An affectionate and highly convincing tribute to the classic 1960s radio comedy Round The Horne is again touring the UK.
The production by the Apollo Theatre Company recreates a recording of the ground-breaking show, written by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, and starring Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden, and Hugh Paddick.
Our senior consultant Andrew Weltch reviewed its opening night in Cardiff (February 18) for our companion hyperlocal site, Rhiwbina Info, explaining how it features many favourite sketches, including the ever-popular Julian and Sandy – who speak in polari, a slang used by the gay community to communicate in secret when homosexuality was illegal.
He notes: “Their greeting of ‘How bona to vada your dolly old eek’ prompted as much affection from the audience tonight as it did in the 1960s. And their innuendo-strewn sketches make you wonder how they avoided censorship back then.”
Then there were the movie spoofs, as superspy Horne tries to track down the villain who stole Big Ben, and Williams’ much-loved folk singer Rambling Syd Rumpo – whose sing-a-long version of Green Grow My Nadgers O was a second half highlight.
As Julian and Sandy might say: “It’s not just bona, Mr Horne. It’s fantabulosa!”
Round The Horne plays again in Cardiff tonight (February 19) before moving to Milford Haven, Monmouth, Henley-on-Thames, Aylesbury, Winchester, Yeovil, Hedge End, Brighton, Basingstoke, Ilfracombe, Teignmouth, Leamington Spa, Peterborough, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Edinburgh, York, Harrogate, Crewe, Bury St Edmunds, Norwich, Richmond, Poole, Bromley, Hastings, and Horsham.
You can read the review here.
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