A NEW play co-written by the editor of Private Eye will look at the life of much-loved silly man Spike Milligan.
The Watermill in Newbury is premièring the work, simply called Spike, from Thursday this week.
Set nearly 70 years ago, it looks at the life and times of the comedian, as he pushes the boundaries of taste and decency, all the name of getting a laugh.
At the time, radio dominated our homes rather than the gogglebox, and the nation rushed home to listen to the antics of The Goon Show, starring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Michael Benetine and, of course, Spike.
While the rest of the team are happy being overnight celebrities, Spike, the show’s chief writer, Spike finds himself pushing the boundaries of comedy, and testing the patience of the BBC.
Flanked by his fellow Goons and bolstered by the efforts of irrepressible sound assistant Janet, Spike takes a flourishing nosedive off the cliffs of respectability, and mashes up his haunted past to create the comedy of the future.
Will Spike’s dogged obsession with finding the funny elevate The Goons to soaring new heights, or will the whole thing come crashing down with the stroke of a potato peeler?
Of course, with the benefit of history on our side, we know how the story unfolds: The Goons have become part of our national fabric, and Spike is still celebrated today, even though his gravestone sadly says, ‘I told you I was ill’.
Spike is co-written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and it is directed by Paul Hart.
The cast includes Stephen Fry as the BBC announcer, while Olivier Award-winning actor John Dagleish is Spike.
Joining him is TV comedian Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Motherland, Miranda, Buffering) as Janet, George Kemp (recently seen in Bridgerton, and soon to star in Amazon’s Call My Agent) as Peter Sellers, Jeremy Lloyd (The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, Trial by Laughter) as Harry Secombe, James Mack (The Watermill’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Rivals, Macbeth and Journey’s End) as Denis Main-Wilson / Peter Eton, Ellie Morris (The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief Movie Night, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery for Mischief Theatre company) playing ‘June’ and Robert Mountford (The Habit of Art, The Haunting of Alice Bowles for Original Theatre Company, House and Garden for The Watermill) as BBC Executive.
Ian and Nick said: “Writing Spike gave us the opportunity to celebrate the genius of the founding father of modern comedy, explore what inspired him and steal all his jokes”.
And Paul Hart was thrilled to bring the show to life.
“It’s been great to work with Ian and Nick on this homage to one of the most iconic voices in modern comedy. The play will commemorate 20 years since his death (he’s still ill then?) and will be equally good fun to those who know the Goons and to audiences who are new to Spike’s distinctive brand of humour. And how we all need a laugh at the moment.”
The show runs until March 5, and The Watermill has a number of measures in place to ensure the site is covid-safe.
To help audiences to book with confidence, The Watermill operates a flexible booking policy. In the event that their booking is affected by Covid-19, audience members will be offered a ticket exchange, account credit or refund.
For more details, or to book, log on to www.watermill.org.uk, or call the box office on: 01635 46044.
