THE HANCOCK FESTIVAL

Hancock's Half Hour (Radio) First Series - Programme 5

Three short plays, adapted for radio, from the pen of "A. Somerset Hancock".

Cast
Tony Hancock
Bill Kerr
Moira Lister
Sidney James
Alan Simpson

Programme Guide

In this programme, the team offer a different format to the usual straight half-hour run through.

We are presented with three short playlets performed by Mr. Anthony Hancock and his band of strolling players. Although not quite the calibre of the "East Cheam Drama Festival", the idea is here in muted form.

These three set pieces are written in the style of Somerset Maugham and penned by the redoubtable plume of A. Somerset Hancock, with the sub-title of "The Moon and 2.5d.". The three diversifications, what one would call comic chaos of the genre, are set in the tropical heat of the Malaysian jungle - featuring the cast's steamy, if not overwrought, emotions. The change in programme style gives the participants a chance to step out of their usual personae and even, occasionally, reverse the pecking order.

Although Galton and Simpson hinted that, during the half-hour runs, they did sometimes become slightly desperate for ideas, it would seem that these trilogy shows were created out of need, not simply for change, but to provide different avenues of creativity.

In adopting this style, the two writers were, in a sense, returning to their comedy writing roots. They had originally gained acceptance by the BBC by writing a "Muir and Norden"-style "Take It From Here" parody play/film sketch. The sketch they submitted concerned Henry Morgan, the pirate, and was good enough to get them onto the BBC's books and ensure their future as comedy writing professionals.

This parody style of comedy writing was very much in vogue in the early Fifties, until situation comedy really emerged as "the" thing. The BBC's strict code of practice governing comedy writing at that time, enforced by the famous book which detailed what could and what could not be used in a comedy context, meant that very few other modes of expression could be used.

So, over a period of eleven years, Galton and Simpson served Hancock well, but, at the same time, he did more than act out the scripts, he lifted them off the page and created a supreme form of comedy.

These three-way split scripts provided a breath of fresh air to the series. They were used not only for the "Drama Festival" type of show, but also as dream sequences in "The Diary", which contains what must be considered by the general public as the most famous of Hancock's radio sketches, "The Test Pilot".