Skip to main content

H-h-h-excellent.

I had the most glorious, inspiring night tonight, watching a recording of The Missing Hancocks at BBC Broadcasting House. 

I was there, thanks to the kindness of Kevin Eldon (AKA Bill Kerr), who snuck me in under his metaphorical jacket. I sent him a text on a whim when I saw they were making another series and he put me and my wife on the guest list. I'm so grateful that he did, as I'm a huge Hancock fan - and often lament to myself that I'd never get the chance to experience the real thing, thanks to being born twenty-four years too late; Damn my parents and their reluctance to procreate. 

I can't state enough just how good tonight was. It was inspiring to see such a great cast get their mitts on a fantastic pair of scripts and nail them so perfectly. If it weren't for the half century that's passed, you could be fooled into thinking every member of the original ensemble was performing there before you, though their faces may have changed. It's testament to the quality of the writing (which I think is time and again some of the best sitcom comedy to exist), that punchlines written so long ago still land so effectively; the project is clearly a labour of love for producer Neil Pearson and lead performer and Hancock super-fan Kevin McNally. Being there tonight brought me as close as I ever can to the fantasy of seeing the real thing, other than if I were in it; now that really would be a dream come true. 

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...