#186 Profanity-laden rhetoric
Weapons. Waffle. Whimsy. Workshops.
24 SEPTEMBER 2025
Hello.
Well, here we are again.
Are Wednesdays coming around quicker now?
Are there more of them in a week than there were a few years ago? I guess from a certain perspective that represents better value, especially if you like Wednesdays. But not if it comes at the cost of fewer Fridays.
This week, I hurt my back leaning provocatively over a kitchen counter.
These truly are the days of our lives.
Rule of one
[Film] Weapons
Jumping on the Weapons bandwagon. It’s one of those films where the less you know going in, the more you’ll enjoy it. So I’m not even linking to a trailer. Just know it’s a fun, scary time and the last 20 minutes are hilarious and visually stunning.
[Creativity] Kevin Smith
I’ve loved the director Kevin Smith since I first watched Clerks at a church sleepover thirty years ago (true story). And although I think his film career is wildly variable - his talent as a speaker, always standing without notes and chatting off the top of his head in response to audience questions, is nothing short of phenomenal. This video, where he exhorts the denizens of ComicCon to make more art, is a wonderful example of his profanity-laden rhetoric.
[TikTok] Fulla Regrets
The internet is obviously a double-edged sword, it’s incubated and lionised some of the most toxic behaviour imaginable. But it’s also given us immortal Hollywood doyens telling hilarious anecdotes packed with top-tier absurdity.
Spotlight
A quick reminder that we’ve launched THREE new workshops with amazing international improv teachers - Asaf Ronen, Timothy Yeo and Bianca Casusol. They’re all in October, they all rock and you can get an excellent saving if you book all three at once.
Asaf Ronen is putting on an Improv Diagnostics workshop in just a few weeks on Saturday 4th October. This has proven to be extremely popular so do get your ticket soon if you’re keen.
Timothy Yeo is offering his reflections on why relationships matter, something we’re particularly excited by at The Pretend Company as it forms the foundation for all our work.
And finally, Bianca Casusol will be here at the end of the month with a workshop about making scenes matter (a nice companion to Tim’s workshop, we thought). I took a class with Bianca in Birmingham earlier this year and literally emailed her to book a Pretend workshop the very same day. She’s phenomenal. Bianca will also be performing with the The Pretend Company at Hoopla on 1st November.
You can book any of these three hour workshops for £40 or book all three for £100.
BUT WAIT, as a valued reader of this newsletter - you can get an additional £20 off the three-pack with the code PRETEND FRIEND. That’s £80 total for nine hours of teaching with practitioners who are only in London once in a blue moon.
Hope to see you there!
Longform thoughts
One of the central tragedies of my life is that I love musical theatre but have no ability to either sing or dance. In the parlance of the West End, I am a single threat. A single threat to any musical I’m cast in.
Tips from a musical theatre fan who can barely hold a tune in A tone-deaf guide to musical improv.
Radio contact
Radio and Parsnip (together at last).