Monday, September 29, 2014

More Fool Me - Stephen Fry


NATIONAL treasure and everyone's favourite dinner guest, Stephen Fry is poised to take the world stage in one of the largest ever global book launches, with the hotly anticipated memoir, More Fool Me.

Cinemas from Oslo to Auckland will stream Fry's 90-minute comic tour de force solo performance, marking the launch of his third autobiography, and embracing the planet with trademark charm.

A heady tale of his scandalous life in the '80s and '90s, the award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director burned bright and partied hard, enjoying everything high society and celebrity had to offer.

In his early thirties, Stephen Fry had, as they say, 'made it'. Much loved in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, author of a critically acclaimed and bestselling first novel, The Liar, with a glamorous and glittering cast of friends, he had more work than was perhaps good for him.

Taking to excess like a duck to breadcrumbs, Fry wrote and recorded by day; while at night he haunted a never-ending series of parties, drinking dens and poker games, in a ludicrous and impressive act of bravado. He fooled all those except his inner circle, some of whom were most enjoyably engaged in the same dance.

He was - to all intents and purposes - a high functioning addict. At the turn of the '80s, AIDS became an epidemic and politics turned really nasty, he was so busy, so distracted by the high life, that he could hardly see the inevitable, headlong tumble that must surely follow . . .

 'Oh dear I am an arse. I expect there'll be what I believe is called an "intervention" soon. I keep picturing it. All my friends bearing down on me and me denying everything until my pockets are emptied. Oh the shame.'

Containing raw, electric extracts from his diaries of the time, More Fool Me is a brilliant, eloquent account by someone driven to create and to entertain - revealing a side to him he has long kept hidden.
Equal parts humour and humility, readers can expect sterling prose and superlative name dropping by a man regarded as one of the most influential cultural forces ever known.

Regular host of QI and the BAFTAs, and star of The Hobbit, Fry has millions of followers on Twitter and plans to break boundaries with the launch of his book, utilising the latest in technology to celebrate. The Fry Chronicles was the biggest selling autobiography of 2010 in the UK, with sales topping the million mark.

Fry’s solo performance will screen in Rialto cinemas nationwide from November 1.


More Fool Me by Stephen Fry | Penguin Group (NZ) | Published September 25, 2014 | Hardback - rrp $55

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