PAUL BASSETT DAVIES
Writer, director and producer Paul Bassett Davies founded The Crystal Theatre, whose pioneering multimedia work was acclaimed in Britain and Europe. He went on to create a series of one-man shows, winning awards at the Edinburgh Festival fringe, before becoming an author, screenwriter and broadcaster.
In television and radio Paul has worked with some of the biggest names in British comedy. He co-wrote and produced the award-winning BBC Radio 4 comedy Do Go On with Graeme Garden and Griff Rhys Jones, and wrote the radio sitcom At Home with the Hardys with Jeremy Hardy. His own sitcom, Reception, was broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in 2014. His radio plays have starred Bill Nighy, David Hemmings, Alison Steadman and Martin Clunes, and he has written music videos for Kate Bush and Ken Russell. Paul wrote the screenplay for the feature animation film The Magic Roundabout and is working on a film about counter-culture comic book heroes 'The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers', with their creator, comics legend Gilbert Shelton. He has also written and directed award-winning short films. Paul's first book Utter Folly (“A very funny novel" – Jack Dee) topped the Amazon Humorous Fiction chart, and was optioned for TV. His story The Spots is one of Six Scary Stories, Selected and Introduced by Stephen King. His novel, Dead Writers in Rehab, ("Warm, dirty, humane and funny," - Jeremy Hardy) was published in 2017. His third book is a dystopian comedy-thriller called Please do not Ask for Mercy as a Refusal Often Offends, and his new thriller, Stone Heart Deep, is published in summer 2021. Pre-order HERE and get a 20% discount. Paul also produces podcasts through The Writer Type, which take the inanities of self-help for writers to absurd extremes. Official website: www.thewritertype.com/ Paul is a director of Euroscript Ltd., and he was the Creative Director of the London Comedy Writers Festival in 2013. |
Q: What’s the worst film you could be stuck with on a desert island?
A: Love Story. Because I'd end up despising myself for crying at the end, every time. Q: What do you think is the funniest TV comedy? A: Family Guy for cartoons, Curb Your Enthusiasm for live action. Although Larry David is a kind of human cartoon character. Q: Who’s the most irritating TV personality? A: Piers Morgan. If humankind is advanced enough to send a man to the moon, can't we send another one, make it Piers Morgan, and then cancel the space programme? Q: Who’s your favourite director? A: Stanley Kubrick. I love all his work, especially the film most people don't like: Barry Lyndon, a masterpiece. And I love Nic Roeg, criminally undervalued by the British film industry. Q: What’s the fictional journey you’d most like to take? A: Easy Rider. But with a happy ending, where the rednecks drop acid and the protagonists (I'm Dennis Hopper) don't get shot. |