Laughter rolls through the stalls at Spike's Newbury premiere
Spike, by Ian Hislop & Nick Newman, at The Watermill, Bagnor, until March 5. Review by Niki Hinman
"It is the fate of visionaries to be ignored by their own generation.”
In a play full of wit, energy and charm, there are a few lines in Spike that stand out. This was one of them and it seemed to sum up Spike Milligan rather well.
Clearly ahead of his time with his unique brand of anarchic humour, the sense of struggle, both personally and professionally was deftly woven into the script. Cleverly staged, it runs at a breathtaking pace in the first half.
The narrative weaves between Spike’s creative craziness and struggles with mental health, which is brought into sharp focus as the play lurches from present Goonery to past darkness suffering from shell shock in the war.
John Dagleish in the title role puts in a huge and exhausting performance, channelling the comic insanity of Milligan as a sensitive, troubled and somewhat cantankerous soul. He is utterly watchable, as Spike takes a flourishing nosedive off the cliffs of respectability, and mashes up his haunted past to create the comedy of the future.
George Kemp plays the conceited Sellers to a tee, capturing the aloof arrogance - and almost having the audience cheer with laughter when Goon character Bluebottle makes an appearance in the second act.
Jeremy Lloyd plays Harry Secombe - the jolly Welshman who blows a lot of raspberries and frequently breaks into song - as a friendly, and perhaps kinder character than both Sellers and Spike.
The supporting cast keep the momentum going, with Robert Mountford’s BBC Executive as pompous and entitled as you might expect compared to the occasionally lunatic Spike.
Special mention goes to the irrepressible sound effects lady, Janet, played by Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
The geekiness of the BBC sound effects library scenes offer a different and highly entertaining tilt to the Goons’ comic rockets and while the play is set in the 1960s, in an age before women were considered funny, these scenes deflect from an occasionally bloke-y script.
Spike is well worth a watch and it is a deserving reflection on the contribution Spike and the Goons made to British comedy culture.
There are many laugh aloud moments and some great Goon voices.
The roll call of comedy hall-of-famers inspired by Spike listed out at the end says it all. From Monty Python to Reeves and Mortimer, its an impressive list. Shame no female comics made it though. French and Saunders would have been a good nod.
NH
At Monday night's premiere Private Eye editor and Spike’s co-writer Ian Hislop lauded the Watermill saying: “It is the best place to launch a play and they are endlessly good.”
“The cast were fantastic, I can’t believe how good they are,” he told @newburytoday.
“The laughter rolled through the stalls of the Watermill for sure. That was a real treat. ”
Hislop wrote Spike with his cartoonist colleague Nick Newman, who also attended.
“I am all for being more silly,” said Hislop. “The great thing with Spike is that he was silly and serious. I think we can try harder to be silly though can’t we?”
Spike’s most celebrated association with the Eye, to which he was a regular contributor, was when he placed a lonely hearts ad in the back of the magazine. It read: “Spike Milligan seeks rich, well-insured widow. Intention: murder.” He received 48 replies.
“I am all for being more silly,” Hislop added. “The great thing with Spike is that he was silly and serious.
"I think we can try harder to be silly though can’t we?”
