Christopher Green (writer-performer)
Christopher Green (born c. 1968 in Matlock, Derbyshire) is an English writer and performer whose work covers comedy, cabaret, theatre and live art.
Background
Green was born in Sheffield and grew up in Darley Dale and lives and works in London, England.[1] His characters include country music singer Tina C and pensioner rapper Ida Barr. Green got into comedy via television production and acting, after graduating from Goldsmiths College (University of London), with a degree in Drama and English.[1] He is perhaps best known for his work as a character comedian, in a range of personas, and has toured worldwide to venues such as The Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House.[2] Green hosts, writes and performs original music and material in a range of venues from nightclubs, corporate events for companies such as Diego, American Express, Tiffany, Bloomsbury, and MTV to private parties. Performing as one of his characters Tina C, Green has presented his own TV show, and is currently working on a fourth Tina C BBC Radio 4 series and one as pensioner rapper Ida Barr.
Main characters played
Tina C. is a faux country music singer whose performances cover a range of topics including sexual politics ("No Dick’s As Hard As My Life"), geo-politics ("Tina C’s Twin Tower Tribute"), and her bid to run in the 2008 presidential race in her show called "Manifesto".[3] In a 2007 commission from the Adelaide Cabaret Festival for "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" Tina solves the Aboriginal tensions down under. A new series of the Tina C. BBC Radio 4 series was broadcast in late 2011, entitled Tina C, from Middle America to the Middle East. On 3 December 2015, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the first episode of a four-part series, Tina C: Herstory, which purported to trace the fictional character's life-story in words and music, with Dr Raj Persaud playing himself as the episode's guest interviewer.[4][5]
Another character played by Green is Ida Barr, a selfproclaimed "world's first Music Hall singer turned RnB rap superstar" [6] who has performed her two solo shows, "Artificial Hip Hop" and "Get Old or Die Tryin’" all over the world, on various UK tours, and on a variety of media. Artificial Hip Hop, the BBC Radio 4 series,[7] was broadcast in late 2010.
As his cultural critic character Jedd O’Sullivan Green hosted a tour of Seduced, Surreal House and Japanese Fashion at the Barbican Art Gallery.
Christopher's new comedy character is Derek Diamond. Host of The Razzle Working Man’s Club, top comedian and stage hypnotist. Derek performs a highly skilled 40 minutes hypnotic routine that turns the audience into stars.
Installation events
Green has been commissioned to create events for the V&A, Tates Modern and Britain, the Barbican Art Gallery, the NPG, the Southbank Centre.
He has been invited to be the British Library Artist In Residence 2012 where he "will be investigating the history of hypnosis in the Library’s collections".[8] Christopher is a trained clinical hypnotherapist and stage hypnotist.
Music, TV, and film
Green is a prolific songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. He was music researcher on The Word and music producer on many other 1990s pop shows.
In addition to Tina C’s series Yanky Panky, notable work includes script and song writing for Sesame Street, appearances in Horne & Corden, as well starring roles in films The Queen’s Sister (as Danny la Rue) and Henry the 9 (as Prince Harry). Green has just appeared in the short film Liberty Cherie made by Superamas Theatre Collective in Vienna.
Current projects
- Regina & Rex: a new double act, with glamour legend Rula Lenska playing Chris’ mother
- A Silent Night? A Yuletide ghost story play, collaboration with Sarah Waters
- Carrying Lead, sitcom for UK TV, developed with Jellylegs
- My Way of Joking, one-man multi-character show, premiering the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, June 2011
- Love-In, director of the new show by clowning comedy sensations Spymonkey
List of past Tina C. and Ida Barr Theatre Shows
- Ida Barr: Last Christmas (Possibly) - Dome Theatre Brighton (2010)
- Tina C. Come Touch An Icon - Touring (2010-)
- Ida Barr: So This Is Christmas... - Barbican Theatre (2008)
- Tina C: Tick My Box - Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2008) and UK Tour
- Tina C: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - Adelaide Cabaret Festival (2007)
- Tina C: I'm Dreaming of a White Trash Xmas - Barbican Theatre (2005)
- Tina C: Being Me - Cape Town & Edinburgh Fringe (2005)
- Tina C’s Manifesto Show - Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2004) and UK Tour (2005)
- Just Doing It For The Love - Sydney Opera House and Soho Theatre (2004)
- Life’s A Beach - Xmas Show (2003)
- Lifestyle Guru - Komedia Brighton, Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2003)
- Tina C’s Twin Towers Tribute - Edinburgh Fringe, UK tour, Melbourne Comedy Festival, New Zealand Comedy Festival (2002)
- Yule! 2 - Christmas show (2001)
- Don’t Love Me Too Much -Australia and USA (2001)
- Yule! Christmas show (2000)
- Leaving On A Jet Plane - Edinburgh Fringe Festival and UK Tour (1999)
- Rhinestone Cowgirl - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, UK Tour, Australian Tour (1997)
- Ida Barr’s Artificial Hip-Hop UK Tour 2005 - Soho Theatre, London & Spiegeltent Edinburgh Festival (2004)
- Winged-Backed Christmas - Christmas show (2004)
- Ida Barr - Pleasance, Edinburgh (2002)
Awards
Green won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment 2004 for "Duckie's C’est Barbican!", a show which he devised and co-wrote with Mark Whitelaw, Ursula Martinez, Marisa Carnesky, Francesca Baglione and Simon Vincenzi, and with a score by Ian Hill, which was performed at the Barbican Pit.[9]
External links
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/video/2008/aug/21/tina.c Video of Tina C, aka Chris Green, talking about her show "Tick My Box", and her campaign for the US presidency.
- http://www.christophergreen.net Christopher Green's official homepage, includes full lists of other theatre/Film/TV and Radio productions by Green
- http://www.comedycv.co.uk/tinac/index.htm
- http://www.tinac.net Official Tina C. page
- http://www.idabarr.net Official Ida Barr page
- http://www.duckie.co.uk Another project of Chris Green
- http://www.norfolkhospice.org.uk
References
- 1 2 BBC (2004), Derby Blast/When Thomas met Tina, BBC, retrieved 2008-08-22
- ↑ Sellar, Tom (2007-12-16), "New York Times", The New York Times, The New York Times, retrieved 2008-08-22
- ↑ Artshub.com.au, 06 05 2006, retrieved 2008-08-22 Check date values in:
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(help) - ↑ Producer: Victoria Lloyd (3 December 2015). "Tina C: Herstory, Episode 1". Tina C: Herstory. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ↑ Megarry, Daniel (3 December 2015). "Christopher Green talks country music, feminism, and Tina C's Herstory". Gay Times. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ↑ IdaBarr.net, retrieved 2008-08-22
- ↑ Producer: Claire Grove. "Ida Barr: Artificial Hip Hop". Ida Barr: Artificial Hip Hop. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ↑ Christopher Green: British Library Artist in Residence 2012, retrieved 2012-02-09
- ↑ "Olivier Winners 2004". Retrieved 3 December 2015.