Wing & a Prayer Productions

Alas, Tim didn't manage to make it all the way but the judges (Academy Award winner, Nick Park; actor David Suchet; composer Martin Kisko; Empire critic Nev Pierce; BBC producer Anna Cox) were impressed with the quality of his first ever attempt at video making and by Tim's passion for film. 

David Suchet confidentally declared 'I'm going to watch films made by Tim Crooks one day'.

And, as endorsements go, that's not a bad one to have.

Tim's entry for 'The Pitch' film competition, entitled 'Home Truths', is one of ten film ideas selected for the final round. 

This Saturday will see Tim join the other finalists in travelling to Pinewood Studios and pitching his idea to a distinguished panel of judges including actor David Suchet and four time Academy Award winner, Nick Park.  Three successful competitors will then be invited back the next day, with the overall winner being announced on Monday 18th January.

More details can be found at www.enterthepitch.com .

Tim is currently on a shortlist of 30 for the short film competition, 'The Pitch'. 

The winning pitch will receive £20,000 worth of equipment and expertise to turn their idea into a short film.  The film will then be taken to Hollywood and the winner flown out to receive advice and guidance from Ralph Winter (producer of 'X-men' and 'Fantastic Four').

To make it to the final shortlist of 10, Tim now needs every vote he can get before December 31st.  Go to 

www.enterthepitch.com

to view Tim's pitch, 'Home Truths', and to cast your votes.

Thank you!

The Broadway Theatre, Barking are staging one of Tim's scripts next week.

The script in question is a sitcom pilot, entitled 'Bound'.  Without giving too much away, it involves hostages, fundamentalist terrorists and a pair of tweezers.

'Bound' is to be performed as part of Broadway's 'Script This' evening, along with four other pieces.  The favourite script will be asked back at a later date.

Tim's story, 'Sympathy for Rodentkind', is now published in the collection, 'What I Learned from the Cat.' 

To find out more details visit the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' website. 

Copies of the book can be purchased from Amazon (Can't everything?).

Tim's memories about his childhood in war torn Beirut are now published on the BBC website as part of the 'My Story' competition.

To read the piece, entitled 'Louder than Firewaorks', click here.

The standing joke in the Crooks household is that Tim plays on the playstation all day while the cat walks across the keyboard and produces the scripts.

The joke has come a bit close to home.  On a whim Tim entered a piece to 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' about the cat's rat catching prowess-and it's been selected for publication.  Appearing in a collection entitled 'Things I learned from my cat', Tim's story will be published in the States on the 22nd of September.

Tim confesses that he's never actually read a CS4tS book (and doesn't have much intention of starting now-no offence to those who are avid fans) but it was good fun writing some prose for a change. 

Tim's two entries to the 'Hydrae Theatre New Writing Festival' unfortunately failed to go all the way.  However, one of the plays, 'A Fantasy Too Far', was highly praised by the event organisers.

The plot involves a pornographic model stepping out of the centrefold and into the living room of one of her admirers.  The eight minute play explores the darker side of pornography and dismantles the web of lies which porn users weave around themselves.

Tim's first pantomime, a Robin Hood themed romp entitled 'Off Target', is currently touring primary schools around England, from Gloucester to Hull.

The pantomime was commissioned and is being toured by Alligator Theatre.  The tour is expected to continue into the New Year. 

Tim's one act romantic comedy, 'An Operation of the Heart', has been selected as one of three plays to be performed in the inaugural 'Thrice as Nice' new writing festival.  The festival is  instigated by 'The People's Playhouse' theatre company and will be performed at South Hill Park, Bracknell.  All proceeds will go towards helping fund the cost of performing arts courses for those who couldn't otherwise afford it.

The play itself was conceived and written in the space of twenty-four hours (just to see if it was possible).   It deals with the perils of trying to chat up someone whilst conducting open heart surgery.  The script has been described by the judging panel as 'funny, original, charming' and 'well written'.

Further details and tickets can be obtained by clicking here .

'A Widow's Tale', a dramatisation of the book of Ruth, is now available to buy from 'Lazy Bee Scripts'.

To purchase a copy click here.

'A Widow's Tale', a dramatisation of the Old Testament book of 'Ruth', has been accepted for publication by 'Lazy Bee Scripts'.

The play was originally performed in May 2006 as part of the East Reading Festival and an estimated five hundred people are thought to have seen its two performances.

There is, at present, no date announced for publication.

For further information about 'Lazy Bee Scripts' click here.

BBC 7 has chosen some of Tim's sketch material to broadcast as part of their current series of 'Tilt', the topical sketch show. 

The sketch chosen for tonight's episode is entitled 'Movie Mutton', a trailer for a film which looks at the perils of substituting fairytale pigs for more politically correct animals. 

'Captive Audience' received its world premiere this week at the Oakwood Theatre in Woodley, playing to a packed house.

The first draft of ‘Captive Audience’ was written in 2006 for an international play competition.  Alas, it didn’t win.  But, never wanting to let his writing be wasted, Tim did a re-write and sent it out to theatres around the country (and also, adapted for radio, to the BBC).  By and large the feedback was favourable (The Beeb’s main criticism was that it ‘read like a stage play’) but it didn’t fit what anyone was after at the time.  Tim decided that, if no one else was going to put it on, he’d have to do it himself.  So, with the help a very dedicated and professional crew of people, that's what happened. 

The performance starred Calum Eades, Shely Ganguly and Pete Jeavons  (as well as Tim) and received a rapturous welcome.  The theatre was sold out for the Monday night (with many potential punters being sadly turned away) and over 75% full the following evening.  There was considerable press interest with coverage in the Reading Evening Post, Wokingham Times and Woodley Chronicle; not to mention an interview with Tim on BBC Radio Berkshire.   

The play itself is about the sinister forces at work beneath the surface of British society and encourages the audience to think again about who is influencing the way they think.  It is set at the Headquarters of the fictional company, Advertising UK.  However, while the company’s line of work is clearly advertising, it soon becomes evident that this is no ordinary business.  Advertising UK doesn’t advertise products on behalf of anyone else.  Rather, they are a highly efficient propaganda machine, using other advertising companies, the media, politicians, etc to sow their agenda of apathy and delusion at all levels of society.  Their aim: to completely inoculate the public to the truth of what is happening around them-to achieve, in effect, a captive audience.

As part of their bid to attain complete ‘market saturation’, the executives decide to interview a member of the general public in order to better understand the mindset of those that they are trying to reach.  Initially this strategy seems to deliver the desired results but the members of Advertising UK end up discovering that the consumer is a tougher nut to crack than initially anticipated.

‘Captive Audience’ is a topical play for our times.  It is amusing while, at the same time, challenging and disturbing; rather like the nation it describes.  It contains an unspoken appeal to the audience to wake from the malaise which dominates modern life and cuts to the very heart of what it means to be human.

What the critics said:

'An accurately observed, quirky comedy...  ...takes a wry look at the human condition'.  (BBC Writersroom)

'Slick and stylish dialogue.' (Paines Plough Theatre, London)

'...Playful and irreverent.  The dialogue is  polished, engaging and  lively.' (Royal Court Theatre, London).                               

Encouraging feedback has been received from SAT7 TV, the Arabic satellite channel.  Tim wrote a sitcom series for the station in 2005/06.  Having gone through the lengthy review process the scripts have been deemed worthy of production.  The Director of Programming said 'The scripts are top-notch, and we really would love to see this on our screen.' 

At the moment the channel is trying to see if the necessary funding can be found to put the series into production.  Watch this space for more details.