
Apollo Theatre Company brings the classic radio comedy show, Round the Horne, to life at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month in an exciting new production celebrating the show’s 60th anniversary.
Now on its sixth UK tour, this production transports the audience back to the late 1960s and the anarchic, boisterous atmosphere of the BBC’s Paris Theatre during the recordings of the programme that defined the genre for decades to come, complete with a live band and live sound effects. It can be seen at the SJT on 29 and 30 September.
With its infamous movie spoofs and hilarious regular characters such as Julian & Sandy, Rambling Syd Rumpo and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Round the Horne was a cultural phenomenon, regularly drawing up to 15 million listeners per week and making stars of Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden.
Created with the blessing and support of the estates of the show’s writers, Barry Took and Marty Feldman, director Tim Astley has hand-picked a selection of the greatest sketches and songs from the 67 original episodes.
He says:
“I was born 20 years after Round the Horne aired its final episode and discovered it for the first time as a teenager. Even at a young age, I could tell that this show was special. Barry and Marty were so clever in the way they wrote it: it really did have something for everyone. On one level you have the big, over-the-top characters and ridiculous scenarios; on the other, the wonderful wordplay and innuendo. I listen back to the shows now and finally understand some of the cleverer and ruder jokes I missed at first listen. It really is a timeless comedy show and it’s an absolute joy to be able to perform these brilliant sketches live to fans young and old.”
Round the Horne can be seen at the SJT at 7.45pm on Monday 29 September, and at 1.30pm and 7.45pm on Tuesday 30 September.
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