kuroda (Gilmore Girls). Check them out and then let’s begin the interview.

1. Stan, you are bringing your show Right Before You Go, a suicide prevention play, driven by the suicide of your real life friend, to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Who or what inspired you to bring the play from NYC to Edinburgh?

“Having one of my plays performed at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival has always been on my bucket list. But it felt like a far off dream. It only became reality after our very successful UK industry reading of it this past March at the Soho Theatre. I was honored to share the stage with a stellar cast including Vanessa Williams, Matt Henry, Iz Hesketh and Olly Alexander. The Pleasance Theatre came to that reading and invited me to Fringe for the entire month. We’re hoping to bring the play back to London after Fringe in September, which is World Suicide Prevention Awarness Month.”

2. In the UK, suicide is starting to gain awareness. Why do you feel it is so important to talk about suicide on stage and in the hope of preventing it.

“Theatre can be a powerful tool. I know firsthand. Finding my tribe on stage saved my life.  I want to end the shame surrounding the subject of suicide and talking about it, in this forum is a start. Especially with young people, which is why we’re in discussion tour this play in schools throughout the UK in Spring 2027.”

3. You use real suicide notes of celebrities, veterans, bullied teens, those identifying as LGBTQ+ and those who have experienced mental health issues.

How did you go about getting permission to use letters that are so raw and sensitive?

“All of these notes are in the public domain. They’ve been posted, broadcast or released by family members. Usually with the intent of saving other individuals from suffering in silence. Something I learned when first creating this play, was that newspapers used to regularly publish suicide notes.

5. Right Before I Go is followed by a talkback with a mental health professional.

For those going to the performance, how does that work in practice?

“I made it part of the agreement when licensing my play from TRWshowsUK, that you must do a Talk Back after the show with a local mental health professional. I often find that part of the show, is the most gripping. After I’ve been so open and honest in the play, audience members sometimes reveal feelings and stories that they’ve kept hidden for years. Even decades.”

6. What do you hope the play will achieve by the time people are leaving the auditorium?

“I already know that this play has saved lives since we debuted at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2015. Being in Edinburgh, i hope the piece is introduced to the global theatre community. The high suicide rate knows no boudaries of countries. This subject must be addressed through a worldwide lens. On a personal level, I hope that audiences leave the theatre and check in with their friends to see if they’re doing okay.” 

7. How do you and others in the  star-studded cast from Gilmor Girls, Young Sheldon look after own wellbeing after rehearsals and performing in-front of audiences, in-particular after this play which carries such a necessary, important but emotional topic.

“I get asked that question a lot during our Talk Backs, because it’s obviously still so emotional for me to talk about losing my friend to suicide in the play. But it’s also extremely empowering to know that using my craft can make a difference in other people’s lives. Of course, I’ve only done the play two days in a row in the past. I’ll be performing in twenty-four shows in Edinburgh. So if you see me staggering through town, buy me a pint!” 

8. Money will be raised for SL24: Unlocke the Light Foundation, based in Delaware. Can you tell us more about this non-profit organisation?

SL24: UnLocke the Light Foundation is a Delaware-based nonprofit organization with a threefold mission: to educate, assist, and support young people on their mental health journey. For more information on their educational and Peer24 Support programs, please visit www.unlockethelight.com. I had the privilege of meeting Chris Locke during a mini-East Coast US tour starring Virginia Madsen and some “Gilmore Girls” cast members. He lost his son to suicide and created this amazing organization. He said he plans to come to Edinburgh and is a very eloquent speaker on this subject.” 

Tickets can be purchased and further synopsis looked at on the official website for The Pleasance at Edinburgh Fringe Festival here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/right-i-go

#Interview with award-winning Argentine theatre-maker Nicolás Perez Costa on Shakespeare’s Richard III and more… by Lou #CockpitTheatre #NicolasPerezCosta #Shakespeare #RichardIII #Theatre

Nicolás Perez Costa is an award-winning theatre maker and I had the privilege of interviewing him about his latest play, a re-interpretation of Shakespeare’s Richard III, his respect of original works, his respect for Shakespeare, his use of bold staging and movement, what inspired him to enter the theatrical world and into so many roles from director to actor and more…

Richard III received multiple Off Theatre Award nominations. These were for best Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Set Design.

Performed in the round and accompanied by live percussion, this physically driven reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s notorious King Richard III places the audience directly inside a brutal and decaying universe where power is fought through bodies, rhythm, and violence.

Let’s give a warm welcome Nicolás Perez Costa to Bookmarks and Stages, where he has answered questions comprehensively with fascinating details.

What attracts you to Shakespeare’s works in general and at what point in your life
did you become interested?

Shakespeare represents, for me, the perfect union of an impeccable dramatic structure, the
beauty and ingenuity of his poetic language and verse, and a vision of the human being that
is, at times, compassionate and, at others, brutally honest. That combination can only
produce the sense of hypnosis we experience when we read his work or watch it performed.
My interest in Shakespeare began when I was a teenager, reading his plays in literature
classes, at first simply because they were part of the curriculum. Gradually, I found that his
writing pulled me out of my chair and invited me to try his speeches, to play with them, to
imagine them. I remember classmates who considered Shakespeare old-fashioned, seeing
his language as something distant from our time. But even then, at a very young age, I felt
the urgency and relevance of his characters, and I was already imagining them inhabiting
different worlds, or existing within the anachronistic universes that were taking shape in my
own imagination.

What fascinates you about Plantagenet King Richard III in particular?

The first time I read Richard III, I was fascinated by the way Richard draws the audience into
his bloody and sinister plans with such naturalness and, I would even say, an irreverent
charisma. The idea of a character with absolutely no limits in the pursuit of his ambitions
captivated me.
To me, those ambitions are born from resentment: the resentment of not having been born
with a body or into a position that would allow him to be loved or recognised. Watching that
resentment transform into a ruthless and bloody plan, and then seeing everything eventually
collapse, feels like a reminder that what is achieved through evil ultimately destroys itself.
This is exactly the kind of story I feel most connected to telling. It reflects the kind of
questions I want theatre to ask and the kind of world I hope it can inspire us to build. I love
history, particularly the histories of England and France, but when I approach plays like this, I
move beyond the historical facts. What interests me is literature’s ability to reveal a deeper
truth: to hold a mirror up to our own reality, or to imagine the world as it could one day
become.

You have created a physical reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s notorious King
Richard III, placing the audience directly inside a brutal and decaying universe. How
have you achieved this and what inspired you to go down the physical route of acting
to tell this story?

My career began in musical theatre. Then, in my mid-twenties, I met a director in Argentina
who introduced me to classical theatre, and above all, to her love of Shakespeare and
Chekhov. From that moment on, I couldn’t help but bring those two worlds together. I have
dedicated my career to bringing the truth and emotional depth of classical theatre into
musical theatre, and, in turn, bringing the physical language of musical theatre into classical
texts.

When I speak about musical theatre, I don’t mean high-energy musicals. I mean the
integration of the body, the voice and emotional truth. I believe that what is expressed
through the body reaches the audience in a direct and instinctive way. They don’t need to analyse every word or fully understand everything that is happening intellectually. Somehow,they recognise that whatever is happening in the actor’s body is also happening within their own.

You’ve re-interpreted the play using bold staging and movement, making it dystopian to show its hard-hitting themes of power and manipulation. What are the challenges in re-imagining a play that’s centuries old and creating a play that’s both recognisable but fresh for a modern audience, whilst also being sensitive to the original piece?

My respect for the original work comes naturally because I have deep respect for literature and for history. I respect the people who came before me, both in life and in this profession. I respect tradition, and I believe that if a work has survived for centuries, it is because of its extraordinary mastery.At the same time, I believe that re-imagining a play and giving it a language and a rhythm that speak to a different audience is also a way of respecting its author. Shakespeare wrote this play centuries ago for an audience that lived at a completely different pace, listen differently, and experienced theatre in a completely different way. I don’t believe that if Shakespeare, or any of the great playwrights of the past, were writing today, they would necessarily write in exactly the same way. The ultimate purpose of theatre is not simply toexpress what we think, but to communicate it to the person who is listening.I firmly believe that theatre does not belong to those who make it, but to those who watch itand experience it. The challenge is always to create a production that can be understood even by someone who would not normally choose to see Shakespeare. Shakespeare, like all great playwrights, needs theatre to remain alive. He needs new audiences. As Chekhov says in The Seagull, “new forms are needed.” For me, the artist’s constant search is for a theatrical language that keeps audiences close to theatre, and encourages those who have never entered a theatre before to come in.

What does showing your play in the round add to the actors’ performances and audiences’ experiences?

I think it’s a fascinating choice, especially at a time when theatre is constantly searching for new forms. The audience is no longer simply a distant, objective observer of what is happening. Instead, they become part of the event itself. The audience doesn’t just watch a character looking at something they can also see how and from where that character is looking. In scenes where ten characters gather to discuss issue, I love the feeling that the audience becomes the eleventh character. Without speaking or intervening, their physical presence changes the energy of the scene. That transforms the way they experience the play, but it also transforms us as actors. Our responsibility is no longer simply to direct our performance towards the audience’s gaze, but to embrace their presence and draw them into the fiction itself.

Who or what inspired you to become an actor, director and playwright and what’s it
like to now have Off Theatre Award nominations for Best Play, Best Director, Best
Actor, and Best Set Design for your work?

To be honest, I like to define myself simply as a theatre-maker, because throughout my
career I have worked in many different roles and learned this craft from many different
perspectives. Becoming an actor, director and playwright wasn’t something I planned—it was the natural consequence of my curiosity, of what fascinated me, and, above all, of the
support my parents gave me when I was very young, encouraging me to follow my instincts.

When I was a child, my aunt was an actress. At school, I had teachers who nurtured my
interests, and I even started little theatre groups during breaks, directing my classmates long before I knew what directing really meant. But without question, my life changed when I met my first great mentor, Pepe Cibrián, in Argentina when I was fifteen. Some encounters are planned, but you can never imagine how profoundly they will shape your life. Mine changed from that moment on.

One day I realised that my life was theatre, and that it could never have been anything else.

There is a beautiful idea that vocation is not something we choose, but something that
chooses us. If we ignore that calling, the consequence is an existential emptiness. I never
really felt I had another option. I have always been who I am, and I have fought to develop that identity.

Receiving these nominations, and later winning Best Play, Best Set Design and Best
Leading Actor, together with previous nominations in Argentina and the José Estruch Award in Spain two years ago for Juana la Loca, feels like a confirmation that the path I chose is recognised by others as meaningful and worthwhile. Those awards don’t give meaning to the choices I made in the past, but they do give strength to the choices I make today. They allow me to look back and realise that, sometimes, after spending years swimming against the current, the current eventually begins to flow with you rather than against you.

What’s next for your play or career?

The Madrid cast will continue touring the production across Spain. Here at The Cockpit, we will present the play with our UK cast, and we hope to continue finding new venues where both productions can keep growing.
Although they share the same artistic vision and the
same origins, they have naturally become two very different productions.

Theatre is never completed by the director alone, it is completed by the actors, and I always try to remain open and flexible to what each company brings to the work.

When I return to Spain, I will continue performing Juana la Loca, which I have been
performing for the past nine years, and Dos Tronos, Dos Reinas, which has been on stage
for the last two. I will also continue leading my acting school, IFAM, where I constantly
develop new productions with my students. One of my greatest passions is creating
opportunities for emerging artists and teaching them the self-management skills that allow them to build their own careers, rather than feeling that their future depends entirely on others.

Looking ahead, I also have a deep personal wish: that the next role I encounter as an actor will be Hamlet, so I can continue exploring this same theatrical language while discovering an entirely new fictional world.

#Interview with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy actor, Joe Fria on directing new film, Shadows of Willow Cabin @shadowsofwillowcabin #joefria #film #movie

Interview with Joe Fria
Shadows of Willow Cabin

by Louise Cannon

I have recently had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Fria, whose acting career spans to great Hollywood Blockbusters such as Marvel’s Guide to the Guardians vol. 2 and Goosebumps.
He has now directed a brand new film called Shadows of Willow Cabin.
In the interview all those films are discussed as well as other works, such as lesser talked about parts of the film industry Joe Fria is involved in, such as English dubs for Amazon, Netflix and Apple TV and more…

Shadows of Willow Cabin follows Albert and Devon who travel to a remote cabin to explore the possibility of a relationship. But when the cabin reveals its true intentions, their romantic getaway turns into a game of survival.

Thank you to Joe Fria who has given fascinating in-depth answers to the interview here:



1.    What drew you or who inspired you to writing/directing films?

I grew up as a latchkey kid in Pittsburgh, and in many ways, my babysitter was the TV. I was
immersed in movies from a very young age, probably earlier than I should have
been. We had cable, and I also had a video store card back when those were a
thing, so I was constantly watching films I picked out myself, especially
horror.

Looking back, I realize what drew me in wasn’t just the characters, it was the worlds.
As a kid, I was inspired by Travolta as Tony Manero and so I pursued acting,
but, in retrospect, what really stuck with me was the atmosphere and the larger
world of Saturday Night Fever. That sense of a fully realized environment is what captured my imagination, and it’s what I now love so much about making movies.

The real turning point came much later. In 2018, I got sober and started writing
consistently for the first time. That process—both the writing and the
recovery—gave me a new level of clarity and confidence. I had already been
directing in the dubbing world, but it was during that period that I realized I
could step fully into directing for film as well.

2.    Shadows Of Willow Cabin is a horror film, what do you think makes the combination of a cabin at a forest retreat and a dating app such a great combination for this genre?

That’s a great question. For me, it really comes down to isolation, both physical and
emotional.

A cabin in the woods is one of the most classic horror settings because it removes you
from the world. You’re cut off, vulnerable, and forced to confront whatever’s in front of you. But what interested me with Shadows of Willow Cabin was pairing that with a different kind of isolation, the kind that exists within a dating app.

On the surface, dating apps are about connection, but in reality, they can be
incredibly lonely spaces. You’re presenting a version of yourself, often hiding
parts of who you are, and trying to connect through a kind of distance. That
mirrors what’s happening with Albert as a character, he’s hiding from his life
and his identity.

Then you place that emotional isolation into a physical space like an off-season cabin
retreat. It’s a place that should be full of people and activity, but instead
it’s empty, quiet, and suddenly it’s just the two of them. That contrast
heightens everything.

The horror comes from these overlapping layers of isolation: being alone in a place, being
alone with another person, and ultimately being alone with yourself. And I
think that last one is often the most terrifying.

3.  You play with reality and the metaphysical, including time and ghosts, how did you weave that into the plot so that there is a certain amount of grounding to hook your audience in?

What grounded the supernatural elements for me was tying them directly to the
emotional states of the characters.

Any time you introduce metaphysical ideas—time loops, ghosts, altered reality—you risk
creating distance from the audience.  My approach was to make sure that everything happening on a supernatural level had a clear emotional parallel. These aren’t just external phenomena; they’re expressions of what the characters are going through internally.

In particular, the manipulation of time is rooted in the way we actually experience it.
When you’re in a state of desperation, or when you’re dealing with unresolved trauma, time doesn’t feel linear. It stretches, loops, and collapses in on itself. That’s something most people have felt in some form, even if they’ve never experienced anything supernatural.

The metaphysical elements become a kind of language for those internal experiences.
They’re heightened, but they’re not arbitrary. They’re grounded in something
real and recognizable. And that connection is what keeps the audience anchored,
even as the story moves into more abstract territory.

4. The film explores sexuality through closeted Albert whose heterosexuality is collapsing, what research did you need to do for that and how did you balance that emotion with that of his wife?

That’s a funny question for me (not because it’s a bad question!), because I didn’t
really have to do research. I drew directly from my own experience.

In many ways, the film became my own coming-out story. I didn’t fully realize it at the
time, but through writing and making the film, I came to understand that I had been hiding from my own bisexuality. So, Albert’s journey started as a concept, but it became much more personal as I leaned into that.

To ground him, I pulled from moments in my own life, particularly from a period when I was struggling with addiction. I experimented with my sexuality during that
time and hid it from everyone. That experience of hiding, of not being fully honest with yourself or the people around you, became a key emotional foundation for the character.

As for balancing that with his wife, even though we never really see her, I drew from
the reactions of people close to me during that time in my life. I understood
what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that kind of concern,
confusion, or hurt. That made it easier to imagine her presence and how that pressure would push Albert even further into isolation.

5. You have a UK and US release following a world premiere at Cinepride and a UK premiere at Grimmfest.

How did you celebrate knowing Shadows of Willow Cabin was going further than
the film festival audiences?

The first thing I did was call my best friend, Mike Kelly, who’s the executive producer and sole financier of the film. Honestly, it wasn’t so much an immediate celebration as it was a long
conversation about how to handle what was happening in the smartest way
possible.

Once we had that conversation, there was definitely a moment of stepping back and
acknowledging it, kind of a quiet “we did it” between the two of us. But I’ll be honest, I have a tendency not to fully celebrate milestones in the moment. I’ve made a point that when the film actually releases, that’s when we’re going to properly celebrate. That one’s going on the calendar.

6. You’ve previously worked on huge franchises, such as “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2” for Marvel Studios and playing Slappy in various “Goosebumps” projects, based on the work of RL Stine.

What was that like and how much and what are the benefits and disadvantages of
working on such franchises and what are they for working on a shorter, more
independent film?

The first thing to acknowledge is that my experience on those projects, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the Goosebumps project, was as an actor, and acting versus directing are completely different experiences.

As an actor, it’s a very vulnerable place. You’re focused on your performance, often
self-conscious, and there’s always that underlying fear that this will be your
last job for a variety of reasons. As a director, you’re the one steering the ship. Your attention is everywhere at once—story, performance, logistics—while also making sure the entire team is supported. It’s a very different kind of pressure.

That said, working on something like Guardians was incredible. Being immersed in those sets and costumes, and operating at that scale, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that very few
people get to be a part of. And getting to work with my friend James Gunn was a huge part of that experience.

What I didn’t fully realize at the time but really appreciate now as a director is how much I learned from him. He had this ability to run a massive, multi-million dollar production while still making it feel like you were just making something in your backyard (and I have literally made movies with him in his back yard!). That energy is something I’ve carried with me. It’s very much how I try to run my own sets now.

In terms of benefits, those large-scale projects give you exposure to a high level of craft and organization: you see how everything operates at the top tier. But the tradeoff is that they’re highly structured, massive, and require an army and fortune to accomplish. With that level of scale, you tend to have to compromise on creative control.

With independent films, it’s the opposite. You have full creative control, and the process is much more personal and immediate—but you’re also responsible for everything, and you’re working with far fewer resources.

For me, having experienced both has been incredibly valuable. It’s about taking the
scale and discipline of those larger productions and combining it with the intimacy and creative freedom of independent filmmaking.

7.     You’ve done all the English dubs of all four “Rebuild” films in the Evangelion franchise for Amazon and other dubs for Apple TV and Netflix.

Can you give us a little insight into what’s involved in this part of your
world, which isn’t looked at so much compared to other parts of the profession?

Dubbing is a fascinating part of the industry, and you’re right, it’s often overlooked. But it’s actually incredibly important, especially for English-speaking audiences. Unlike many countries that grow up watching dubbed content regularly, we tend to be very sensitive to
bad dubbing. So, the bar is high. If it doesn’t feel natural, audiences will watch with subtitles or turn it off.

What I love about it is that it’s like solving a giant puzzle. As a director, you’re doing all the things you normally do: working with actors, shaping performance, managing time. But you’re also dealing with a translated script that has to match the original actor’s lip movements and performance almost perfectly. The tone, the rhythm, the emotional scale—it all has to line up. You’re constantly adjusting dialogue so that it feels organic in English while still syncing to the original performance.

There’s also a technical side that I really enjoy: figuring out where certain sounds land, how to restructure a line so it matches the mouth movements. That level of detail is something I
genuinely nerd out on.

At the same time, it’s a very intimate process. It’s usually just you, the actor, and the engineer in a room, without the pressure of a full set or camera. That creates a space where actors can
really focus on performance, and where collaboration feels very direct and
personal.

While dubbing might not always get the spotlight, it’s a deeply creative and challenging craft, and one that I really love being a part of.

8.   Where can people follow and where can
people watch Shadows of Willow Cabin when it’s released to the general public
on 26th May 2026?

You can follow the film on Instagram at @ShadowsOfWillowCabin, and find more information.

#Interview with Mark Hampton on film – Unlicensed. Now showing on Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube #MarkHampton @Tom_Brumpton_PR

Interview with Mark Hampton on Film – Unlicensed

Interview by Louise Cannon

Unlicensed is released on Apple TV, Amazon and YouTube. Links can be found after the interview.
Unlicensed is a boxing movie, but not your typical boxing movie. This delves deeper into a character called Danny Goode, an insider trader and he has just been released from prison. Viewers get to follow his story, but has he learnt anything?
In the interview we talk about Danny Goode, how this is a very different type of film from other boxing movies, gambling, toxic masculinity and more… You can also see links after this interview as to where to find the film. I viewed the film before composing the interview and even if you aren’t totally a boxing fan, Unlicensed is still a very interesting, good, thought-provoking film, exploring worldly issues and second chances.

Welcome to Bookmarks and Stages. Mark Hampton.

  1. What got you into making short films?

I started making films at a very young age – my dad bought a video camera when I was maybe 8 years old, and I’d seen tv shows abut the making of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, so I was intrigued about how it was all done. A lot of those early efforts involved Lego! Then in my teens I remade Hollywood movies with friends after school – but I began in earnest a little over ten years ago, when I decided I needed to develop my skills as a story-teller. My first real short, A Walk in the Woods was a drama with a kind of fantasy flashback and almost no dialogue. I wanted to see if I could tell a story almost entirely visually.

  • Unlicensed is a film that takes a different look at boxing films, what inspired you to put a spin on things and look at secret gambling addictions?

It really came from a desire to see a different kind of protagonist in a boxing movie. Instead of the classic ‘working-class lad does good’ scenario, I wanted to take a character who’d had everything and lost it, and put him into the boxing ring. Danny was a successful trader on the surface but his addiction destroyed everything. His career, his family, his reputation. Gambling problems are common in the city – the high-stakes, adrenaline fuelled lifestyle is almost designed for addictive personalities, and addicts can be incredibly devious in the way that they hide their addictions.

  • There seems to be a plethora of gambling ads on tv nowadays and a large range of ways to gamble, instead of less as successive governments had promised, what impact do you feel this has on society and how have you fed this into your film to create a strong message?

Governments of all persuasions have been delinquent in their responsibilities to ordinary people, especially those who are vulnerable to gambling addiction. The gambling industry is incredibly lucrative – the CEO of Bet365 is the richest woman in the UK. A multi-billionaire. With that kind of money at stake the industry spends a fortune lobbying government to water-down regulation and prevent the gambling platforms from being held accountable for the damage they do. With Unlicensed I wanted to show the insidious effect of addiction – there’s one scene where everything that’s been hidden suddenly become apparent – that’s the nature of addiction, and the gambling companies keep getting richer because of it.

  • Danny Goode is an insider trader who becomes disgraced. How did you research a trading industry that is partly overt in its actions, but also partly hidden away from public view?

I worked as an auditor for one of the big accountancy firms and I used to audit a brokerage firm, so whilst I haven’t lived the life, I’ve literally seen the receipts. The wining and dining, the bars and clubs – it all part of the lifestyle and is expected of them to maintain their networks. The amounts of money being splashed around are eye-watering, and it’s not surprising that they get this sense of entitlement. I was an auditor around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, and it was shocking that these traders all made fortunes when the going was good, but it was ordinary people that suffered when it all came crashing down. 

  • The film cleverly shows the juxtaposition of lives between those who have moved on whilst Danny was in prison and Danny who thinks he can re-enter his family, friend’s, work colleague’s lives a though everything will fall into place, almost where he left off. How important do you feel it is to create such raw realism?

When we first meet Danny he’s just coming out of prison, but you can tell just by the look on his face that he hasn’t learned anything. He’s still got that city-boy cockiness and wants to pick up where he left off. Finding out that he can’t do that is a rude awakening and big part of his journey – which is to ultimately realise that there are more important things than himself.

  • Danny hooks up with Jon, who gives him a job in his restaurant and shows him his boxing community. How important do you think it was to show Danny being given opportunities against the odds to rebuild his life after his criminal past?

Jon, played brilliantly by Mark Tunstall, is a true friend, possibly the only one Danny has. He knew Danny before he became the hot-shot city boy, and he was never impressed by any of it. He’s just Danny’s mate and he’s there through thick and thin, an it’s only with Jon’s help that Danny is able to finally admit to his gambling problem. But as well as supporting Danny, Jon shows him a different view on what makes a fulfilling and happy life.   

  • Danny has a lot to prove as he builds a new reputation for himself, how do you hope this impacts the audience, that he doesn’t just walk into jobs and has to really work to get to a new place in his life?

It was critical for Danny’s journey that he is forced to face up to the things he’s done and the consequences of his actions on those around him. They say ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy’, and for Danny, the enemy is reality. His early confidence is quickly eroded as his options dry up and he ends up washing pots in Jon’s restaurant for some cash-in-hand. The fall from grace had to be huge enough to make the prospect of stepping into the boxing ring seem like his only way back, and even then it’s not an easy ride – Danny takes a few bruises on the journey to the big fight.

  • You show, in what is almost a side plot, attitudes of some successful men, such as a boxer, who thinks he can practically buy women with his wealth and expect something back with flash tips. What do you feel about men like this and how do you feel these attitudes should and could change?

Nicky Miller represents a kind of toxic masculinity and Jack Newhouse brought that to life superbly. Nicky’s views on women are wildly outdated and offensive but they’re the kinds of views that are being presented to boys and young men on social media all the time. What I think is important is that toxic influencers are exposed as a con and that we celebrate more examples of good, caring men and make them the models of masculinity.

  • Society can be quite materialistic at times, but how do you feel this affected Danny and what inspired you to show a change in him to focus on other priorities in his life?

Danny’s life before Unlicensed begins is really all about material things. He defines himself by what money he can make, what designer things he can have, and it doesn’t matter the cost. He starts breaking the rules to maintain the veneer of success but it eventually catches up with him and he loses everything. From the moment we meet him, he’s on a journey where he’ll have to let go of that old version of himself and realise the value of friendship, of family, of real work. 

What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?

I want audiences to believe in second chances and that people can change. I want them to feel like they’ve been on the journey with Danny, and seen that with people who care around you, there’s nothing you can’t overcome. I also hope they feel like they’ve seen a great boxing movie.

Where can people watch Unlicensed and what’s next for you?

Unlicensed is now available in the UK and Ireland on

AppleTV:

https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/unlicensed/umc.cmc.56mt07mknw8lwaikymxif3sz7

Amazon

And youtube:

I’m working on release plans for Unlicensed in other territories and starting to think about my next film, which is a high-octane heist movie called Five Cars.

https://www.instagram.com/hammyactor/

https://www.instagram.com/unlicensed_movie/

https://www.markhamptonofficial.com/

Thank you very much for your time.

Louise Cannon
Bookmarks and Stages