Inspired by Jack Benny radio plays

Jack Benny was a very funny comedian. Funny enough to inspire Kintbury Players member Julie Carlisle to write this play based on his radio shows.

What was so funny about Benny though – it couldn’t have been the jokes? “My servant is so lazy he built a sidecar to fit on the vacuum cleaner” is typical, although happily the writer didn’t use that one on this show.

No, it was more the illusion of a self-important man who is constantly mocked, tries to brave it out when he makes mistakes and is as mean as they come. And by the time Benny graduated to television in the 1950s that bemused facial expression had people laughing before he said a word.

All of which is difficult to reproduce on stage some 70-odd years later in a play set in Kintbury, Berkshire, rather than Hollywood USA.

The cast here did rather well with it, producing laughs from the audience throughout, in spite of the jokes.

“I didn’t mind the forecourt attendant washing my windscreen, but when he started washing my face he went too far.” See what I mean? Again though the cast avoided that one. Just as well.

Julian Dickins came over well as Benny – sorry Henry – leading his cast through several Benny sketches including The Birthday Dinner, Gondola in Venice and Mildred Pierce, based on the movie.

Julian’s long-suffering facial expressions and confused looks certainly keyed in with Benny’s.

Roy Hutchings as George did a sterling job hamming up the radio commercials and there was good comic support, well timed by Natalie Ann Riley, Stephen Cook and Nick Batten.

A special mention though must go to Phil Day as the sound effects man, busily rattling utensils, glasses, banging a conveniently placed door and fiddling about with a metal tub of water for the Gondola in Venice scenes. All done noisily to general laughter with Phil keeping a deadpan expression on his face.

No need for the cast to learn lines either, as they read from ‘radio’ scripts into microphones.

Always a bonus for actors desperately hoping to avoid hearing the loud, crusty voice from behind the curtains reminding them of the line just forgotten.

DEREK ANSELL