Round the Horne revival delights classic comedy fans
Theatre Royal, Brighton: Round the Horne – Unseen and Uncut
I remember vividly sitting in front of my parents' old radiogram in the mid to late Sixties, listening with glee to Round the Horne. I was only about 7, so the double entendres and innuendo went straight over my head, but I loved the silly voices, the hilarity and the sense of fun that bounced out of the speakers. Along with The Goon Show and Hancock's Half Hour repeats regularly broadcast, they provided a vital part of my comedy education.
So I was slightly nervous approaching the Theatre Royal for this revival show, wondering if it could ever get close to the original.
I needn't have worried – while we can't get Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Horne, Betty Marsden et all back in person, the talented cast playing their parts did an extraordinary job in recreating the voices, the personalities and fizz and sparkle of Barry Took and Marty Feldman's wonderfully entertaining scripts.
With a set recreating a BBC recording studio of the time, plus a house band of top quality musicians and a vocal quartet (Not the Fraser Hayes Four) providing the musical interludes, this was a hilarious and precisely delivered evening.
Robin Sebastian had Kenneth Williams' tone, verbal tics and characterisations down to a tee, from the slimy J Peasemold Gruntfuttock to the lewd folk balladeer Rambling Syd Rumpo. There was a strong physical resemblance, too, even down to the flared nostrils.
Holding things together in genial style was Jonathan Rigby as Kenneth Horne, and excellent support came from Sally Grace as Betty Marsden, Nigel Harrison as Hugh Paddick, Michael Shaw as Bill Pertwee and Stephen Boswell as Douglas Smith.
Our favourite characters came to life, including camp duo Julian and Sandy, ageing thesps Binkie Huckaback and Dame Celia Molestrangler, TV personality Seamus Android, and Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg with his sidekick Lotus Blossom.
The gags came thick and fast, and the surreal comedy, complex wordplay and risque innuendo sounded as fresh as when they were written more than 40 years ago. Exactly what the powers that be made of Round the Horne's anarchic style, it's hard to know – they certainly got away with a lot most likely because of the clever way the scripts were written, and because much of the risque words were invented by the writers.
A great revival of some classic British comedy – long may it continue.
Russ Bravo
I remember vividly sitting in front of my parents' old radiogram in the mid to late Sixties, listening with glee to Round the Horne. I was only about 7, so the double entendres and innuendo went straight over my head, but I loved the silly voices, the hilarity and the sense of fun that bounced out of the speakers. Along with The Goon Show and Hancock's Half Hour repeats regularly broadcast, they provided a vital part of my comedy education.
So I was slightly nervous approaching the Theatre Royal for this revival show, wondering if it could ever get close to the original.
I needn't have worried – while we can't get Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Horne, Betty Marsden et all back in person, the talented cast playing their parts did an extraordinary job in recreating the voices, the personalities and fizz and sparkle of Barry Took and Marty Feldman's wonderfully entertaining scripts.
With a set recreating a BBC recording studio of the time, plus a house band of top quality musicians and a vocal quartet (Not the Fraser Hayes Four) providing the musical interludes, this was a hilarious and precisely delivered evening.
Robin Sebastian had Kenneth Williams' tone, verbal tics and characterisations down to a tee, from the slimy J Peasemold Gruntfuttock to the lewd folk balladeer Rambling Syd Rumpo. There was a strong physical resemblance, too, even down to the flared nostrils.
Holding things together in genial style was Jonathan Rigby as Kenneth Horne, and excellent support came from Sally Grace as Betty Marsden, Nigel Harrison as Hugh Paddick, Michael Shaw as Bill Pertwee and Stephen Boswell as Douglas Smith.
Our favourite characters came to life, including camp duo Julian and Sandy, ageing thesps Binkie Huckaback and Dame Celia Molestrangler, TV personality Seamus Android, and Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg with his sidekick Lotus Blossom.
The gags came thick and fast, and the surreal comedy, complex wordplay and risque innuendo sounded as fresh as when they were written more than 40 years ago. Exactly what the powers that be made of Round the Horne's anarchic style, it's hard to know – they certainly got away with a lot most likely because of the clever way the scripts were written, and because much of the risque words were invented by the writers.
A great revival of some classic British comedy – long may it continue.
Russ Bravo