The Missing Hancocks

The Missing Hancocks

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27/08/15

Assembly Rooms Music Hall, George Street, Edinburgh

There was no way I was going to miss this little treat. As a Hancock fan from way back, this was right up my street – four episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour, lost from the archives and now lovingly recreated for the Edinburgh Festival, two shows each featuring two episodes. OK, so I only had time to slot in Show A, (The Winter Holiday and New Year Resolutions) but boy am I glad I did. It only reaffirms for me that Hancock teamed with Galton and Simpson was the very definition of comedy gold.

The shows are recreated exactly as they would have been on the BBC in the 1950s. The actors stand around a couple of mics with their scripts and they read them out, complete with sound effects and musical interludes. Kevin MacNally doesn’t so much play Hancock as inhabit the very bones of him. It’s all there; the lugubrious expressions, the perfect timing and that world-weary voice. Close your eyes and you’re right back there in your parents’ living room, listening to the original shows. Likewise, Robin Sebastian’s embodiment of Kenneth Williams is absolutely spot on, as he flounces on and steals the show, as he always did, right from under Hancock’s nose.

I won’t pretend that this is for everyone. There are plenty of people who simply don’t ‘get’ Hancock, who can’t see anything remotely funny in his work and for them, this would doubtless be akin to some kind of aural torture. But the packed seats of the Assembly Music Hall testify to the fact that there’s a lot of fans out there who are delighted to have the opportunity to enjoy these vintage episodes once again. Priceless.

4.5 stars

Philip Caveney

Assembly Rooms Launch

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05/08/15

Assembly Rooms, George Street, Edinburgh

 The Assembly Rooms on George Street is one of the Fringe’s finest venues, its architecture creating an opulent backdrop for an eclectic range of shows.

This year’s offerings are many and varied; I’ll wager there’s something here for everyone. The selection we were offered last night barely scratched the surface, but still encompassed no less than seven genres of music – from comic ditties to classic crooning. There was theatre too, and comedy: it was a promising introduction to the latest festival.

There were too many acts to name them all, and we only saw a small sample of what they do (although we’ll definitely be back to find out more).

Standouts, though, included The Missing Hancocks, a recreation of four Hancock’s Half Hour radio scripts that have not been heard since the 1950s. Kevin McNally’s Hancock is delightfully accurate, with all the lugubrious charm of the man himself, and Robin Sebastian does a cracking Kenneth Williams. The scripts are funny in themselves, but they are performed here with vim and gusto and enough ‘new’ character to make them worthwhile in their own right (The Music Hall, 4.15pm – alternating daily between Show A and Show B).

Canadian Tom Stade’s stand-up was another highlight. He lives in Scotland now, and spent most of this short set ruminating on the cultural oddities his relocation has thrown up. His laconic style is utterly engaging, and this brief offering augers well for the full-length show (The Ballroom, 9.40pm – nightly).

We also enjoyed Christine Bovill’s Piaf, a delightful homage to a woman Bovill clearly adores. The songs are sung with warmth as well as precision, and Bovill is an engaging raconteur too, explaining both what the songs mean to her – and what they meant to Piaf herself. This is undoubtedly one to watch (The Spiegeltent, 7.20pm, various dates).

This was a strong start to this year’s Fringe at the Assembly Rooms – and, here at Bouquets and Brickbats, we are very excited about the next three weeks.

(We have decided not to include a star-rating for launch events, as it’s impossible to rate such a diverse collection of excerpts.)

Susan Singfield