Wednesday 5 August 2009

Save Bletchley Park with Boffoonery!

The title says it all really.

Jason Gorman has managed to get some amazing events off the ground in the past couple of years and this one should be absolutely excellent. It's called Boffoonery! ("buffoonery for boffins") - a once-only comedy benefit gig to raise money for the extremely important wartime heritage site (Station X) and unique computing museum that is Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes.

Jason's partners in crime are comedy writer James Cary, whose credits include hit TV comedies like My Hero and My Family and who also writes the cult BBC Radio 4 sitcom Hut 33, which is set at Bletchley Park, and veteran TV and radio comedy producer David Tyler.

The show is still taking shape, but Jason is delighted to be able to confirm that Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf), Richard Herring (Fist Of Fun, This Morning With Richard Not Judy) and cerebral stand-up Robin Ince are on the bill. More big name comedians and comedy writers are TBA, so keep en eye out for updates.

The best way we can support Bletchley Park is to send a message to government and funding bodies about how much we care. If the show were to sell out, and sell out quickly, that would send a very clear message indeed.

And since you ask - yes, you can help. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday Aug 12th at 9am. Please help to spread the word and create a splash on Wednesday. Here are some of the ways you can help:

  • Buy your tickets on Aug 12th
  • Tell your friends and colleagues about Boffoonery!, and encourage them to buy their tickets on Aug 12th
  • Print off copies of the show's A4 poster, which you can download from www.boffoonery.com, and stick them up on your noticeboards at work
  • Blog about Boffoonery, and pass on these suggestions about how people can help save Bletchley Park
  • If you're a Twitter user, on the morning of Aug 12th send a tweet about #boffoonery and www.boffoonery.com, and RT any #boffoonery tweets that cross your path

It's going to be brilliant evening, and your kindness and generosity will ensure that generations to come will be able to see and experience the achievements of those brilliant boffins whose ingenuity saved 22 million lives and ushered in the information age.

You can find out more by visiting www.boffoonery.com, or following #boffoonery on Twitter or "boffoonery" on Facebook.

A pity there isn't a theatre big enough in Bletchley Park itself to host this event! That said, the Bloomsbury Theatre is easier for me to get to...

Don't forget: tickets go on sale on 12th August 2009 at 9am and the show takes place on Tuesday Nov 3rd.

PS other efforts to support the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park include this amazing URL Shortener called Station X. Keep up the good work, guys!