Peter Francis
He Believes His Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword.
“Make Em’ Laugh, Make Em’ Laugh, Make Em’ Laugh.”
And Cry! And Learn! And Then Do Better!
Peter Francis Is An Award-Winnin’ Comedian & Playwright Turned Author And Now He Has His Eye On The Big Screen. Havin’ Qualified As An Accountant And A Personal Trainer Well Over A Decade Ago His Versatility Makes Him A Triple Threat. Writer & Entertainer. Fitness Trainer. And Finance Manager.
Writin’ Is A Gift And Peter Francis Has It. His Natural Comedy Led To His Writin And Havin Immersed Himself In Writin He’s Headed Back To Where He Started – On Stage Deliverin Stand Up. He Is Also In Negotiations For Screen Rights To His Book.
He Shares His Story, Hopes & Dreams With TheOrator.Press Magazine & Shares Why He Believes The Community Would Do Well To Heed The Message In His Word of Warnin’ Based In Part On His Own True Story.
Peter Is A Natural Comedian. He’s Also A Qualified Accountant, Former Organic Barrow Boy Businessman, And Now An Author of A New Gritty, Topical Crime Thriller Which Serves As A Cautionary Tale. In A Back To Front Kind of Way He Wrote The Stage Play First, Then Came The Novel. And Now Back To The Normal Way of Things, He Seekin To Turn The Play It Into A Movie. He Is Tall Dark And Handsome, And British Caribbean. He Grew Up In St Lucia Until The Age of Seven, When His Family Moved To London. He Spent His Adolescence In Ladbroke Grove (“The Grove”) Paddington. His Natural Humour He Makes Me Laugh Out Loud, As I Ask Him If He’s Ever Seen The Bear. “Steady On Love, He’s A Fictional Character, And Anyway He’s Based At The Station, I Lived Much Further Away.”
The British Library (Euston Road, London) Is Tellin The Story of His Latest Adventures In Association With Their Travel Partners GWR Fri July 9 2021 To Sun Oct 31 2021. Two Major Paddington Bear Movies Have Been Made Thus Far. The First BAFTA Winnin’ Paddington Movie Was In 2014 (Includin Black Comedians Eddie Nestor & Llewella Gideon In Minor Roles) And The Sequel In 2017 With Hugh Grant As A New Main Character. It Was Launched In Association The BFI, British Arts Council And The NSPCC. Photo Laura Diaz Pixabey.
So How Are You Today?
I’m Good, Fresh, And Ready For The Rest of The Day.
Did You Train Today?
I Trained Clients Today, My Own Workout Will Be Tomorrow. I Do Train With People Sometimes Though For Motivational Purposes & Encouragement. It Spurs People On If They See Someone Else Workin’ Out With Them. But The Majority of People I’m Trainin Right Now Are Workin On Weight Loss. Personally I’m Workin’ On Toning At The Moment Which Is Totally Different.
How Did You Come To Be A Playwright?
Comedy Was Always A Passion. I Was Comedic From The Age of Eight, Which I know Because I’m Constantly Reminded By My Family. My Mum Would Send Me Up To Dance In Front of My Family And She Would Collect Money. I Thought This Is Great. But I Never Saw Any of It. Yeah, I Was Pimped Out!
In Secondary School I Had A Teacher Who Encouraged Me. He Was In The Know About Such Things & Connected To People For Whom He Used To Ask Me To Write Jokes. So I Did. I Got Into Writin Comedy Sketches & Plays That Way. He Explains This Is Why His Play “Troy’s Story” Came Before His Book “Consequences”. Writin Plays Came Natural To Him As It Was His Entry Point From The Very Beginnin. In fact The Play Staged In A South London Theatre In 2018 And Ran For Six Weeks. Plans For A Re-run Were In Place But Then Covid Came.
What About Stand Up?
Eventually I Was Told By A Friend I Should Start Performing Myself. I Remember My First Performance Was At Corks Wine Bar, Binney Street (Near Selfridges). It Went Really Well. Then I Performed A Second Time And It Didn’t Go Well At All. So It Became A Challenge. I Need That. It Was A Blessin’ Because I’m Still Perseverin.
And Accountancy?
I Was Very Good At Maths At School. My Sister Was A Teacher. My Other Sister Was A Coroner. And My Brother Was A Professional Footballer. My Other Brother Was An Accountant. So I Had To Get A Steady Job Too And I Started Trainin’ For An Accountancy Role At 16. I Qualified By The Age of Nineteen/Twenty. I Became Book Keeper For A Locksmith Company In Paddington. Then When AOL First Came To London They Were In Fulham And I Managed To Get A Job There. With The Internet And Online Idea Bein’ Pretty New Back Then There Was A Buzz About Workin’ For The Company. Then The CEO Left And The Main Energy And The Buzz Left With Him. It Became More Formal And Controllin’ After An Oxford Graduate Replaced Him. It Felt More Like Workin’ At The House of Commons. I Left Soon After That Havin’ Been There For Five Years. The Huffington Post Eventually Bought AOL (America On Line).
Rotten Racism Was No Barrel of Laughs
I Managed The Accounts For An Organic Fruit & Veg Company Who Were Doin Very Well For Years But Eventually Decided To Move Back Up North. I Actually Liked The Organic Business They Were Operatin’ So I Decided To Set Up My Own Organic Fruit & Veg Business Too. My Business Was Doin Well. It Was Outgrowin’ Me So I Knew There Were No Problems With How I Ran The Company. However When People Found Out I Was Black It Became Labelled As “A ‘Black’ Organic Fruit & Veg Business.” And I Lost All My Customers! This Was Even After I Initially Had A White Friend Front The Business For Me. My Business Partner Stefan.
I Discussed It With Vanessa Feltz On Her Radio Show Afterwards At The Time.
“Racism Is In Everything And It’s Just So Tough. And I Can Say That As I’ve Seen It First Hand.”
Peter Francis Discovered Free From Pesticides Did Not Mean Free From The Pest of Racism When It Came To The Organic Movement
Covid
I Then Moved From Organic Food Into Fitness Because People Around Me Were Gettin Ill Through Diabetes And I Was Diabetic Myself. I Had To Change My Own Exercise & Eatin Ways. Years Later I Now Run My Fitness Business FitnessFlo.co.uk Which Has Four PTs. Covid Affected Us Tremendously As We Could No Longer Do Group Trainin. In His Late Forties, A Qualified Personal Trainer For Over A Decade, Eats Well, Trains Well And Looks Well. He Says Workin’ Out Other People One-to-One Durin The Lockdown Helped Keep Him Sane And In Shape. This Was Along With Writin’ The Manuscript Which Saw Him Transcribe His Stage Play “Troy’s Story” Into A Book Called “Consequences”. His Next Step In The Trilogy Is The Movie!
I’m Active, Carin’ And Spontaneous. The Work I Do Is About Elevatin’ People. Through My Comedy I Try To Bring Happiness & Joy. As A Personal Trainer I Try To Make People Comfortable With Themselves. If Their Body Is Lookin’ Good They Carry Themselves Uplifted And Proud. And By Sharin’ A Part of My Life Story I’m Guidin’ People To Avoid Certain Mistakes Which Have “Consequences.“
“Consequences” Based On A True Story
“Consequences” Is A Contemporary Urban Tale, Based In Part On Peter’s Life And The True Story of A Bad Environment, Bad Company & Bad Blood. And Ultimately The Question of Redemption. It Is Gritty, Grimy And Grisly. But Yet Powerful Hopeful And Helpful. It Is A Community Focused Cautionary Tale. Francis Was Able To Pen The Piece With Authenticity Because Certain Elements Are Focused On Characters Distilled From His Reality. And He Is Confident The Book Will Resonate With The Community. To Say More Would Venture Into Spoiler Territory. Suffice To Say The Self-Published eBook Is Currently Available On Amazon And Is Gettin’ Good Reviews.
Book Reviews:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Consequences-Young-Journey-Lifetime-Events-ebook/dp/B08T9HF74X
His Dream Is That A Film Maker Buys The Film Rights As He Wants The Warnin’ To Be Viewed Worldwide. However He Recently Declined A Substantial Offer From A Major Player Who He Felt Had Simultaneously Devalued His Efforts And Insulted His Intelligence Because Whilst The Offer Was Substantial The Terms Were Woeful (A Dynamic That Has Been Visited Upon Many Black Creators). On This Occasion Francis Showed Them The Door.
He Respects Himself & His Work And It Is A Matter of Professional & Personal Integrity To Him That Those He Works With Do The Same. All His Copyrights Are Reserved And Even If They Remain Legally Unexploited He Says It Is For Him To Decide What Will Become of Them. What Matters Most Is That He Retains The Pride And Value of The Work In Any Event, So That Either Way He Retains The Moral Rights Over The Presentation And Adaptation of His Work.
Comedy
The Comedian Got His Performance Juices Flowin’ Again After Hostin A Corporate Event At The Holiday Inn, Nottingham, May 31 2021.
He Shall Be Performin’ At The Birmingham Mill July 31 2021 In A Comedy Night Special Along With Other Comedians Such As Sideman And Letisha Gordon.
He Is Part of The Brentwood Park Comedy Festival Aug Bank Holiday Fri 27 – Sun 29 August 2021
Peter Francis Has Be An Entertainer Since Childhood. He’s A Natural. He Was Even Writin’ Plays Whilst At School. Now The Silver Screen Calls
Radio
He Has A Regular Radio Show on Zoom TV Platform ultravisiontv.com
It’s Called ‘Comedy On The Couch’ And Features Fellow Comedians As Guests Each Week Poppin In For A Chat & A Laugh. Includin Mr Blair, Geoff Shumann And Ione Brown. Thurs Nights 8-10pm.
Page, Stage & Screen
Peter Has Written A Play. A Book. And A Movie Script Is On The Cards.
The Artist Formerly Known As ‘Special P’
Peter Relinquished His Former Stage Name “Special P” In Favour of Usin His Given Birth Which Is “Peter Francis”. A Case of Evolution & Maturity Led Him To Realize He Felt More Empowered By Embracin’ His Official Name As It Gave Him A Greater Sense of Identity. This Was Particularly So After Becomin’ An Author. He Says He And Fellow Comedian, Canadian Tom Stade, Discussed The Idea of Ownin’ One’s Identity Professionally Virtually 16 Years Ago When Performin’“ In Scotland Together At The Same Time. Since Then He’s Been Tryin’ To Be “Peter Francis” For The Last 16 Years With Varied Success As Some Contemporaries Find It Hard To Let Go of The Former Moniker They Came To Love & Know.
This Moniker Conversion Inevitably Brings To Mind The Rock God Who Changed His Name From Prince To “The Artist Formerly Know As Prince” And Adopted A Symbol As His Identity Instead (Although His Change of Heart Was More of A Protest About Contract & Copyright Issues With His Record Company At The Time). Although Not In The World of Rock n’ Roll Francis Also Won Acknowledgment Under His Former Stage Name Includin’ Two Black Entertainment Comedy Awards (BECAs). In 2002 For Best Newcomer And 2004 For Best Original Material. The BECA’s Have Not Been Hosted For Years But There Is Hope They May Be Revived.
He Says He Used The Stage Name ‘Special P’ Originally Because His Mum Would Repeatedly Tell Him He Was Special. As A Baby From Day One He Was Born With A Huge Head of Hair. “A Baby Afro” He Says. He Was Born At Home. He Was Born Left Handed (Like Barrack Obama). He Never Stopped Smilin’. And His Mother Unashamedly Declared Him Her Favourite Child (Ouch). Actually, The Middle Child of Five Children He Says It’s Just The Way It Was And The Family Just Accepted It. They Remain A Close Family Unit Today, With His Sisters Keepin A Protective Eye Over His Career Progress. Now He Says Unapologetically “I Am Peter Francis” https://www.instagram.com/Iampeterfrancis
Social Media & Online NDAs
He Originally Wrote The Play “Troy’s Story” In Response To The Self-Destructive Prevalence of Knife Crime Within The Black Community Circa 2016. Whilst He Himself Was Not The Perpetrator of Crime, The True Story Element Occurred In His Own Life When He Was A Teenager Aged Around Fourteen/Fifteen. The Opportunity of Redemption Saw Potential For Different Life’s To Be Turned Around. But The Question Is What Happened & How Did Those Opportunities Turn Out? In 2017 He Put Out A Social Media Call On Facebook For Actors Aged 14-22 To Star In The Play.
“Young People Can Be Very Talented When They Are Guided. We Held Readin Sessions & I Listened To Their Voices & Emotions”
Peter Francis, Author, Writer, Entertainer. Explainin’ His Selection Process For Actors In His Play Troy’s Story
The Readings Were Held At Soho House Shoreditch As One of The Play’s Executive Panel Was A Member of The Private Club. The Play, Featurin’ 6-8 Main Cast Members And Various Extras To Help Create An Atmosphere & Image of Gritty Reality, Eventually Ran For Six Weeks From July Through To September 2019.
It Went Down Well And Was Scheduled To Then Tour Various Different Theatres From April/May 2020 (The Earliest Theatre Availability Includin’ Hackney, Catford, The Shaw Theatre And Bloomsbury And Outside London). But Then Came Covid Early 2020.
His Daughters Were With Him Durin The Covid Outbreak And In August 2020 He Read The Play To Them. They Liked It So Much They Wanted To Act In It, But He Declined “Because There Was Kissin Involved” (He Says, Spoken Like A Typical Father of Daughters). Undeterred They Urged Him to Write The Book. And So He Did. From September 2020, Durin’ Lockdown. It Took Six Months And Was Published On Amazon As An eBook In February 2021.
Reviewers Were Invited To Give Their Opinion After Francis Sent Select Facebook Friends Samples of The Play, Subject To An NDA. Also Subject To Applicants Havin’ No Interest In The Show Business Business. Once Again He Successfully Connected With The Community Usin’ Facebook As An Outreach Tool. I Ask Him How Writin A Play Differs To Writin A Book.
“Writin The Book I Imagined Myself As Though I Was Blind, And Because A Blind Man Can’t See What’s Goin’ On I Explain Everything In Detail. With The Actors I Simply Direct Them On What To Do & How To Do It. So Writin’ A Book Is Tougher.”
Peter Francis, Author, Writer, Entertainer, Personal Trainer. Talkin’ To TheOrator.Press Magazine. Explainin’ The Difference Between Writin’ A Play & Writin’ A Book.
Onwards And Upwards He Is Now Sellin’ The Movie Rights. Subject To The Right Terms And Conditions And Creative Integrity. And He’s Not Jokin’!
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