Four “lost” scripts by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for the the 1950s radio show Hancock’s Half Hour are being performed here, two each on alternate days. I saw The Winter Holiday and New Year Resolution. The huge Music Hall at the Assembly Rooms, apparently filling every day (and not just with geriatrics like me), dwarfs what is on stage – just five actors standing at old-fashioned BBC microphones – and effectively diminishes it. This is a show that would suit being seen at a smaller venue or, better still, being listened to on a radio. Kevin McNally’s voice and delivery capture Hancock to perfection, Robin Sebastian is the camp Kenneth Williams, Simon Greenall the gruff Sid James, Alex Lowe the Aussie Bill Kerr and Suzy Kane is Hancock’s girlfriend, Andree Melly. Neil Pearson directs. And, to answer the obvious question, yes the scripts are still very funny, even if specific references in them became dated decades ago. A very pleasant stroll down Memory Lane
Performance date: 21 August 2015
The Beast's Pen 