Actor Jennifer Lusk wants to know why she can’t play The Doctor in the BBC science fiction series, Doctor Who. 

“The Doctor is an alien with two hearts. Why can’t she be an alien with two hearts and two breasts“ she said. Lusk will star in a rom com set at a science fiction convention called Who Are You Supposed To Be? at the Edinburgh Fringe in August.

Co-star Cameron K McEwan, better known in Doctor Who fan circles as the owner of Blogtor Who agrees. “Don’t we all want to be the Doctor? Maybe it’s time for a woman to take the mantle. That’s part of what the play addresses.”

Originally conceived as a tribute to fans in the 50th Anniversary year of Doctor Who, the play’s themes became more relevant on the announcement of Matt Smith’s departure earlier in the month.

“Once Matt Smith and the BBC had made their official announcement, the first thing declared by the tabloids is that he would be replaced by a woman,” said Who Are You Supposed To Be? writer, Keith Gow. “And the online discussions quickly mirrored the conflict in the play. Jen’s character likes to dress up as the Doctor. Cameron’s character doesn’t want a woman, because of tradition.”

The show isn’t just about a woman playing the Doctor, though. It is, at its core, a love story where the characters initially bond over pop culture references. As well as love, the show also tackles the issue of anxiety – and how we cope outside our comfort zones.

“It was important to us that the show wasn’t just about Doctor Who jokes or Batman references. We’ve all got different sides and I wanted to make sure the show captured that,” said Gow. “It would be easy to make a show that relies on in-jokes, but we definitely want to appeal to everyone. So it’s for people who fall in love, people who have awkward moments. All of us.”

Lusk and McEwan are about to begin rehearsals on the play, which they hope to tour after the thirteen-show run at Edinburgh Fringe. Two months out from the premiere, they are also trying to raise a little bit more money for costumes and publicity, for which you can donate here.

“My character, Ash, is dressed up as Peter Davison’s Doctor throughout the show. We need money to get that costume right. That’s her character – she likes to dress up! She spends hours making these costumes. The show needs to get that right,” Lusk explains.

“I get to dress up late in the show as well,” said McEwan. “But I can’t tell you who I dress as. As River Song is so fond of saying, ‘Spoilers!’”

With a decision on who will replace Matt Smith still pending, are the creators of this World Premiere romantic comedy about fans and fandom worried that the BBC might be bold and actually cast a woman in the role? Would that change the show?

“Writing is re-writing,” joked Lusk. “If we have to make a change, we’ll be fine. But I think the argument might go on well after an announcement is made. Besides, if the BBC is so bold as to cast a woman as the Doctor, the most important thing is that little girls watching the show can look up and start to believe they could be the Doctor, too.”

Event Information:

Binka Boo Productions presents... Who Are You Supposed To Be? by Keith Gow. 

Starring: Jennifer Lusk and Cameron McEwan.
Directed by: Emrys Matthews.

C Venues – C Aquila, 14th-26th August 2013, 15:40pm.

Link: https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/who-are-you-supposed-to-be

[Source: Cameron K McEwan]

We’ve just had a creepy communiqué from our fearsome friends over at GrimmFest, Manchester’s International Festival of Horror and Cult Films. They’d like to remind you all that this year’s festival is almost here, and invite you to join them for a cornucopia of cinematic chills, chaos and carnage. The Festival commences on Wednesday October 3rd at the Plaza Super Cinema in Stockport with a special Preview Night Double bill of the critically-acclaimed chiller SINISTER and the much anticipated AMERICAN MARY, then runs from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th at the decadently art deco Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester. Even if blood and gore are not your thing, Lord and Lady Grimm inform us, there are a few film screenings in this year’s programme that should have a particular appeal to the Doctor Who Online community. 

The festival’s Opening Night Gala, on Thursday October 4th will be a double bill of London-based horror. First up, there’s the world premiere of COMEDOWN, the gritty new urban slasher movie from Mehnaj Huda, director of KIDULTHOOD, which marked the feature film screenwriting debut of Mickey Smith himself, Noel Clarke. Mehnaj will be there for a Q&A following the screening.

Second on the bill will be the riotous geezer gorefest COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES, starring such genre-familiar faces as Richard Briers, Honor Blackman, Dudley Sutton, Alan Ford, Harry Treadaway, and sometime Eastender and Bionic Woman, Michelle Ryan, who also got to show off her Lara Croft chops as aristocratic cat burglar Lady Christina De Souza in the “Planet of The Dead” episode of DOCTOR WHO. COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES, is written by James Moran, a rising star of British horror cinema, responsible for both TOWER BLOCK and SEVERANCE, as well as the forthcoming SILENT NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, which teams up gore sfx guru and horror legend Tom Savini, The League of Gentlemen’s Reece Sheersmith, and one of the leading figures in the new wave of US independent horror cinema, character actor AJ Bowen (House of the Devil, A Horrible Way To Die, etc). But James is equally well known for his TV writing. He wrote the classic “Fires of Pompeii” episode of DOCTOR WHO, which marked the first appearance of Karen Gillan in the show as a Roman Soothsayer - presumably a distant ancestor of Amy Pond’s - and the “Sleeper” episode of TORCHWOOD, featuring Nikki Amuka-Bird as a tormented “sleeper” agent from an alien invasion force. He was also co-writer of the 5-part TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH mini-series.  James will be attending the screening, so this will be a fine opportunity to pick his brains about his writing career and the various projects he’s worked on. 

There’s more WHO-connected horror on Sunday October 7th, in the festival’s closing film, STITCHES, a bloody black comedy in which a killer clown comes back from the dead to avenge himself. The film stars lugubrious Geordie comic Ross Noble, whose deadpan delivery has dominated many an episode of HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU, and Tommy Knight, who follows his droll and oddly touching performance as Sarah-Jane Smith’s otherworldly adopted son Luke with something rather darker. Ross and Tommy will be there, along with the film’s director and co-writer Conor McMahon for what promises to be an entertaining and informative Q&A.

Both screenings will be followed by aftershow parties, too, so there will be a chance to mingle. In short, it’s a hell of an opportunity to see some fearsome features, meet some creepy celebrities, and discover some of the darker places in the universe. The Grimm Team are waiting for you. Don’t you dare disappoint them, now...

[Source: GrimmFest]

Karen Gillan made a surprise appearance at Cannes Film Festival yesterday, sporting a breathtaking new look.

The Doctor Who star, who has just completed her final scenes on the show, was pictured wearing a etherial white mullet dress with bright neon yellow-heeled shoes. Gillan was also spotted with a new hairstyle, which DWO are dubbing 'The Edinburgh Fringe'.

Karen was in town to promote her first major film, 'Not Another Happy Ending', which you can help fund here.

After sharing the released image [pictured right] with our @DrWhoOnline Twitter followers, we were deluged with comments from fans whose breath was literally taken away by the stunner from Inverness.

[Sources: DWO; Cannes Film Festival]