The Time of Angels was a weekend long event for fans of Doctor Who, hosted by Starfury. Starfury regulars were taken from their usual territory of the Birmingham Hilton this time around, the event instead taking place in the grand surroundings of the Heathrow Edwardian Radisson in London. If Time of Angels was to live up to previous Doctor Who events from Starfury, it would have to be amazing. And it was.
Sean (the organiser) delivered a fantastic range of guests. Headlining the Sunday was Arthur Darvil but the remainder of the guests included Keeley Hawes , Jemma Redgrave , Neve Macintosh, Catrin Stewart, Dan Starkey, Barnaby Edwards, Phil ford, Tony Lee and John Schwab. For a smaller number of attendees than usual, it was almost like we were outnumbered by fantastic guests.
The weekend kicked off on Friday night with an opening ceremony and party that didn’t stop to draw breath until two in the morning. For those lucky enough to have gold tickets, Friday night also encompassed the meet and greet session which gave the attendees the chance to catch up with the guests or meet them personally for the first time.
Saturday morning saw the photo sessions and plenty of post party warriors bravely smiling through the hangovers. For once, the queues were fast and everyone got their photographs with their favourite guests without the stress which larger events find inevitable. Following the photographs, the Q&A sessions began, kicked off by none other than Starfury favourites Tony Lee, Phil Ford, Barnaby Edwards and first timer John Schwab. As you might expect, the euphemisms were more frequent than actual answers but it was hilarious to watch. After they had vacated the stage another first time Starfury guest, Calvin dean, took to the stage. Understandably nervous at taking a stage alone in front of so many über-nerds, Calvin was a great guest, telling us about last minute script changes during the filming of Nightmare in Silver, his love of horror and why you shouldn’t wear fake blood to Tesco.
Next, two of the Paternoster Gang held a Q&A. Neve McIntosh & Dan Starkey shared stories from the prosthetics room and the complications they caused on filming as well as dealing with the predictable question of a Paternoster spin off in which they were asked to pick between a period drama (Vastra Abbey) or a sitcom (Strax About the House) format. Jemma Redgrave gave a really thought-provoking talk on her career and what it felt like to be part of an acting dynasty as well as giving tips on which plays to see next. There was something truly spellbinding in the way she spoke about the theatre and the roles she would love to perform next.. The final talk of the day was Keeley Hawes. She told us about her kid’s reactions to the news she had a role on Doctor Who, working with the Teller and the wonders of the cutting room as she recorded in Japanese for the latest Tomb Raider game. She also told us about what it felt like to be at the centre of the controversy storm that came with ‘Tipping the velvet’ and how she felt so much sympathy for her character on the more recent ‘Line of Duty’.
After the talks, gold tickets went through all of the autograph rooms whereas regulars as the Saturday only guests (Neve and Jemma) and disbanded to either the bar or their rooms to prepare for the evening’s party with a tried and tested tradition of napping and drinking. Whilst the autos were opening, Cameron McEwan (aka Blogtor Who) and Elizar Cabrera presented Blogtor’s documentary ‘Who’s Changing.’ Just before the party, the cosplay competition took place, the crowd favourite being a group of classic companions under the name “assistance please.” My personal favourite was a gender swapped Tegan who will forever by my inspiration for managing those heels. There was a great atmosphere for all cosplayers that night, not just those in the competition and a lot of support for our new cosplays (The first time I made a costume from scratch). We called it a night on the party a little early that night, predictably in the half hour we were gone, some pretty intense dancing was said to have happened with the guests, including what was described as an epic rendition of Gangnam Style.
Arthur Darvil flew in on Sunday morning from New York Comic Con, the difference between the two events he described in his afternoon Q&A as ‘a warm hug’. He was greeted with a cheer when he walked into the photo room and the queue seemed to flow quite smoothly, only pausing every now and again so Arthur could have another caffeine hit.
The first talk of the day was between Tony Lee and Phil Ford, which as always seemed to be a game of one-upmanship as they tried to embarrass each other more. As Tony said, only at a Starfury con could a guest reuse to leave the stage at the end of their Q&A. He therefore exercised squatters rights as he and Phil joined the next scheduled talk from Barnaby, Calvin and John. Stories were told in that panel which scarred us for life and accents were attempted that should never be tried. It was hands down one of the most hilarious panels I have ever witnessed, and I was at Miracle Day in June! Sadly most of the jokes are unrepeatable should a child ever come across this review. There was mentions of printing a parental advisory sign for the door!
The other Sunday only guest was Catrin Stewart, filling in the third slot of the day with her co-star Dan Starkey. The rather hilarious topic of Strax reaching Sontaran puberty and finding a love expert was raised and Catrin told us she wasn’t continuing into the third series of Stella. Both actors shared an insight into what thy thought of their character’s backstories. Keeley returned to the stage next, talking about her role in the upcoming Hollow Crown which features Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III, saying she felt it was the right time in her career to do some Shakespeare.
Much earlier in the day than Starfury regulars were used to came the main guest talk, Arthur Darvil. He gave us all a brief insight into the hectic few days that is New York Comic Con before we settled into what has to be the most laid back panel ever undertaken. Topics ranged from getting the ‘You’re on Doctor Who’ call to various encounters with himself in cardboard cut-out form. Most of his stories revolved around his family and his recent stint on the musical ‘Once’. He also talked about the surreal experience of bowling with Karen and Moffat for the Nerdist on YouTube. Much too soon the panel was done and it was back to the autograph session for everyone. Again, Blogtor and Elizar presented their documentary during the signings. One of the many bonuses of my friend being my con buddy was that the amazing art she made and got signed gave us a chance to spend longer chatting to the guests as we went through the autos, Tony, Phil and John getting the most excited by the drawings and sparing a good while to talk to us.
Barnaby Edwards with the winner of the Doctor Who cosplay at The Time Of Angels. Via http://barnabyedwards.tumblr.com
All of the guests still present returned to the stage for the closing ceremony, saying a few words and thanking the staff and stewards for looking after us all so well. The final party of a con is always bittersweet but tradition went on. Towards the end of the night you can be sure there are people singing along to the instrumental sections of The Final Countdown and The Summer of Sixty-Nine is always a hit. The final song of the night was Take on Me, Aha, as per usual. And the lights came on half way through the song, blinding everyone as we sang along, murdering the high notes. There’s always an amazing atmosphere when the song ends and everyone looks around at each other before the 2 am post-party (and post-con) exhaustion sets in. Then there was the last man standing photo which involved precarious standing on table action and multiple pictures on multiple cameras. Afterwards most people lingered, chatting and soaking up the last few moments of the con. I even got a hug off Sean and two from Barnaby, I felt very honoured.
If any part of the weekend didn’t live up to the usual Starfury standard, it was the music at the parties. But fear not, Barnaby more than made up for it for executing some truly spectacular moves for the entirety of the parties on all three nights. He is an inspiration to all of the Sunday night survivors
In the aftermath of the con, a trail of tweets and posts on the Facebook group for the event were filled with gratitude and love for Sean, the guests and the army of stewards who made the weekend yet another amazing Starfury con. There were also suggestions for the next event within a few hours, ranging from possible names to pleas for certain guests. It was also quite possibly one of the friendliest cons I’ve attended, So I’d like to say a personal thank you to Sean, the staff, stewards, guests and other attendees, roll on Day of the Doctor.
If one thing is certain, the train ride back to reality is a long one.
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