The Paley Center in New York is to host a special event next month: How It All Began - An Evening with Waris Hussein. As the title suggests the event will see Doctor Who's first director, Waris Hussein appearing to chat about the origins of the series.


The event is co-presented with Who York and the New York Comic Con, and takes place at the Paley Center on Tuesday 10th April, from 7:00pm. For booking details and other costs visit the event website.

Daleks will be invading navy-related museums in England over the next few months.

The Dalek Invasion of Portsmouth on Sunday 6th May will see an army of Daleks built by enthusiasts descend on the Royal Marines Museum in Portsmouth. Museum spokeswoman Clare Chapman told Doctor Who News that the idea for it came following the success of similar events held in previous years at partner establishment the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton (pictured right).

Special guest appearances - yet to be confirmed - will also be made at the Portsmouth event, and there will be photo opportunities with the Daleks. In addition, traders will be in attendance and a Dalek hunt will be held around the museum, while a fancy-dress competition will see prizes given to children who have the best sci-fi outfits.

The Fleet Air Arm Museum will be hosting its own Dalek Invasion over the weekend of 18th and 19th August. As well as a host of Daleks, visitors will also get to see Davros, Miss Hartigan, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, a Pig Slave, and a Screaming Angel among the attractions. In addition, a short play called The Master Strikes Back will be staged and a "Doctors versus Daleks" quiz will be held. Traders and celebrities are also promised.

A "March of the Daleks" will take place at the end of each day, with the Dalek army and "friends" parading through the Fleet Air Arm Museum and assembling under its Concorde for a huge photo opportunity.

United Kingdom:

Toby Hadoke's stage show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf arrives in Neston on 30th March, and students from the local high school helped promote the event by dressing up as the Doctor and a Weeping Angel to 'frighten' shoppers at Sainsburys! [AboutMyArea, 9 Mar 2012]

You can find a list of Toby's performances around the country in our earlier news item. Toby has notified us of an error that crept in:

Sunday 11th March would have seen writer and script editor Douglas Adams turn 60, and tribute has been paid in a lengthy feature that takes a look at his close links to Cambridge. Adams was born there, read English at St John's College (which became the inspiration for St Cedd's in his Doctor Who story Shada), and was a member of the Footlights. A tour of Adams-related Cambridge locations was taking place on Saturday. [Cambridge News, 9 Mar 2012]

Swindon's Central Library is to see a Dalek invasion on Saturday 17th March as part of a fund-raising event for charity. The day also sees sci-fi author David Johnson holding writing workshops and signing copies of his books. [Swindon Advertiser, 15 Mar 2012]

Colin Baker and Frazer Hines have been added to the list of star names appearing at the BritSciFi Weekend taking place at the National Space Centre in Leicester tomorrow and Sunday.

The event is a celebration of TV programmes such as Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Red Dwarf, and Thunderbirds.

As previously reported, other guests with a Doctor Who connection appearing at the event are visual effects designer Mat Irvine and actors Shane Rimmer and David Graham (although the centre is emphasising Rimmer and Graham's Thunderbirds link).

Daleks will also be in attendance, as will the Hyde Fundraisers voluntary group, who will be creating a Doctor Who walk-through experience in the venue's Challenger Centre, with creepy encounters featuring some monstrous creatures from Doctor Who. It will feature light, smoke, and sound effects not suitable for very young children. Tickets for the encounter are available on a first-come, first-served basis for performances each day.

In addition, David J Howe, the co-founder and editorial director of Telos Publishing, who has written a number of books about Doctor Who and owns one of the largest collections of Doctor Who merchandise in the world, will be there.

All the money from the BritSciFi weekend will go to charity, including Children In Need.

(NB: Attendees should ensure that the guests they want to see will be there on the day that they wish to go, as not all the guests will be there on both days.)

(With thanks to Kevin Taylor)

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is performing the music of Murray Gold, at two concerts taking place in Cardiff next Monday evening, 12th March.

The Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster, will performing a live soundtrack to a special screening of last year's Christmas Special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

The concerts, which take place at 6pm and 7.45pm, are free to attend and will take place at the 350 seater BBC Hoddinott Hall, part of the Wales Millennium Centre based in Cardiff Bay.

Tickets can be booked through the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Audience Line on 03700 10 10 51.

Visual effects designer Mat Irvine is to be one of the star names at this year's BritSciFi Weekend at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

The event, taking place on 10th and 11th March, is a celebration of TV programmes such as Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Red Dwarf, and Thunderbirds.

Irvine, who has long and strong connections to Doctor Who, will be bringing along the original K-9 prop, which he built for the season 15 story The Invisible Enemy, as well as other props from British TV and films.

Other confirmed guests at the moment who have a Doctor Who connection are Shane Rimmer and David Graham (although please note that the centre is highlighting the duo's Thunderbirds link).

Daleks will also be in attendance, as will the Hyde Fundraisers voluntary group, who will be creating a Doctor Who walk-through experience in the venue's Challenger Centre. All the money from the event will go to charity, including Children In Need.

More guests are yet to be announced and further details are available on the centre's website. (NB: Before buying tickets to the event, attendees should ensure that the guests they want to see will be there on the day that they wish to go, as not all the guests will be there on both days.)

(With thanks to Duncan Willis)

This Saturday will see the performance of the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular, taking place at the Plenary Hall, MCEC in Melbourne and performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

The two hour concert will be presented by actor Mark Sheppard, and conducted by Doctor Who stalwart Ben Foster, with composer Murray Gold on piano. Choral aspects of the performance will be by the Concordis Chamber Choir, led by Chorus Master Andrew Hunter, with solos undertaken by Antoinette Halloran (soprano) and Tobias Cole (counter-tenor).

There will be two performances taking place, one at 2:00pm and the other at 7:00pm. At the time of writing both performances are sold out.

Publicity

Ben Foster featured as a guest on ABC Melbourne 774 to discuss the concert and his music career; the interview can be downloaded from their website. Meanwhile, Mark Sheppard talked to ABC Hobart 936 about his prolific career, which is also available for download.

A photocall for the concert took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, featuring a Dalek, Cyberman and Silent.


Gold was also interviewed by the Australian, chatting about his career in television and films.

Tickets are now on sale for the forthcoming run of Punchdrunk's The Crash of the Elysium at the Ipswich Arts Festival this summer.

The immersive theatre experience is part of the London 2012 Festival, celebrating the Olympic Games taking place in the summer, and from 15th June to 8th July 2012.


New Wolsey Theatre Chief Executive Sarah Holmes said:

Tickets can be purchased via the New Wolsey Theatre, with three types, School Performances (aged 4-7), Family Performances (aged 7-12 with adult), and After Dark Performances (aged 13 and above).

Just when you thought it was safe to finally stow your scarf away in the back of the wardrobe, actor/comedian/Doctor Who DVD moderator Toby Hadoke has announced some new dates for his acclaimed one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf!

You can find out more details of Toby's shows via his website.

The Doctor Who immersive theatre experience, The Crash of the Elysium is to be recreated at the Ipswich Arts Festival from 15th June to 8th July 2012, as part of the London 2012 Festival celebrating the Olympic Games taking place in the summer.

The event was originally created by Punchdrunk for the Manchester International Festival that took place last June/July, and is described as:
The performances will take place at the Crown Car Park, and is sponsored locally by the New Wolsey Theatre; there will be three variations of the show, catering for schools, families with children aged 7-12, and for those aged 13 and older.


Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival, said
Ipswich Borough Council Leader David Ellesmere said:
Sarah Holmes, New Wolsey Theatre Chief Executive said:
Councillor Kathy Gosling, Suffolk County Council's portfolio holder for sport, culture, diversity, health and wellbeing, said:
Andrea Stark, Executive Director, Arts Council England, said:


There is a website for the event, though at the time of writing it is not currently active.