The Goon Show cast: Jimme Rennie (Secombe), Richard Usher (Sellers), Robert Coletta (Spike), Phil Hemming (Wallace Greenslade/ Valentine Dyall)
Birmingham Comedy Festival and the Old Joint Stock Theatre Company present:
The Goon Show
– Radio revival heads to Croydon after sell-out debut at Birmingham Comedy Festival
– Two Spike Milligan scripts recreated
A stage version of the classic radio comedy series The Goon Show heads to Croydon from Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 October 2014.
Recreating two classic Spike Milligan scripts from 1954, the production’s arrival at The Spread Eagle Theatre comes in the wake of a sell-out run at the Birmingham Comedy Festival.
The Goon Show re-wrote the rules of British comedy during the 1950s, attracting radio audiences of nearly two million and paving the way for Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan and The Mighty Boosh. Remarkably, 60 years later, and The Goons – Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe – can still be heard on BBC radio today.
Show producer Dave Freak said: “We’ve been graciously granted permission for a very limited run of just two Spike scripts, and as far as we are aware, it’s the first time The Goon Show has been officially performed on stage outside of the BBC.”
On the show’s sell-out run in Birmingham, Dave added: “It was quite remarkable – we had people coming from as far as Northern Ireland for the show. The mix of drama, gags and silliness seems to bridge the years as eldest audience member was in their 80s, while the youngest was just eight … and they were all laughing!”
The show finds Seagoon, Eccles, Bluebottle, Major Bloodnok and Minnie become embroiled in the case of the heinous Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton), and tell a terrifying tale of family greed and murder in (pause for dramatic effect), The Canal!
The cast features Richard Usher (Sellers), Jimm Rennie (Secombe), Robert Coletta (Milligan) and Phil Hemming (announcer Wallace Greenslade and Valentine Dyall), and is performed script-in-hand with live audio effects, as the original series would have been performed. Directed by Robert F Ball, the show is a co-production between Birmingham Comedy Festival and the Old Joint Stock Theatre Company.
The Goon Show runs from Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 October 2014 at The Spread Eagle Pub and Theatre, 39-41 Katharine Street, Croydon, Surrey CR0 1NX. Starts 7.30pm. Tickets £10 via spreadeaglecroydon.co.uk
The Goon Show – cast rehearsal with Robert Coletta.
- Interview from the Birmingham Mail: Roz Laws discovers a radio revival of The Goon Show…
- For interviews with the cast and/ or team, images and more information, contact us. Limited review tickets may be available upon request.
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