Martin Pearson’s The Unfinished Spelling Errors of Bolkien, is a solo, theatrical, musical performance of Lord of the Rings. Kate Loughmane of the Waiheke Gulf News, NZ, gives us an inkling of what it’s all about when she writes in her review of a performance:

From the opening, when the audience was invited to draw close to the stage and practice dwarven battle cries, it was obvious that this was a special show indeed... Pearson’s tongue in cheek re-telling of the story is interspersed with hilariously incongruous musical parodies, which give all the characters (including the Balrog) their turn in the spotlight. There’s a rendering of “The Road goes ever on and on” done in the style of John Denver, while Legolas and Gimli sing a Cole Porter duet… The Unfinished Spelling Errors of Bolkein is certainly a show worth seeing; especially if, in an idle moment, you ever wondered what an all orc chorus of “My Fair Lady” would sound like.

I caught a packed performance of the show at the Canberra Folk Festival over the Easter weekend and, although about as far from the stage as was possible while still being considered at the festival site, thoroughly enjoyed the show. I’ve also caught Martin’s performances at the Woodford Folk Festival.

When the CD of the show was finally produced, I couldn’t resist the temptation to let Visions readers know about the man and his talents.

So, Martin, tell us about yourself.

Martin Pearson, folk singer and comedian, fantasy illustrator and general smartarse. The first two actually make me a living these days, the second two are hobbies. Folk singer/comedian is a niche market if ever there was one, but there are enough festivals around the country to keep me busy. I have been performing for fifteen years now in every state and territory, and recently returned from three weeks in NZ. I have been a folk singer for much longer than that, since I was sixteen I guess, when I discovered Eric Bogle and a nylon stringed guitar almost at the same time. Comedy came much later, when the introductions to the songs finally got longer than the songs themselves and I inadvertently became a comedian.

Will you be at Woodford this year?

Yes, and I have promised the complete "Bolkein" show for the gang up there. Last year I had only parts one and two ready, but of course, I premiered all three at the National Folk Festival (Canberra, Easter) this year, and so shall return with all three parts intact. Lucky for me!

What's your itenary for the rest of the year?

I am appearing at a slew of festivals, Jamberoo (NSW), Maldon (VIC), Braidwood (NSW), back to NZ for a couple of weeks and then Woodford. As well as doing The Boite in Melbourne and sundry other gigs up and down the country.

What’s the Tolkien CD all about?

The CD is a live recording from the Merry Muse folk club in Canberra. It is a comparison of book and film with nine new songs, parodies in fact. The idea is that the movie would have been so much better as a musical — a sort of, Baz Lurhhman/Peter Jackson collaboration. So, I took the liberty of writing a few songs.

How was it received by a live audience?

The audiences have all gone nuts, especially the Canberra and Woodford gangs. The three Canberra shows were sell outs, people hanging from the rafters. The venue was full an hour before the concert and one couple told me they had arrived at 2 to see the 7 o'clock show!

What stands out for you about performing this sort of thing? Any funny, heartstopping, embarrassing, or ecstatic moments?

Nothing embarrassing that couldn't be put straight onto the CD. There is a secret section of out takes at the end, some heckling, some stuff ups. The premier of the third part at Canberra was interesting. It was, literally, the first time I had performed it, and here's this 2000 strong crowd bursting the seams on the tent. It wasn't exactly scary — the Canberra crowds are wonderful — but certainly exhilarating.

What do you think of LOTR?

I have read the book every year since I was about 13 and I loved the films. Jackson gave us all of the important visual scenes that were needed, and did an amazing juggling job to get the script whittled down. Very impressive. I came out of the ROTK thinking I would probably never see a better film. It would require someone to write an equally impressive book and then another small nation to obsess on turning it into a film. It may never get done, but if it is I won't mind, because I will just have watched a really good film!

Are we likely to get a Harry Potter CD?

No. I've never understood the comparison between Tolkien and Rowling. Rowling is a good author and tells a decent yarn and I've read the books and seen the movies. They are all good. But Tolkien takes one back to the beginning of the written word in the west, The Prose Edda and Beowulf. There is a real feeling of antiquity and layered histories piled deeper than the reader might ever sift through. Rowling is highly derivative, and takes us back to Tolkien, Lewis, Tom brown's school days and, possibly, puberty.

Are you interested in other science fiction/fantasy things or is this just a one off?

I love SF/F of all kinds. Have done since I was tiny and read The Hobbit and Nargun and the Stars in the same week. Good week that was! I devour SF/Fbooks of all kinds. Terry Pratchett is, of course, the funniest man in print and a fine philosopher to boot. I'm currently reading by author, to fill in any gaps I may have missed. David Gemmell and Jack Vance are my authors de jour. I'm also reading the graphic novel Bone which is turning out to be a delight, and catching up with some old 2000AD stories, namely Zenith. I will go to see Riddick and I, Robot, although I dread to think what they have done to the three laws of robotics. Also, the Melbourne International Film Festival is on, and includes a whole sub section of Studio Ghibli films. For those who haven't watched Spirited Away yet, lucky you, you get to see it for the first time.

What else do you do?

I'm also a fantasy illustrator and cartoonist. I've sent a picture or two for your perusal. This is something I do as a hobby for my own enjoyment, but I've always been rather keen to illustrate a book or graphic novel. Maybe one of your author's has something on the boil.?

Do you read much Australian SF?

I may well have read Australian SF, but the only title I remember as being Australian was ... um, "slipstream silver", does that sound right? [Splashdance Silver by Tansy Rayner Roberts — ed]. Dark City [Film, directed by Alex Proyas, made in Australia for New Line Cinema — ed] I believe was Australian, and beat The Matrix hands down for creativity. I honestly don't pay much attention to where things are created. I promise to be more attentive in future.

SF is the cornerstone of Hollywood blockbusters and computer games. Is there much going on in the way of performance and music for SF, that you’re aware of?

Nope, there don't seem to be any crossovers between folk music and SF. Although some of the songs I sing go back so far that science fantasy was referred to as biography. There is a book that refers to The Witch of the Westmoreland [Song, lyrics by Archie Fisher, recorded on: "Between the Breaks - Live!" Stan Rogers, 1979 — ed] and of course Julian May uses Caledonia (by Dougie McClean) as the anthem for a planet in Diamond Mask

How involved are you in the sf community in Australia?

Not at all, other than being a consumer of SF/F

Have you ever been to an SF convention? Would you consider doing a short performance at a convention if somebody asked you?

I never have, but I would love to go. Sounds like fun. I'm not given to short performances, even the introductions go for 10 minutes, and the Tolkien show is 2 hours long! But if I am asked, I shall rise to the occasion I'm sure.

You can get copies of The Unfinished Spelling Errors of Bolkien by contacting Martin Pearson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .