Andrew Dawson co-created the Thunderbirds FAB Show with Gavin Robertson and together they wrote, starred and directed the show. Recently he has returned for the show's comeback, both at the West End and on tour.

This interview was conducted via e-mail and exlusive to this site.

Q: What made you decide to adapt Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet for the stage?
A: It was out of nostalgia for the original. We grew up with Thunderbirds and the other Gerry Anderson series. We remembered them fondly, so we hoped other people would as well. This was 1984, long before the re-runs, videos or DVDs. We had no idea that 17 years later we would still be performing it.

Q: Which is your favourite of Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet and do you have a favourite episode?
A: Generally it would be Captain Scarlet, But in Thunderbirds it would be Attack Of The Alligators!...

Q: Do you consider the show to be a tribute to or spoof of the originals?
A: A bit of each. We call it a pastiche.

Q: Who plays Thunderbird 1 and who plays Thunderbird 2?
A: I am Thunderbird 1 and Gavin is Thunderbird 2.

Q: Was any particular character harder to portray than others?
A: No not for me, but you might ask Gavin about the pink dress and blonde wig?

Q: Did you have any ideas that never made it to the stage?
A: Too many to mention. What you see on stage is 5% of what is thought about.

Q: Where has the show been performed?
A: All over the UK, London's West End five times, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Memphis!

Q: When other actors took over the roles did you have any involvement in their interpretations?
A: Yes, as the directors.

Q: Was the decision to relaunch the show in 2000 related to the repeat broadcasts?
A: Yes.

Q: How long do you anticipate the tour going on for and is the show likely to return afterwards?
A: This tour lasts tell then end of October, then who knows?

Q: Overall have you found performing in the show an enjoyable experience?
A: Very much so. This tour has been the best so far.

Thunderbirds F.A.B. was created for the theatre in 1984. The show toured the world for 11 years including 4 seasons in London's West End, 3 seasons in Japan and tours to Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and several extensive tours of the United Kingdom.

The concept of using the characters from Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet first arose in 1984. We discussed many ideas of which children's TV shows could have potential material. Our aim was to make a piece that had a hook for an audience, a carrot to draw them into the theatre, after all we, as 22-year-old individuals, were not known. We had planned to introduce 'Thunderbirds' as part of a much larger show. However, when we realised the wealth of material available around Gerry Anderson we decided to base the whole performance around his characters. The story line, the clichés from the series, and the dialogue all arose from our common memories of the original. We were not Œfans¹ and we did not get involved in extensive research. In 1984 the series had not been seen on TV for years and you could not buy the videos or DVD¹s. Now 16 years later we are swamped with nostalgic TV from the 60's and 70's. But in 1984 when an audience first saw the show they were swept back to their childhood.

Gavin was living in Edinburgh in 1984 and it was here that we created the show. We invented everything ourselves with an Arts Council budget for the entire production of £1,000.00. We made the props, costumes and edited the music. Throughout the production we were fortunate to have the support of Gerry Anderson. It was in his office at Bray Studios that we first had the idea of wearing the rockets on our heads. We asked Gerry if we could have these models made, he thought we were crazy, but he put us in contact with Barry Jones, one of his model makers, whom made the first set. Richard Gregory has made the subsequent models. And FX team made the ones you see today.

The very first tryout performance was in Westerhales just outside Edinburgh on October 10th 1984, followed by our first performances in London at the Place Theatre in Euston on 16/17th November 1984. The show was a complete sell out, it was here that we sensed the phenomena of what Thunderbirds was going to become. We returned to the Place in December and again in January 1985 as part of the London International Mime Festival.

The first tours were in the Highland regions of Scotland. We played in tiny village halls were there was barely enough room on the stage for one of us with the rockets on our heads, let alone two. The audience was a little bemused. In many parts of Scotland they had only recently received TV so they had never seen the original TV show. Some nights we only had an audience because the fishing fleet were in dock!

We toured the show around small scale venues in Britain during 1985 making a special home from the Unity theatre in Liverpool, where we performed a benefit to raise money for new toilets!! On Feb 8th 1986 in Swindon we announce the last night ever show, we had toured for 18 months and thought it was over and that we should move onto new ventures. How wrong could we be!

In 1987 we played the Edinburgh Festival at 11,45 am and quickly became the earliest cult of the day. We even had ticket touts outside the theatre. Edinburgh spawned a lot of overseas interest in the show and we subsequently went to Australia and the Far East.

In 1989 we teamed up with producer John Gore. He had seen the show in a dress rehearsal of a performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. He had suggested that we could play the show in the West End. We did not believe it was possible so continued on our tour of Australia and New Zealand. When we returned John had been good to his word. On September 11th 1989 we opened at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. It was here that the evening first included ŒSpace Panorama¹. Thunderbirds was only 70 mins long without an interval, which for the West End was to short. Space Panorama was commissioned earlier in 1989 as part of the Northern Festival of mime and dance in Kendal, Cumbria. I proposed to the festival that I could create a piece of theatre on a table. The result was my interpretation of the 1969 Apollo 11 moons landing. Using a classical music score from Shostakovitch¹s 10th Symphony and Gavin as narrator, and working with Jos Houben as director, we created a Tele-visual documentary of the Apollo mission on the tabletop. Most of us have a common memory of the moon landing from seeing it on television. It is that visual memory that I tap into. When an audience see the show they see their own show in their minds eye, trigged by my movement and gesture. Thunderbirds was created in the same way. We aimed to capture the essential elements of the original, music, walks, explosions etc. As we were playing at the aptly named 'Apollo' Space Panorama was the obvious choice to extend the evening. At the Apollo the evening was a smash hit taking the box office record. Interest in the show just kept growing. After the Apollo run We wanted to concentrate on touring other work including 'The six sided Man', 'The Thirst', 'What is all this Dancing and 'New Worlds'. And creating new work like 'The Three Musketeers'. But Thunderbirds still had a life in London so we taught the show to the next cast Wayne Forester and Paul Kent. New scenes were added and the show became Thunderbirds F.A.B. the Next Generation. Over the next few years the show played at the Mermaid Theatre, The Ambassadors Theatre and returned to the Apollo Theatre in 1993. They toured the country playing the show more than 1000 times. As the show toured for 11 years a number of performers took on the mantle of Thunderbirds, Paul and Wayne also visited Japan and Australia. During their 1993 season at the Apollo, We were playing the show in New Zealand. Thunderbirds was on both sides of the globe at once.

Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet are having another revival on Television and this is probably not the last. As a new audience get old enough to enjoy it. A new audience is there to see it. The stage version is now not so much about nostalgia but more of a celebration of what was an extraordinary creation. For us to get this opportunity to revisit the show is a rare one. Not often do you get the chance to re-master, update and play with a show like Thunderbirds F.A.B. We opened at The Playhouse in London¹s West end in November 2000 and played there for 3 months for the first time we played the show on a set. In the past we used only black drapes, designing for a show where the set could get in the way, is very hard, but Graham Johnson understood the problem and has reason to the challenge. Above all it is great fun for Gavin and I to be on stage together again and now have an opportunity to take it around the country. In recent years we have been busy with our own projects. Gavin with 'Fantastical Voyage' and 'Spittoon' and myself with 'Wallace and Gromit' and 'Quatre Mains' To be on stage with each other is like putting on your favourite pair of old slippers. I hope you enjoy the show as much as we do performing it.

Enjoy!