I like to support my local theatres and as their programming is pretty good it is more a matter of choosing which date to see a show than of choosing which shows to see. At Richmond Theatre this decisions is eased as my ATG Theatre Card offers discounts on some performances, and so it was that I went to see Spike for an extremely reasonable £23 in my usual seat Dress Circle A25.
I was not sure what to expect, having studiously avoided reading any descriptions or reviews, other than it was about Spike Milligan. What Spike turned out to be was the story of Spike during the period when The Good Show rose to national prominence. This included lots of scenes from the show as well as the story behind the show from Spike's perspective, which was mostly a battle against the authority of the BBC much as he had battled against such authority, from the same class of people, in the Army.
Spike was shown to be as funny in real life as he was on the radio, though his personal life had its bad moments too.
Basically the play was a series of scenes of either The Goon Show, Spike trying to write the show and get due recognition for doing so, and of recollections from his Army days. These fragments were strung together skilfully to make a coherent and entertaining story.
Spike was a great deal of fun and was informative too. Lord Reith would have approved, as did I.
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