The Londinium Cast Does Things

Londinium is a novel in progress by Steph Diorio. Her cast likes to do stupid things when they're not working. That includes this blog even though the novel is set in 1863. The Society for the Preservation of Comedy and Satire does not exist.

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Saw this draw the squad base by @snuffysbox and it was basically Basil and Dustin and their height difference, so it happened. I’ll color it eventually, I swear.

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This is Algy Huddleston, founder of the Huddleston Players, a group of six writers and comedians that he named for his grandfather, an amateur Shakespeare scholar. I’ve talked about Algy and the Huddleston Players a bit on this blog before, but I think it’s worth bringing him up right now because the presence of the Huddleston Players in the story was inspired by Monty Python and Algy, in particular, represents Terry Jones, who we’ve tragically lost this past week.

Although I’ve probably drawn Will more than any of the others, Algy has always secretly been my favorite of the six. We work in the same field - Algy works at the British Library (then still part of the British Museum; it would remain so until 1973) under famed library director Anthony Panizzi and, as a historian by trade, spends most of his time doing something approximating archival work there. Algy basically does what I do for a living, so there’s a certain closeness I feel with him when I’m writing for him; I understand him and his work and his life because it’s mine.

Algy’s specialty areas are Classics and medieval history - his knowledge of Greek and Latin enables him to read medieval manuscripts and volumes with ease - and that, of course, comes from Terry, who was legitimately a historian with an emphasis on the medieval period (hence why Holy Grail itself is actually weirdly accurate in certain aspects compared to other depictions of medieval life or Arthurian legends). Algy tends to direct productions the Huddleston Players put on, and he’s a sharp researcher and phenomenal writer, but above all he’s devoted to bringing his friends together and keeping them that way. He’s the heart of the Huddleston Players, and that’s because of the genuine warmth Terry had (which Michael Palin has spoken to in many interviews and which absolutely obliterates my heart).

Londinium (and many other writing projects of mine) have been a way for me to celebrate the comedians I love so much, who were there for me in my formative years, and to keep their memories alive in my heart, and every time we lose one of them I cling just a little bit harder to these characters who represent the people who I hold in such esteem and admiration.

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They’re best friends, we promise.

(If you’ve never heard the honestly legendary rant that the phrase “ancient fucks” comes from, please watch Richard Ayoade tear everyone around him a new one here over a tray of candy as Noel Fielding almost dies next to him.)

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A brief, updated introduction to Basil and Dustin, as people seem to enjoy these two and we wanted to make sure people had a better sense of who they are and what they do. Together, they make a phenomenal comedy writing team and they have a delightful dynamic, but they’re no slouches apart, either.

Fonts used are Radiant Antique and Victorian Parlor. Click the images to see them in high resolution!

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Dustin continues to be one of the most relatable out of all of us by being shy around his girlfriend even after she becomes his girlfriend.

(Also of note: said girlfriend, equestrienne/singer/actress Mary Hutchins, wears her hair in somewhat of a Regency style solely because she likes it and enjoys looking unique. Considering her day-to-day wear is almost exclusively riding habits since she finds them more freeing and comfortable, this is one woman who definitely doesn’t follow the crowd!)

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In honor of The Goodies coming back for a one-off radio performance (what did we ever do to deserve this?), here’s a little bit of Londinium stuff that ended up not making it into the final narrative.

As is probably very, very obvious around here, Londinium’s main cast draws inspiration from notable figures in 1960s British comedy, and in earlier drafts and plot summaries this extended into the 1970s, as well. When it came time to really finalize the story, a lot of characters were cut simply because they didn’t fit into the larger narrative, which is why the only real groups you see represented in the Society for the Preservation of Comedy and Satire are the cast of Beyond the Fringe (the group jokingly referred to as the “Extravaganza Unit” - this is especially obvious with members Basil and Dustin) and the cast of Monty Python (the Huddleston Players).

However, in earlier notes, there were plans to include nods to The Goodies, as well as to double acts Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies. Since all three groups arguably reached their television zeniths in the 1970s, they ended up being shelved as characters, but I’ve still kept them around for potential side stories and whatnot. The first image depicts the Londinium Goodies, who never had a group name but very much have character names - L-R: Frederick Hagdorn (Graeme), Bertram Gilchrist (Bill), and Cyril Montfort (Tim).

The second and third images show hypothetical Victorian Ronnies and Victorian Morecambe and Wise - these characters never made it beyond vague ideas and were never officially named, but I drew these images earlier this year for myself to imagine what it might have looked like just for fun. Both pairs actually look rather cute and I’d love to someday work more with them and do some Londinium side stories using these characters as the jumping-off point.

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The other two members of Dustin’s piano trio, Martin Lushington (left; the timid-looking one with the violin bow) and Horace Billinghurst (right; the not-so-timid-looking one with the cello). 

(If you’re wondering why Dustin has a piano trio, which is sort of the 19th century equivalent of the modern jazz trio, this might explain things a little bit.)

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The Huddleston Players in the closest thing we’ll have to a formal portrait of them.

L-R: Norval Larkin, Algernon Huddleston, Will Conrad, Edward Griswold, Quinby Perch, Reginald Prescott.

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Dustin’s known for his Franz Liszt impersonation, but he’s more than capable of pretending to be other notable composers, too.

Top row, L-R: Dustin in his normal state, Mozart, Beethoven Bottom row, L-R: Paganini, Chopin, Liszt

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If Basil has this look on his face and you’re performing comedy with him, you’re probably on the ropes and he’s about to destroy you. You definitely don’t want to see this face.

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The author’s process for drawing her two leads summarized.

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The Huddleston Players.

In order: Algernon Huddleston, Will Conrad, Edward Griswold, Quinby Perch, Norval Larkin, and Reginald Prescott.

Algy wants us to include that the group is named after his grandfather, a Shakespearian scholar, and not after him. He really gets rather cross when people accuse him of naming the group after himself.

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Contrary to what early drafts of Londinium would have you believe, Basil is very much capable of smiling and showing amusement. He’s just also very good at hiding it when he has to and has a better deadpan than everyone else in the book, so he has a bit of a reputation as a stone face.

Just ask him to read The New Guide to Conversation in Portuguese and English (1855) out loud if you want to see him really, really enjoy himself.

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Happy 180th Birthday, Dustin Carter Thatcher (Jan. 7th, 1839)

“Did you sell the Devil your soul to play like that, lad?”

“Nah, Franz Liszt already owns it.”

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Today is the 180th anniversary of Dustin Thatcher's birth in Bethnal Green, London.

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This is the final page of the little green notebook that I've been taking notes on Londinium in since December 13th, 2004. It feels very odd to have finally filled the book to the brim.

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When I started writing Londinium 14 years ago today, I didn't expect it to be about comedy. It was originally intended to be a deep story filled with typical Victorian pathos and a lot of meaning. I was 15 and thought I could do that without it sounding cheesy. Basil was originally dead serious, unimaginative, and dull. Dustin was originally taller (5'8", then 5'7") and his role in the story was to more or less bring Basil around to having fun with life and not being so uptight.

The story evolved from there and I worked on it and the characters from time to time, with Basil starting to loosen up but still being somewhat stilted and overly-responsible and Dustin being, well, his goofball, music hall-loving self, but the major turning point came on January 2nd, 2007. I've always been a comedy aficionado, as most people know, and I was reading about double acts that day. My notes for the next day in the little green notebook I've been using since the day I started the project have the first mention of Basil and Dustin's inter-character and double act dynamic mirroring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. That realization has guided their characterization ever since. Basil is now an avid reader and phenomenal writer with a deadpan delivery and the ability to break other comedians with his eyes, and Dustin, who is now 5'2" and would be the best recital pianist of his generation if he didn't keep trying to be funny about it, is his most frequent victim. They write together on Friday nights and go after the main villain of the entire story by exposing his actions with a comedic revue written and performed with two other writers. They've gone from people who barely interacted to people who saw each other fairly frequently to best friends and writing partners who I couldn't imagine not knowing one another and being collaborators. They started out as two much more serious characters whose interactions were full of stilted symbolism, and now they write sketches and songs and make each other laugh hysterically and it's so, so much more meaningful than anything they were before because now they feel like real people.

I love them more than I can put into words here. They quite literally mean the world to me and are my favorite creations I've ever worked with - and I have hundreds of original characters. These two are, despite not being actual people, two of the best friends I've ever had. Here's to 14 more years, and hopefully somewhere in there a finished first draft and an eventual published book.