About this project

'UK:Cue', a new magazine for lovers of British Film, Theatre and Television

By Larry Jaffee

Thanks for checking out my Kickstarter project for UK:Cue, a new magazine about British Film, Theatre and Television on both sides of the Atlantic.

UK:Cue will explore the cultural exchange that goes on continuously between Britain and America. You'll find out about the latest British, films and TV shows to travel across the Atlantic, and vice versa.

After 20 years of publishing a quarterly newspaper about EastEnders, I discovered that my readers' entertainment tastes went beyond that one TV show. Anglophiles like me are suckers for a British accent, and expatriates living in the U.S. miss the U.K. brand of entertainment. Sometimes Hollywood just doesn't do it for us, know what I mean?

Anglophiles and expats are both in favour of everything from contemporary drama and murder mysteries to costume dramas and Shakespeare to off-the-wall TV comedies like The Office, Blackladder and Little Britain, as well as sci-fi classics (Dr. Who) – whether they're on the small or big screen, or the stage. All three visual art forms require a script and actors (no reality TV here!) who take their cues from a director. Hence, the title UK:Cue.

New York's Broadway and London's West End have a symbiotic relationship. But besides the big production shows, smaller productions find are constantly mounted. And Hollywood stars are often eager to try out their British accents, as epitomized by Meryl Streep in the forthcoming feature film The Iron Lady about Margaret Thatcher. 

In addition, Kevin Spacey, who has spent much of the past decade leading London's Old Vic company, in January will be starring in Richard III at Brooklyn's BAM, and directed by Sam Mendes, a Brit who has also found success on both sides of the pond.

The Origins of UK:Cue

Before becoming a professional journalist (see bio), I now realise I had been an Anglophile nearly all my life, dating back to when I was a kid in the mid-1960s and collected Matchbox cars, which were originally manufactured in East London. Around the same time I fell under the spell of Beatlemania and the other British Invasion bands, especially The Kinks, The Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones, listening to them on my transistor radio on WABC-AM of New York City.

When I was in the fifth grade I distinctly remember once after school watching the "Million Dollar Movie" on Channel 9 and  being mesmerized by the opening sequence of the British film Georgy Girl in which Lynn Redgrave gets a new hairdo and then washes it out on the streets of Swingin' London. 

My parents' record collection at the time included the soundtrack of My Fair Lady, starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, giving me my first taste of British theatre, albeit aurally. During my impressionable teenage years, I ingested large amounts of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

My fate was thus sealed, destined to publish and edit UK:Cue, the world's first magazine to spotlight the best British film, theatre and telly on both sides of the Atlantic.

I have assembled a team of contributors. The proceeds from this campaign will be used to produce a prototype printed issue of the magazine, which will then be used to attract advertisers and investors in creating a multi-platform media brand, which will eventually include an app for the iPad and other mobile devices. Future plans include publishing UK:Cue on a quarterly schedule and distributed in Britain as well.

If the amount received from this Kickstarter campaign exceeds the $5,000, I will increase the page count of the debut issue, a copy of which will be distributed to all contributors to this campaign (see rewards).