In the 1960s, Round the Horne stormed the radio waves with its hilarious mix of innuendo, word play and camp caricature.
Fans of the show can now enjoy famous sketches featuring J Peasemould Gruntfuttock, Ramblin’ Syd Rumpo and Dame Celia Molestrangler all over again as a new stage show, Round the Horne – Unseen and Uncut, comes to Richmond Theatre.
Robin Sebastian, who takes on the role of Round the Horne legend Kenneth Williams, spoke to Will Gore about the show.
Do you enjoy transforming into Kenneth Williams for the show?
It’s such fun to play him – people want to see him again as he died far too early. You don’t even have to say anything, you just have to give the right look and the audience love it.
Have you always been a big Round the Horne fan?
I wasn’t a massive fan but I went to a small prep school near Canterbury and our music teacher used to play a record of a concert by Ramblin’ Syd Rumpo, so I learnt all the songs when I was 10. Now, to be doing the character on stage is a great joy. When I auditioned for the first show, Round the Horne Revisited, in 2003, I borrowed a copy from a library and it was hilarious.
What’s the key to your Kenneth Williams impression?
When you get the voice right you just become the character, you just can’t help it. I become super mincey and waspish. The humour comes along like he has possessed you. It’s an amazing feeling.
What can Round the Horne fans expect from Unseen and Uncut?
We are recreating the Paris Studios, where the show was originally broadcast from. We also have an eight-piece band and close harmony singers, like they had with the Fraser Hayes Four. Our group are called Not Quite The Fraser Hayes Four. Having the music adds an extra dimension and we are obviously revisiting all the popular characters but all of the sketches are different to the ones we have done in the past shows. I wish we could carry on doing it forever and go through them all.
Do you get to indulge Kenneth Williams’s enthusiasm for ad-libbing?
I have the freedom to do whatever I want! You can’t help it and I love reacting to people’s funny laughs. There is no fourth wall, like with most theatre, which I really like.
What do you put Round the Horne’s enduring appeal down to?
None of it is satirical – there is nothing about current affairs. It is all slightly abstract and the use of double-entendres is really the basis of our society. The innuendo, particularly in the Julian and Sandy sketches, let the show dance around the establishment without the establishment knowing what they were saying at all.
Round the Horne, Richmond Theatre, September 22-26. For more information and to book tickets, visit ambassadortickets.com
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