(SCOOP ADVISORY: Scoop has struck up a content partnership with a US based Lord of The Rings Website. http://theonering.net the following is the latest news stateside on the Lord Of The Rings cast with an extract from a soon to be published interview with Billy Boyd who has recently been confirmed for the role of Froddo's young friend Pippin.)

THEONERING.NET'S LATEST CONFIRMED CAST LIST

BILLY BOYD - BIO NOTE:

Bill Boyd has been working in the theatre in Edinburgh, working regularly to good reviews (see recent review in Sleeping Beauty below). A very versatile actor, he had done everything from pantomine to serious stage plays at the Edinburgh Festival. He'll be undertaking the role of Pippin, one of the four hobbits who feature at the centre of the story of 'The Lord of the Rings.' Pippin is a young friend of the main character Frodo. Pippin is something of a prankster, funny and slightly exasperating to the others on the quest at times. He starts out on the quest out of loyalty to his hobbit friends, and in search of adventure, yet he is unlikely material for a hero. The journey and his adventures will make him discover his own courage. - by Erica Challis, theonering.net.

BILLY BOYD - EXTRACTS FROM I/V

Xoanon Writes: "The good folks over at SFX mag have sent me over a small snippet of their recent interview with Billy Boyd. Boyd will play the young Hobbit Pippin in all 3 LOTR films. Here is what he had to say:

SFX: So just how tall are you?

BB: Five foot six, A wee bit taller than a hobbit.

SFX: And how do you feel about being shrunk down with computerized jiggery pokery?

BB: Well that's the thing - I'm not sure what exactly they're going to do with it. I think there will be times where they will use computers, but I think they're going to use more conventional means as well, trying not to swamp it too much with special effects because the story is so important.

The interview will be in the edition of SFX due out September 1.

BILLY BOYD - RECENT RAVE REVIEWS

The Sleeping Beauty
by Stuart Paterson
Directed by Hugh Hodgart

The Sunday Times…

demands to be seen by every adult - with or without a child in tow.

The Scotsman - Catherine Lockerbie….

This, a fantastically embroidered variation on the original, is classic Stuart Paterson territory. Here is a deep understanding of the developmental metaphors of the old stories, here is the Manichean battle between the queens of darkness and light (Irene MacDougal and Victoria Hardcastle on magisterial form), here is the robust and goody-goody heroine (Iona Carbarns, often bored and bolshie), here the wide-eyed, big-hearted boy (Billy Boyd, made for the part), here the insight into the real world of children.

Here too, in now established Lyceum tradition, are sumptuous production values: Gregory Smith's designs gliding from gloomy castle to gorgeous garden to Lewis Carroll-like dreamscape, Savourna Stevenson's music tripping and tumbling from Celtic to Eastern, the whole thing a sensual feast...For rich and powerful reworkings of ancient motifs, Stuart Paterson's Christmas plays remain irreplaceable.

The Herald - Mary Brennan…

richly and imaginatively written and staged and thrilling well acted by a cast that includes Irene MacDougall's resonantly viscous, throatily wheedling Talassa and a fire-snorting dragon of sparkling opulence.

The Stage - Thom Dibdin…

Magic, enchantment, glitter, knocking about, vulgar jokes, audience participation, hissable baddies and a strong love story. These are the things which good panto is made of. And this Hugh Hodgart-directed production at the Royal Lyceum has them by the bucketful.

Sleeping Beauty is Stuart Paterson's most audacious and successful Christmas show. He has added the stories of the Princess and the Frog and The Dancing Shoes to the usual tale to create a piece of theatre which is pleasingly light on the lovey-dovey stuff and packed with plot-driving action.

Irene MacDougal is brilliant (again) as the Wicked Witch. Of course she has all the best lines, but she delivers them with more venom than a cobra. All the characters have a very human element to them. But the subtle air of priggishness which Iona Carbarns brings to Beauty and the crabbiness which Kay Gallie gives nurse Mara stand out.

The acting is uniformly clear and confident (Billy Boyd as the Witch's boy and Paul Featherstone as various animals are particularly so), but the fantastical costumes and sumptuous set, designed by Gregory Smith, deserves special recognition, as does Savourna Stevenson's music. This production is, quite simply, the best.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

CONTACT ALASTAIR THOMPSON

• Mobile - 021707044
• Twitter - @althecat
• Google+

• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Email - alastair@scoop.co.nz