Quarter 1 Reviews- 012 Contemporary Comedy – Old

012 Contemporary Comedy – Old 

Some very diverse offerings here, starting with the 1962 satirical pantomime, The Demon King (by JB Priestley and adapted by Michael and Mollie Hardwick). In Bruddersford in Yorkshire, pantomimes are traditional but have never been high art.  The Demon King in this year’s (1962) performance of Jack and Jill is washed-up has-been Mr Ireton (who has an extraordinary speaking and singing voice, as played by Ian Wallace) who is a sot and doesn’t have a good word to say about the town.  When curtain comes up on Boxing Day, Mr Ireton is nowhere to be found.  At last he shows up—a bit too much in character.  Like the supernatural visitors to the theatres in The Master and Margarita, the Demon King shakes up the performance, appearing with the smell of brimstone and not bothering to use such contrivances as trap doors.  He causes actresses to dry up, sing better than they ever have, (including past-it Dulcie, played by Marjorie Westbury), bats to appear on stage, dancers to dance like they never have before, and pantomime dames to get the best laughter they’ve ever gotten.  Oh, and the Demon King speaks in verse.  When the news comes that Ireton is actually in hospital in York, the real “Demon King” disappears in a puff of smoke, causing the stage impresario to exclaim that he’s signing the pledge—“tonight!”  I found it very amusing, with lovely music, supplied, in another twist, by pre-Doctor Who Ron Grainer and Christopher Whelen.  It was directed by Charles Lefeaux and also starred Sheila Grant, George Merritt, Frederick Treves, David Valor, Godfrey Kenton, John Baddeley, Derek Wells. 

Sharing nothing with the above other than its performance aspect, Ian D Mortfort Is:  Unbelievable by Tom Binns and Richard Turner was unlike anything I had ever heard before.  Tom Binns performs the role of Ian D Montfort, Geordie medium, all the while sending up such acts in a very entertaining way.  It’s all recorded live in front of a studio audience.  Excellent stuff.

Hailing from back in 1992, a standout for me was the final episode of On the Hour, the biting satire from Armando Iannucci.  In this episode, the people of Essex were terrorized by a bluebottle, and Alan Partridge was his usual oafish self.  Perhaps most interesting to me was the OB being disrupted and the radio station having to drop in on the 24/7 perpetual radio drama studio to fill the gap.  Also, by the end, On the Hour went 24/7 itself, thus obliterating the Radio 4 schedule in its entirety.  

I heard two episodes of Stockport, So Good They Named It Once, and I would have gladly heard the whole series.  I have to admit how incredibly refreshing it was to hear Stockport accents on BBC Radio 4 (Extra).  It was quite funny, and the characters quite endearing, though the pace of life in 1999 was slower.  Jason, the criminally underused Dominic Monaghan, is at the heart of this sitcom. His father is a cab driver with delusions of grandeur; his grandmother is a bigoted old bag; his girlfriend dumps him at the first opportunity for a shallow Italian exchange student; his older brother doesn’t go to school but practices in a band that never plays gigs.  Written by Jim Poyser and Damian Lanigan, it was directed by Neil Mossey and co-starred Jason Done, Stefan Escreet, John McArdle, Emma Clarke, Beverley Callard, and Jo-Anne Knowles.