The Third Policeman - Tour Poster & Full Video

And here, ladies and gentleman, it is ....

21/8/11 - The Third Policeman from Anna Gregg on Vimeo.

Ergo Phizmiz "Lullaby for a Sinking Submarine" out now on Headphonica

Take a deep breath and .........

Download this release with delicious artwork by Marian Reinig at the glorious Headphonica

New, free EP - Ergo's Disco Van Morrisons

Oh dear hell. Ergo's Disco Van is chugging into town again, with more slabs of disjointed mustard-groove to dance the night away in red hot shoes until you are dead.



This installment of the ongoing Disco Van series is called Ergo's Disco Van Morrisons, and is dedicated to all those musical artists who have their work stocked exclusively by supermarkets, putting themselves on a par with ready-meals and shrink-wrapped beef.

As the old saying goes, if music be the food of love, go to Tescos.

The Third Policeman - First shows and Times review

Well folks! We're back. "The Third Policeman" has premiered, much (very tired and rather intense) fun was had by all.

Audience so far have loved it and detested it, as indicated in the image above. Which is, of course, just the way we like it....

Today's issue of The Times featured a rather splendid review of the show, below...

This link will take you to a photo gallery of images taken by Claire Shovelton (the above image is taken from Claire's gallery).

The lovely Tom Ravenscroft has also been drumming up support for the show, via his 6Music show where he featured a ten minute mix of songs and music from The Third Policeman, and in his New Statesman column, where he writes:

"You should probably expect to be at first a little startled - the music will be wildly unpredictable as I suspect will be his actions. I would be almost concerned if you had witnessed anything like it before. He is a burst of imagination, colour and noise, which has in the past left me sitting jaw collapsed on the floor, speechless as to how someone can so beautifully map out such madness."



Read the full article here.

And finally, today's blog would not be complete without this image of the Gang of Rogues a few minutes before going our separate ways.

Many thanks to Caroline & Izzy, Bill, Anna, Nell and all the other lovelies of Tete-a-Tete...

And let's not forget thanks to the Third Policeman team Erik Bumbledonk, Vulnavia Vanity, Oblivian Substanshall, Martha Moopette, Mike Wade, Bryan Innes Parker, Lucinda Guy, Talulah Lotus & Autumn Poppy. See you for more shows from October to December......

The Third Policeman Podcasts and News....

There are two new Third Policeman podcasts for your delight and delectation...

First up is the Ergo Phizmiz Opera Mix, a selection of instrumental music from previous Ergo Phizmiz operas for stage, radio, film and puppets....



Secondly is a mix of music that has influenced the composition of the opera, mixed by Ergo Phizmiz.



And .... Tom Ravenscroft has written an article on the New Statesman blog about Ergo & The Third Policeman.

"If it's anything like his last [opera], The Morning Show, an opera about DJ Chris Evans going slowly mad and ending in him believing himself to be a crow, then I strongly advise you try and attend. For those of you unfamiliar with the work of Ergo, he is an exceptionally difficult fellow to describe, he has over the years produced a body of work that crosses over every kind of music and sound imaginable, and he can imagine considerably more than you or me."

Read the full article here.

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 6 - Fun With Shadows and Shapes

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 5 - Guest Post by Vulnavia Vanity

Reporting from the underneath of Grindia Studios, Bridport, is artist, actor, composer and raconteur Vulnavia Vanity, who plays the Protagonist in Ergo Phizmiz's "The Third Policeman".

Hello cheekies, it's Vulnavia here.

Is it about a bicycle?

  Of course it is. Why else would you be here were it not for the magnetic pull of the slender frame, the soft ring of the bell, the firm yet supple grip of the handlebars beneath your fingers, the hypnotic spin of the wheels?

Yes. The bicycle is truly a masterpiece crafted by the human hand, second only perhaps to the jam sandwich or the typewriter.
All this said, personally I have an irrational fear of riding a bicycle.

This stems from a traumatic experience in France when I was brave enough to mount a bicycle, only to discover that bicycle brakes are pretty damn strong, and when my little journey around the garden ceased to a halt, I fell onto the frame, crotch first.

My testicles bled.

It would give me copius amounts of pleasure to sail along the streets on a beautiful, vintage model with a little basket on the back to pick up bread from he boulangerie.

But I'm afraid this will never happen.

But at least The Third Policeman helps me live out my fantasies.

The rehearsal process has been very interesting thus far and has gone surprisingly smoothly, although we still have a terribly long way to go in four days. 

This is a role unlike I have ever played before, in the sense that a great percentage of the show I am interacting with other characters who are just recorded voices.

I've been exploring my characterzation quite extensively over the last week or so and have eventually discovered the Protagonist's physicality. In a style almost reminiscent of Bouffon Clown, the Protagonist has his deformity (the wooden leg) and this completely compromises how he moves, his stance and also his attitude. This yonder photograph captures it rather well:

To finish, we have also been playing with shadow behind the projection and have discovered taken some quite lovely images. Look at Grandma Vulnavia for example:

And Grampa:

Ergo & Oblivian dance:

And we say a tender hello to a newly dead friend.

Nanu-Nanu & all that, lovelies ♥

And here is Vulnavia Vanity in his prime, with his rather splendid single "Worse Things Happen at Sea"....

And resplendent in Ergo Phizmiz & Martha Moopette's "Barbette" from "Fulcanelli's Shoes"...

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Day 4

The Third Policeman rehearsals, Day 3, and Sounds From The Underground Chamber Podcast 2

The second instalment of the Sounds From the Underground Chamber podcast features Ergo, Erik & Vulnavia rehearsing the Finnucane section of The Third Policeman.

Autumn Poppy and Bubbles

Erik in flight

The coronation

Ergo throwing DeSelby shapes

I'm a robber with a knife

Oblivian & Ergo chat to Autumn, whilst Erik appears to piss up the wall

MacCruiskeen & MacCruiskeen

Sergeant MacCruiskeen throwing Freddie Mercury poses

Oblivian Substanshall arrives

Arguing over a manuscript

Talulah Lotus

Smiling Houmous

Terrified Vulnavia

The Third Policeman Rehearsals, Day Two, and first "Sounds From the Underground Chamber" podcast

Second day of rehearsals done and dusted, real progress made today....

We are delighted to introduce the first of a new podcast series "Sounds From the Underground Chamber", documenting the rehearsal process of The Third Policeman.

Erik Bumbledonk dies in a corner



Ergo & Erik look at a chair



Martha Moopette post-goosing



Erik stabs Vulnavia in the head with a ladder



Ergo demonstrates the art of throwing empty cans into a bin

Mr Phizmiz's pursed lipped coquettish look, just before a light fell on his head

Vulnavia in foxy mode

Building a puppet theatre and back projecting

Martha Moopette getting jiggy with the iron on glue

Vulnavia regarding a giant pair of underpants

Shadow puppets

Vulnavia hasn't managed to remove the ladder from his head

The Third Policeman Rehearsals Begin!

Oh yes. Today rehearsals for Ergo Phizmiz's electronic neur-opera vaudeville machine "The Third Policeman" began...

Erik Bumbledonk with beautiful flat cap / pony-tail combo

Bumbledonk looking pensive by a glove that has previously caused him pain

Ergo gesticulates and nobody looks

Bumbledonk recounts the plan of Divney

Ergo holds a bar for no reason

Ergo wears Mathers' fez and holds little tiny Mathers puppet

A pensive moment with Vulnavia Vanity and Erik Bumbledonk

Erik Bumbledonk sings and holds his penis whilst Vulnavia looks on

De Selby's nose

Ergo with the look of a madman

Vulnavia's latex fetish

And for an update on the splendid masks Martha Moopette & Mike Wade have been working on for the opera, you could do worse than head over to Moop's blog...

Tomorrow we construct the set, and await the imminent arrival of Oblivian Substanshall...