Thursday 24 April 2014

The Jersey Goons How

The following clever pastiche came my way, and by way of amusement, I thought I'd share it with my readers. It's a light hearted piece of amusement at the expense of local politicians, full of some rather groan worthy word play (which I adore). If you have never heard of the Goon Show, it probably will not be as funny, and you should acquaint yourself first with the madcap antics of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe to enjoy it properly.
 
PRESS RELEASE:
 
The Jersey Goons How
 
The Jersey Goon How is an Island comedy programme, based on the celebrated Goon Show series produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960. The original Goon Show's chief creator and main writer was Spike Milligan aided and abetted by Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine.
 
The scripts were a mixture of ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. Many elements of the show satirised contemporary life, parodying aspects of show business, commerce, industry, art, politics, diplomacy, the police, the military, education, class structure, literature and film.
 
The Jersey Goons How recreates the comedy of yesteryear for a contemporary audience.
 
Principal Characters/ : played by:
Neddy Seagoon: E. N Gorse (Chief Monitor)
Eccles: Rob Hugh-Dammel (Monitor for Planking and Embarrassment)
Bluebottle: Ozzy Philips (Monitor for Treachery and Racecourses)
Henry Crun: Alan 'Mick' Lane (Monitor for Esoteric Embellishment)
Minnie Bannister: Donald Farmhand (Asst. Monitor, Esoteric Embellishment)
Hercules Gryptype-Thynne: Phillipa Backache (Monitor for Eternal Frustrations)
Count Jim Moriarty: Ian Le Beancan (Monitor for Homes and Fairs)
Major Denis Bloodnok: Dame Pam Ryke-Spooner (Monitor for Help and Bombshell Impunity)
 
Minor Characters / : Played by:
Spriggs: Shawn Leigh Powers (Chairman, Planking Appreciation Panel)
Little Jim: Jerry Masson, (member - Planking Privileges and Panel Procedures)
Throat: Fergus Sanderson (Suspect Accounts Committee)
 
Music by:
Le Gobbledegooks
featuring Tadfort Montier and 'Mad' Sam Zemac
 
Produced by:
Wewuzdone Productions
 
In association with
Ringbinder Enterprises
(The State of Jersey Company)

1 comment:

James said...

That looks rather good - the casting for Grytpypye-Thynne is spot-on, and Eccles shows promise.

But the whole point about the original Goon Show was that Neddie was Everyman - the sort of decent, hardworking person who gets screwed over every time by the dishonest and the jobsworths (Spike Milligan felt that having fought a war to liberate Europe from fascism, he wasn't going to be told what to do by spivs and armchair soldiers).

E N Gorse (who he?) would be better as Little Jim, and the main character could be Hedley Seagoon... or Neddie Syvret? And I think I have a better candidate to play Bloodnok...