Peter Sellers, rightly regarded as a comic genius, lived a life full of success and excess - fuelled by indulgence and wild mood swings. Dying at an early age in 1980, Sellers left no autobiography, no revealing record of his life and feelings. This audio play aims to fill that gap.

Featuring an incredible solo performance from Alfred Molina (loved by many in his role as Marvel's Doctor Octopus) this comic fantasy allows Sellers to construct his own documentary on his own life, told through his own eyes.

There Used To Be A Me bubbles with comedy insight into the workings of an eccentric - and, at times, cruel - mind, examining the pressures of a tortured imagination when given free and total control...but unable to take full responsibility.

As Sellers once said: 'There used to be a me. But, I had it surgically removed.'

First published: Wednesday 14th April 2021

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Alfred Molina stars as the comic genius Peter Sellers in AUK Studios and Spiteful Puppet's audio release of There Used To Be A Me.

Molina transports us into the mind of Peter Sellers and his characters, from his days starting on The Goon Show to his time as Inspector Clouseau. An audio play uncovering the mask behind Peter Sellers, a window that was shut for many years is opened as Molina narrates Sellers and his characters. Taking us through a never-before-heard insight into Sellers complicated mind and his work.

Alfred Molina says: "As a fan of the great Peter Sellers, any chance to inhabit his world through his movies, books, etc, then I grab at it. This project does something different. It tells a familiar story from a completely new perspective, that of Peter Sellers himself. The challenge to voice all the characters, Mr Sellers included, was too exciting to ignore. It's a window into a soul."

There Used To Be A Me is written by comedian and writer Ian Billings and produced and directed by Barnaby Eaton-Jones.

Ian Billings says: "In There Used To Be A Me I've attempted to examine the man and his work and peer into the mechanisms of his thinking, which, if contemporary reports are accurate, was sometimes wildly awry. Peter Hall said, 'You need the skill to control the skill.' Sellers had the first but possibly not the second."

Barnaby Eaton-Jones comments: "I've been a fan of Peter Sellers, as an artist, since I was no higher than a giraffe with no legs and a broken neck. It was a happy coincidence that writer Ian Billings and I were working on co-current ideas for a new way to look back on Sellers life - without repeating other works - and, when we realised this, we opted for Ian's more audio-friendly narrative in which Sellers is producing his own audio about his life; starring Sellers as everyone in it. It's a complex and clever script, with pathos and humour; a deep dive into the life and career of Peter Sellers. To have another hero of mine, in the form of acting legend Alfred Molina, come on board to perform this one-man 'show', was the icing on the cake. He delivered it with such aplomb and really juggled the manic nature of switching between voices in a virtually live performance with no separation of recording each voice separately. It's a tour-de-force. I've had a ball directing and producing this unique audio production."

Paul Andrews CEO of AUK Studios comments: "It is an absolute honour to be able to be part of the creative process to bring Peter Sellers to life via the amazing talent that is Alfred Molina. His performance in There Used To Be A Me is stunning. Since 1981 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark I have personally been a huge fan of his work, and it's impossible to pick favourites from his remarkable career from films like Species, Spider Man 2, The Da Vinci Code, and so looking forward to seeing him in the new pending film, Marvel's Spider Man: No Way Home. That's not even mentioning the huge volume of voice work by him, such as in Disney's Frozen 2, Ralph Breaks The Internet, the DC superhero cartoons, and so many more! We just can't wait to bring this all to you on the many global digital outlets we work with, we are sure you will just love There Used To Be A Me."

Trailer

Alfred Molina interview