![]() The 'radio play theatre show' has become immensely popular since an acclaimed revival staging of Round The Horne in the early 2000s. The same was set to tour in 2020, but the pandemic threatened the production to such an extent that the idea was reimagined as a live radio recording reminiscent of the series' heyday, with myself as Harold, Jerry as Albert, and Lucy Cooper joining us as Harold's on/off (mainly off!) girlfriend, Delia. So too do the mountain of compliments from the legions of avid Steptoe And Son fans we've had 'purists', sometimes tyrannical it has to be said, determined to undermine our efforts, be won over by the shared emotion of appreciation and delight witnessing these rightly revered scripts and characters brought to life again in front of live audiences.Ī further tour followed in 2019, this time a festive edition, which boasted the original 'lost' sketch from the 1962 Christmas Night With The Stars programme. ![]() To have the public support and endorsement of Ray Galton, when he viewed a recording of the production in 2018 (his writing partner, Alan, sadly passed away early in 2017) meant, and means, so much. Bringing such iconic characters back to life is tremendous fun, if daunting and riddled with a few, natural insecurities. To say, 'the rest, as they say, is history', would be to undermine the careful thoughts and processes that unfolded over the next eleven months. Image shows from L to R: Jeremy Smith, John Hewer. you do have the resemblance of Old Man Steptoe." Jeremy turned to me, looked me square in the eye, gurned impeccably, and growled "meeeeh! Git orf art of it!" you really mustn't take this the wrong way. The image it conjured up was quite eerie. I turned to my left to speak to the assistant director, Jeremy Smith, but was shut down by the sight of his silhouette against the black drapes and the stark lighting spilling from the stage. There was a performance going on, and I was waiting for my cue. In 2016, I was standing in the wings of my local theatre, The Riverhead, in Louth, Lincolnshire. So what exactly goes into these 'comedy tribute' shows? When and where is the source material so sacrosanct that, to offer a stark, different interpretation, would defy the very reason you're attempting a revival in the first instance? Why we did so can be re-discovered here, in a feature I wrote back in 2018. In 2017, with my theatre company Hambledon Productions, I first staged a production of Steptoe And Son. Corbett), Albert Steptoe (Wilfrid Brambell). Image shows from L to R: Harold Steptoe (Harry H. Some episodes are more distinctive than others, but each carries measures of pathos, angst, and a style of comedy rarely surpassed. And as for laughs, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson never left you short-changed. Boxwood's Boarding House in Bognor?ĭespite this constant friction, Steptoe And Son has a heart, fractious though it may be, and a gritty, realistic approach to its comedy that was unprecedented in its day. ![]() So who needs Majorca at Christmas-time when you can go to Mrs. ![]() Having survived two world wars, Albert has an unyielding appreciation of the simpler things. While each episode would invariably focus on Harold's exasperation at being shackled to "a festering fly-blown heap of accumulated filth", Albert, meanwhile, is equally determined not to see his son rise above 'the mire' because, unlike Harold, he sees only a steady business, with regular homecooked meals and the security of companionship. Harold, whose age varies from mid-30s to mid-40s throughout the fourteen year tenure, tries desperately to escape their Oil Drum Lane home, and, moreover, the poisonous relationship he has with his overbearing, under-caring father, Albert. Surely, it should be impossible to find anybody who doesn't recognise that it paved the way for the genre to be implicit in its handling of both comedic and dramatic storylines, and, in particular, with its complex central characters - those of the equally flawed, equally ardent, equally tragic eponymous Steptoes.įor those reading this who are unfamiliar with the set-up, each of the fifty-seven episodes, originally broadcast 1962 - 1974, tells the story of a father and son (rag-and-bone men/second-hand traders, although this is rarely more than a fabulously decaying backdrop), who are bound by blood. You'd be hard pushed to find any sitcom connoisseur who wouldn't contend that Steptoe And Son continues to provoke and to entertain. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |