Chit chat - What the Dickens?
Whether Bogarde was a fan of the late Ken Campbell is anyone’s guess but he would no doubt have approved of Campbell’s anarchic antics off-stage.
Ken Campbell's History of Comedy Part 1: Ventriloquism at the The National's Cottesloe in 2000 Photo: Mark Douet
In 1980, the zany performer gave showbiz a kick up the jacksy when he played a practical joke on the Royal Shakespeare Company. The RSC had just enjoyed enormous success with Trevor Nunn’s production of Nicholas Nickleby. Ken decided to send invites to thespians good and great to join the new Royal Dickens Company. The invites seemed all the more authentic as they were signed, “Love, Trev”.
The press also fell for the story and an incensed Nunn called the police. Eventually joker Ken owned up, although Nunn couldn’t forgive him for some time. At long last they made up and Nunn, then at the National, commissioned Ken to write The History of Comedy: Part One: Ventriloquism.
On refelection, Royal Dickens Company does have a certain ring to it.
Also from The Stage
Also in Features [RSS]
- Chit chat - In the dark
- The curse of the Scottish Play strikes again.
- Chit chat - Cold feet
- Meanwhile, Tabard was amused to read of similarly mysterious goings on at…
- Chit chat - Eurovision to behold
- But, if those are a little strange, frankly they’re not a patch on Tabard’s…
- Radio review - drama
- Oh, for comic timing. Not that blissful alchemical process by which some…
- TV review
- Hats off to any drama that starts with the death of Mother Theresa of…
- Chit chat - Naked ambition
- Meanwhile, down at the Royal Opera House, there are truly sensational goings…
- Chit chat - A right stuff up
- While we’re on the subject of Italians - Tabard was a little shocked this…
- Chit chat - A word to the wise
- Tabard was pleased to find out this week that reports of Sir Norman Wisdom’s…
- Radio review - light programme
- Apart from an unhappy childhood, the other spur to success as an entertainer…
- TV review
- “I got spat at last week. Well, you don’t expect it in Chatham, that’s…
Content is copyright © 2008 The Stage Newspaper Limited unless otherwise stated.
All RSS feeds are published for personal, non-commercial use. (What’s RSS?)