A Saturday well spent...

Just a brief note on my weekend!

We were lucky enough to get tickets for +backtothetheatre event at the Custard factory on Saturday! This meant we had to wake up nice and early (normal Saturday practise for us) to get to Birmingham Markets to sort out our food for the week. I really do Love the Birmingham markets, but not so much when I’m hung over -_-.

Treated it as a smash and grab and armed with our shopping list, got into town, got the things we needed and dashed home in time to shove some food in our mouth and head back out. Met our lovely friends squeaky and Gitzy and mooched down to Digbeth in time to collect tickets, posters and be seated. Firstly, the venue was amazing. A lovely little movie theatre in the middle of the Custard Factory. Small, but comfortable and in good order. There were first rate movie props from Re-animator on the stage (the half woman talking corpse from ROTLD and “THE” Head from Reanimator) as well as a trioxin barrel, Tarman head and gravestones strewn about. On each seat was a plastic goody bag which contained a copy of Shock Horror magazine, some flyers and a freebie. I got the fabulous badge you can see above. I am donning THAT at Scifi Weekender!

The first event of the day was a Q&A with Graham Humphries. What a lovely guy! Talked about his experiences of creating the iconic posters and covers for Nightmare on Elm Street, Evil Dead, Dusk till Dawn and all sorts! We fired questions from the crowd and he answered honestly and truthfully about his long career and working with the greats. Next was the signing. As we were one of the first 50 to book, we got a ltd edition poster which Graham gratefully scribbled on for us. He took the time to pose for photos with everyone who asked and was just genuinely nice.

Then came the reanimator screening. Great quality audio and video and totally wonderful to watch a film with a likeminded audience. We laughed and cheered together during the film and had a whale of a time. You could take in your own food and drink, so people were cracking open beers and sharing packets of sweets – a great atmosphere.

After the break (and the beer run), came the Q&A with Don Calfa. He is not a young man, but exuded positivity and excitement. Even though he was deaf as a post, he answered questions animatedly and candidly throughout the session – offering little titbits and gems of stories from the whole of his career.

Following this came a short talk from Steve “Mitzy” May and Gary Smart (author of “The Complete History of the Return of the Living Dead” – shortly to be reissued). Fascinating stuff – especially for a total novice when it comes to cult Zombie movies. A history of the trials and tribulations behind the titles and the “difficult” franchise (varying quality from the Sublime to the Ridiculous). This made the following screening even more engaging and I think even hardened ROTLD fans learned something and took something new away from the film.

The final part of the day (after I had bagged a free DVD of “Dragon Wasps”) was the Don Calfa Signing. Again, a wonderful guy who had time for everyone and didn’t rush anyone. Some people had taken 4 or 5 items for signing, but no complaints or ego were felt and everyone just seemed to be happy and excited. There was a quiet drink with Don afterwards, but after a long exciting day – I just needed to go to bed.

On that note, I urge to check out #backtothetheatre events. We heard a whisper of the theme of the next one – and quite frankly – it’s already on the calender!