Hancock`s Hour and a Half

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Edward
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Non-Professional
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Programme £1.00
Box
Office: 020
8301 5584
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EAT News
director’s notes
Subscriptions 2013/14
Many thanks to all those who have already renewed their subscriptions. Your subscription
was due for renewal on the 1st September 2013. Payments can be made by cash, cheque or
credit/debit card. Alternatively you may pay by BACs. The theatre’s bank details are: Sort
Code 20-24-61 Account no. 90350079, Account name “Edward Alderton Theatre”. The postal
address is, Maureen Hardween, Edward Alderton Theatre, 5 Brampton Road,
Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 4EZ.
Next Quiz Night
Our next Quiz Night will be held in memory of Susan Hall and will take place on Saturday 19
October at 7.30pm at the theatre. We would encourage as many theatre members to attend as
possible, as all profits from the evening will go to the Royal Brompton Hospital.
The Weir cast
The cast for The Weir, a spooky drama by Conor McPherson and directed by Nick Hewitt, has
now been announced. The production runs from 15-22 February 2014.
Jack - Tony Donnelly
Finbar - Kevin Coward
Jim - Dan Cox
Valerie - Fiona McGahren
Brendan - Kai Corsack
Bexley Drama Awards
On Saturday 14th September, the Edward Alderton Theatre hosted the Bexley Drama awards,
please turn to page 6 for more details and photographs.
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The Calendar Girls Alternative Calendar
HELP Raise a smile whilst raising
funds for a great cause
Alternative
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Please help us to celebrate Calendar Girls and to raise funds for the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Research Charity.
The EAT Alternative 2014 Calendar is available to buy at
the bar on Wednesday night socials and at the box office during
the next EAT productions.
It’s an ideal gift and will make a great Christmas present.
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2/7/13 14:42:19
12 months of
lovely
ladies
(and gents)
With all proceeds going to
In the words of Kenneth Williams: ‘Good Evening!’
Thank you for coming along tonight for ‘Hancock’s Hour and a Half’.
Tony Hancock was born in 1924, and started to record Hancock’s Half Hour on the radio in 1954,
written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series broke with the variety tradition which was
then dominant in British radio comedy, highlighting a new genre: the sitcom or situation comedy.
Instead of the traditional variety mix of sketches, guest stars and musical interludes, the show’s
humour derived from characters and situations developed in a half-hour storyline.
The comedy actor Sid James played a criminally inclined confidant of Hancock, who usually
succeeded in conning him each week. Bill Kerr appeared as Hancock’s Australian lodger, a character
who became noticeably dim-witted in the later shows. A young Kenneth Williams, taking his first job
in comedy, provided the funny voices for all the minor characters in the show each week.
Moira Lister appeared in the first series, before being replaced by Andrée Melly for the next two;
both women played the love interest for Hancock’s character, in essentially ‘straight’ roles.
In the fourth and fifth series a comedienne, Hattie Jacques, provided comedy in the female role
as the strict Griselda Pugh, who was Hancock’s secretary and Sid’s occasional girlfriend. Among
the well-known actors who appeared in the series were Hugh Lloyd, Dick Emery, John Le Mesurier
and Richard Wattis.
Galton and Simpson never gave titles to any of their Hancock scripts, for radio or television; this
was usually left to the girl who filed the scripts at their office, who gave them names that were
a reminder of what the script was about. So when Roger Wilmut came to write his book Tony
Hancock – Artiste (first published 1978) he took the liberty of inventing titles where necessary and
these titles, a combination of the file names and Wilmut’s own, have become the accepted ones ever
since, with the approval of Galton and Simpson and the BBC.
I have decided on three episodes from the six series that were recorded – that was a hard choice,
with so many to choose from! I have chosen ones across various series to give you a taste of Hancock.
It was hard to choose the episodes, and then even harder having to transcribe them all, as the scripts
are not available. I would like to thank my Dad and Mark Campbell for helping me to do this.
I have been a big fan of Hancock, for at least 20 years. My Dad used to listen to them, and as a
child I grew up listening to them too, and each time I found them funnier and funnier! I still listen to
them now, and find them just as funny.
It has long been a little bit of a dream of mine to put Hancock on the stage, and to see if it could
be done. I am so happy with my amazing cast. They have all worked so hard to get the voices and
the mannerisms of the people they are playing. We have had a lot of fun in rehearsals, and I am so
proud of them all.
A thank you to Mark for helping me to produce these episodes tonight, and I hope you enjoy
tonight’s performance.
Don’t forget your free drink, cheese and nibbles available at the bar.
Sarah O’Hanlon, Director
Hancock’s Hour and a Half
by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Produced by Sarah O’Hanlon and Mark Campbell
The Picnic Series 6, Episode 4 ~ 20 October 1959
Tony Hancock................................................ Mark Campbell
Sid James........................................................ Steve Hunt
Bill Kerr............................................................. Michael Taylor
Scout Master and Announcer................. Steve Padgham
Patricia Hayes................................................ Louise Ody
Ann Lancaster............................................... Karen Friett
Liz Fraser......................................................... Shirley Andrews
The Rail Strike Series 2, Episode 8 ~ 7 June 1955
Tony Hancock................................................ Mark Campbell
Sid James........................................................ Steve Hunt
Bill Kerr............................................................. Michael Taylor
Kenneth Williams......................................... Steve Padgham
Andrée Melly.................................................. Louise Ody
INTERVAL
The Conjurer Series 3, Episode 19 ~ 22 February 1956
Tony Hancock................................................ Mark Campbell
Sid James........................................................ Steve Hunt
Bill Kerr............................................................. Michael Taylor
Kenneth Williams......................................... Steve Padgham
Andrée Melly.................................................. Louise Ody
Crew
Director and Stage Manager........................... Sarah O’Hanlon
Light and Sound Operation............................. Sarah O’Hanlon
Sound Engineer..................................................... Michael Taylor
Lighting Rigging.................................................... Sarah O’Hanlon, Mark Campbell, Michael Taylor,
Louise Ody and Rod Henderson
Lighting Design..................................................... Sarah O’Hanlon and Mark Campbell
Set Painting............................................................. Sarah O’Hanlon, Mick O’Hanlon and Mark Campbell
Microphone Design.............................................. Steve Nash
Costumes................................................................. Cast
Publicity and Posters.......................................... Kevin Coward
Special thanks to:
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Mick O’Hanlon, Steve Nash and Michael Taylor.
A selection of images of the Hancock cast during
rehearsals. Photographs by Sarah O’Hanlon
bexley
drama
awards
On Saturday 14th September,
the Edward Alderton Theatre
hosted the Bexley Drama awards.
We are very happy to announce
that we won the following
awards at the event:
Images from our last production
A slice of saturday night
Audience Feedback:
“Our group of 13 were knocked out by how
good A Slice of Saturday Night was!”
Members of the cast and crew of The Hollow
• The Betty Bailey Award for Set Design – Equus
• Kentish Times Award for Technical Achievement –
Calendar Girls
• Best Male Actor Certificate of Merit –
Darren Cullen for Equus
• Best Female Actor Certificate of Merit –
Louise Ody for The Hollow
• Certificate of Merit for the Best Supporting Role –
Ella Banks for The Hollow
• Certificate of Merit for the Best Production –
Calendar Girls
• The Erith Trophy for the Best Production –
The Hollow
Congratulations to everyone involved in these
productions!
“We’ve been to see quite a few shows at the
EAT and I personally thought it was the best
I’d ever seen there.”
“The band’s backing was perfect”
“The cast were so talented - all rounders who
could act, dance and sing.”
L to R: Mark Campbell, Darren Cullen and
Equus director Rod Henderson
The Hollow director Helen Banks
with daughter Ella
Members of the cast of Calendar Girls
Keep up to date with news from our theatre at
www.edwardalderton.org, add us as a friend on Facebook or
follow us on twitter@EdwardAlderton.
An induction loop system has been installed in the auditorium.
Please switch your hearing aid to the ‘T‘ position
Thank you for coming to see our production. Have a safe journey home. Please come again soon.
Photography © Robert Piwko
future productions
Up Pompeii (COMEDY) 5-12 April 2014
by Miles Tredinnick, directed by Roz Betts
• 5.00pm Matinée performance on Sun 6th
The Weir (DRAMA)
15-22 February 2014
by Conor McPherson,
directed by Nick Hewitt
The Tempest (DRAMA) 31 May - 7 June 2014
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Mark Campbell