PERFORMANCE WRITING MASTER CLASS

On the 28^th May 1951 the British radio comedy programme The Goon Show was broadcast on BBC for the first time.

The Goon Show was a radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast between May and September 1951, was titled Crazy People; all subsequent series had the title The Goon Show, a title inspired, according to Milligan, by a Popeye character. My brother and I listened to this first series when we were kids in France in the early fifties. It’s surprising how it has stayed with us, and so many others of that generation. That’s pretty impressive performance writing.

Harry Secombe’s characters:

Major: Neddie Seagoon

Minor: Uncle Oscar, Private Bogg, Nugent Dirt, Izzy, Welshmen, Yorkshiremen

Spike Milligan’s characters

Major: Eccles, Minnie Bannister, Count Jim Moriarty

Minor: Throat, Little Jim, Spriggs, Yakamoto, Cor Blimey, Singes Thingz, Hugh Jampton, Fu Manchu, Mr Banerjee

Peter Seller's characters:

Major: Major Bloodnok, Herculaes Grytpype-Thynne, Bluebottle, Henry Crun

Minor: Cynthia, William “Mate” Cobblers, Mr Lalkaka, Eidelberger, Flowerdew, Cyril, Fred Nurke, Gladys, Lew/Ernie Cash, Churchill, Hearn, etc.

Michael Bentine’s characters:

Professor Osric Pureheart and more


This is a sample show put up on You Tube.