Review of 'Tony Robinson - No Cunning Plan'

http://writeon.kew.org/events/no-cunning-plan

Tony Robinson was at the Write on Kew festival to promote his new “No Cunning Plan” autobiography that was released only a few days previously. For about 45 minutes Robinson talked about his early days as a child actor then ended with him talking about his big break as an adult in Blackadder with Rowan Atkinson. He interspersed his talk with readings from his book which he vividly brought to life for the audience of about 60. At the end he put aside some time for the audience to ask questions.

I found the event quite interesting as I had little knowledge of his early life and some of his early influences. For example, he said that he went to drama school very full of himself thinking that he knew everything having been a child actor but being told when he got there that he would have the toughest time of anyone because he would have to unlearn what he had learnt as a child actor - The very strong “here I am” of child acting was nothing like what an adult actor needs to be. “You have to go on stage and convince the audience that you are a human.”

Robinson is a great speaker and kept the entire talk quite fun and exciting. He did indicate this was the first talk he had given about his book and to feed back to him at the book signing that followed (ok, perhaps quite a few quotes, but he read them very well and it was just like listening to him just chatting). The audience was very attentive and appreciative.

The venue was “Cambridge Cottage” on the edge of Kew Gardens near Elizabeth Gate. It was quite small and very tight for the full house but the bay windows overlooked a small private garden. Very nice and peaceful - Very good for such an event.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2016-09-25

Location: London (England)

Address: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB

Public Transport: Kew Gardens Kew Gardens

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8332 5655

URL: http://www.kew.org/

Wonderful place to visit with extensive gardens as well as the famous pagoda, the lake, and greenhouse with a very long history. The new treetop walk is also a great thing to do. Worth spending a good amount of time just wandering around - A day well spent.

There are a number of annual events held here including the Orchid Festival, “Kew the Music”, “Write on Kew” and,“Christmas at Kew”.