Most of us can remember cringeworthy family outings when a few hours in the car seemed like a lifetime. That mix of dad grumbling about the traffic, mum stressing about being late and siblings squabbling in the back.
Such a scenario created the setting for the first instalment of Father Figure - a new family sitcom written and starring stand-up Jason Byrne - except in this case Tom (Byrne) and Elaine Whyte’s unfortunate son Dylan was squashed inbetween paternal grandparents, Mary and Pat.
The quality of Byrne’s script was inconsistent, yet much of the observational humour made it easy for the listener to visualise this Irish family as they headed for a shotgun, Catholic family wedding.
As Dylan, Dominic Applewhite’s squirming at his elders’ discussion of sex was spot-on, as was the tension between Tom’s mother-in-law and wife, played by Pauline McLynn and Lucy Montgomery, respectively. Probably best of all was opinionated grandpa Dermot Crowley. If the standard of Byrne’s writing can go up a notch and the characterisations continue to be as entertaining, the series - originally broadcast on Radio 2 as a one-off comedy showcase in April 2010 - could certainly have potential.
Back in 1967, creator of Just a Minute Ian Messiter must have believed there was plenty of mileage in the comedy panel game format he proposed, but he couldn’t have predicted it would still be running with the very same host more than four decades later.
This month marked the first of a new series and the show’s 45th birthday, with Nicholas Parsons as always judging the panellists’ skill in speaking for 60 seconds on a chosen subject “without repetition, hesitation or deviation”. On this occasion Paul Merton, Ross Noble, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth were asked to talk on topics originally given out during the show’s first series.
These subjects ranged from When I Wear a Top Hat to How to Perform a Cornish Floral Dance, although best of all was the velvety-voiced Brandreth remembering Derek Nimmo for 58 seconds, just short of the required minute.
A long-running artistic creation of a different kind featured in Holy Mackerel SEnD It’s My Life, an 80th birthday celebration of Frank Dickens, the man behind Bristow, the longest-running daily cartoon strip in the world.
Biographical programmes are often improved when they take an unconventional route, and in some respects this quirky portrait of Dickens worked well. By reading the cartoonist’s own words, the excellent Bernard Cribbins helped to bring a little of the artist’s personality to life, while close friends and other notable newspaper cartoonists including Ralph Steadman, MAC, Bernard Cookson and Rick Brookes were on hand with their reminiscences.
A number of these figures commented on how they envied Dickens’ approach to his art, for despite the speed of his work and self-confessed limited drawing skills, Bristow never seemed to lose his appeal. It was claimed that in more than 12,000 cartoons about the middle-aged buying clerk with delusions of grandeur, the same gag had never been used twice.
However, while the feature offered some biographical detail, one was still left with the feeling that this was only a sketch of the artist, rather than a full-blown painting, although that is probably just how Dickens would prefer it.
Radio 3’s The Essay - On Directing gave five high-profile practitioners of stage and screen the opportunity to give their thoughts on different aspects of their craft over the space of a week. Among these talents was Josie Rourke, the new artistic director of London’s Donmar Warehouse, who spoke about the feeling of apprehension before rehearsals began. Cue sleepless nights worrying about “what I haven’t thought of” and the fear of small and hidden problems that could surface and bury the show in question.
In what turned out to be a compelling 15 minutes, Rourke recalled the unforeseen technical problems during a staging of Twelfth Night that resulted in the basement of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre being flooded, as well as mistakes she had made that were so significant that they had “informed everything I’ve done subsequently”.
While failure is a director’s worst nightmare, she reflected, it is through learning its language that it is possible to succeed.
Father Figure
R2, Saturday, February 4
Just A Minute - Happy 45th Birthday!
R4, Monday, February 6
Holy Mackerel - It’s My Life!
R4, Thursday, February 2
The Essay - On Directing
R3, Monday-Friday, February 13-17
Lisa Martland
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