Customer Reviews

Fat Chance

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I read the book because I've been a Stephen Fry fan for years and had not heard about the event the book describes. Gray writes clearly and beautifully, brings you with him into the theatre world as he tells his side of the story, with some (understandable) frustration but without recrimination. I intend to read more of Gray's work.

I picked this book up as a fan of Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall who was curious to learn about the Cell Mates incident. Simon Gray's book is a well written and informative look at the process of play writing and theatre production. Although I chose this book to learn more about Stephen Fry, I was surprised at the kind of insight given by Gray about Fry and all the actors involved in the production. This is especially true in the case of Mayall, someone largely forgotten in the wake of the play's failure and is portrayed as vastly different than he appears to his fans. He is according to Gray highly emotional and uncomfortable being himself which is a stark contrast to his onscreen and onstage persona. i recommend this to anyone interested in the Cell Mates disaster, Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall.

This is great, if you are a fan of Rik Mayall or Stephen Fry, because you know the behind-the-scenes of a play and how these great actors operate.