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Comedy Genius Spike Milligan Is Back At The Grand
The critically acclaimed Watermill Theatre production of SPIKE by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman is at Blackpool Grand Theatre this November.
Comedy genius Spike Milligan is back! It’s good to be alive! Tune in to the famous Eccles, Count Jim Moriarty and Bluebottle once more as radio sensations The Goons are back in the absurdly funny new play SPIKE at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 November!
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Delve into the inner workings of one of our most unique and brilliantly irreverent comedy minds with the latest exciting project from talented co-writers Ian Hislop (BBC’s Have I Got News For You team captain and editor of Private Eye) and Nick Newman (writer and satirical cartoonist), about the life and career of the inimitable comedy genius Spike Milligan.
It’s the booming fifties, and Britain is in the clutches of Goon mania as men, women and children across the country scramble to get their ear to a wireless for another hilarious and madcap instalment of The Goon Show. While Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers get down to the serious business of becoming overnight celebrities, fellow Goon and chief writer Spike Milligan finds himself pushing the boundaries of comedy and testing the patience of the BBC.
Will Spike’s dogged obsession with finding the funny elevate The Goons to soaring new heights, or will the whole thing come crashing down with the stroke of a potato peeler?
SPIKE follows the recent successes of Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s smash-hit plays A Bunch of Amateurs, The Wipers Times and Trial by Laughter. Extracts from The Goons used with the kind permission of Spike Milligan Productions.
“I’m not acting crazy. I’m the genuine article” – Spike Milligan
And there’s more where that came from…
Comedy Genius Spike Milligan: Top 10 facts about the creator of The Goon Show
1His real name was Terence Alan Milligan. He started calling himself “Spike” after hearing the US band Spike Jones And His City Slickers.
2Milligan was born in British India to an Irish father and English mother. His father Leo Alphonso Milligan served in the British Indian Army.
3He launched The Goon Show in 1951 with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine.
4In its first season the show was called “The Junior Crazy Gang featuring those Crazy People, the Goons!” or “Crazy People” for short.
5In 1968 he appeared on TV as Beachcomber of the Daily Express in The World of Beachcomber.
6Milligan and Peter Sellers, along with others made a television comedy show based on ‘The Goon Show’. This show was called ‘The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d’ and debuted in 1956. It was followed by ‘A Show Called Fred’ and ‘Son of Fred’ later the same year.
7He was badly wounded in the Battle of Monte Cassino and was hospitalised for a long period. After being demobilised from the army, he became a fulltime entertainer. 8His gravestone in Winchelsea bears the epitaph, “I told you I was ill” written in Gaelic.
9Although known basically for his comic work, he also wrote serious literature. He published seven volumes of war memoirs over a period of 21 years (19711992), describing his war time experiences from 1939 to 1950.
10Known as the Comedy Genius, Spike Milligan was made an honorary Commander of the British Empire in 1992 and was given an honorary knighthood in 2000.
SPIKE is at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 November.
Tickets starting from £17.50, concessions and member discounts available
Contains strong language, references to suicide, loud bangs, strobe lighting and the use of prop cigarettes and guns on stage. Recommended 10yrs+
Book now by visiting blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call the box office on 01253 290 190.
LISTINGS: SPIKE • Tue 15 to Sat 19 Nov 2022 at 7.30pm • Wed, Thu & Sat matinees at 2pm
GRAND THEATRE 33 Church Street, Blackpool FY1 1HT
N Box Office: 01253 290 190 D blackpoolgrand.co.uk F @blackpoolgrand T @Grand_Theatre I grandtheatrebpl
WE ARE THE RNLI
THE CHARITY THAT SAVES LIVES AT SEA
When a request to launch from HM Coastguard was received in June this year, the RNLI volunteers in Fleetwood had little idea at the time, at how big an operation they were to become involved in. A lone sailor had fallen overboard her 31 ft long yacht and time was of the essence. Drowning and hypothermia were real concerns.
towards the rigs in the Irish Sea. The Coastguard rescue helicopter from Caernarfon was scrambled to assist in the search and the volunteers at RNLI Lytham St Annes, quickly launched their Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, Barbara Anne and headed towards the unmanned yacht, now located by the helicopter.
RNLI Fleetwood – Kenneth James Pierpoint into a storm
The pagers sounded at 2am and Fleetwood’s lifeboat and shore crew assembled, ready to launch their Shannon class allweather lifeboat, Kenneth James Pierpoint. ‘Man overboard’ is one of the most serious requests to launch the RNLI will receive. But the sailor was well prepared and equipped and she triggered her personal locator beacon, informing HM Coastguard of not only her location, but the fact she was in real peril.
Kenneth James Pierpoint dwarfed by the windfarm turbines
Nearby, a rig support vessel from the Irish Sea wind farm was contacted and they hurried to the beacon’s location and were first on the scene. After being in the sea for an hour, the sailor was lifted on board the support boat. RNLI Fleetwood’s Shannon arrived shortly after and transferred the sailor to the lifeboat for the seven-mile journey back to port, where she was handed over to the waiting ambulance crew.
The yacht was in auto-pilot and continued on its journey, at seven knots, a virtual ghost boat with nobody on board, heading
RNLI Lytham St Anne’s – Barbara Anne with SLARS - Photo Credit: Greg Wolstenholme
On reaching the yacht, the Shannon pulled alongside the casualty vessel and two volunteer crew jumped on board. Having taken control, they now had the problem of where to take it, as tides were unfavourable on the Fylde. So, it was decided to head for Liverpool Marina.
Shortly after 6am, it was decided to launch Hoylake’s Shannon class lifeboat, Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood, to rendezvous with Barbara Anne and continue the tow towards Liverpool.
The New Brighton B class Atlantic lifeboat, Charles Dibdin, completed the yacht’s journey into the Liverpool Marina.
The incident serves to highlight the importance of the RNLI’s Shannon class lifeboat to its fleet and how Lancashire and the North West are fortunate to have three in the area.
This September, the latest Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, number 46 in the fleet, is expected at its new base at Wells-nextthe-Sea, in Norfolk. She will be named Duke of Edinburgh. She is also the third Shannon class lifeboat to be part funded by the RNLI’s Launch a Memory campaign. For a relatively small donation, your loved one’s name will be placed within the fleet number decal on the side of the lifeboat. A great idea, especially if your loved one had an affinity with the sea or was a supporter of the RNLI charity. Their name not only helps fund the charity’s lifesaving work, but will attend with the volunteers on every job.
The Shannon was one of the first RNLI lifeboat to be designed ‘in-house’ and lead designer, RNLI Naval Architect, Peter Eyre, was the driving force.
Originally, in 2005, RNLI had been investigating the use of the Camarc Pilot boat design, under Project FCB2 (fast carriage boat 2). Peter had been working on a new hull shape and was encouraged to develop it further by RNLI. In 2008, FCB2 was undergoing sea trials, but excessive ‘slamming’ in rough seas meant a complete redesign of the hull. Peter’s team of up to 11 designers, did extensive research and trials of new designs, until they were satisfied that the ‘slamming’ issue had been resolved
TO DONATE OR SUPPORT THE RNLI GO TO: https://rnli.org.uk/support-us
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326) and the Bailiwick of Jersey (14)
Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood ready for launch- Photo Credit: David Edwards RNLI Hoylake - Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood - Photo Credit: David Edwards
and, more importantly, they were able to quantify the benefit of their new hull design. Their over-riding brief was both the safety of the crew and the lifeboat’s ability to deliver the crew to a callout, ready for action. By 2012, the new all-weather lifeboat was ready for service. The lifeboat was planned to be launched by the specially designed Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS). This ingenious and large piece of equipment, involves a tractor and trailer, which transports the Shannon into the sea and launches it directly into the water. It is then able to recover the lifeboat from the beach, bow first and spun 180 degrees ready for launch on its next call-out. However, some Shannon’s are kept afloat, at moorings or a pontoon berth, as we have at Fleetwood. They can also be launched via a slipway.
Peter is proud of his involvement in the Shannon and whilst no longer working at RNLI, he knows he’ll gain a great deal of satisfaction from seeing his hull design on Shannon’s for many years.
So, how is the Shannon different to the Mersey and Tyne class lifeboats it is replacing?
The biggest difference is the propulsion. The older lifeboats had traditional propellers, whereas the Shannon has water jets. This makes the Shannon more manoeuvrable and faster. With two 650hp engines, (the equivalent of 10 Ford Fiesta’s, as newspapers helpfully point out in these circumstances) the Shannon can travel at 25 knots, ensuring the RNLI’s entire fleet is now capable of this speed. 13 metres in length and weighing 18 tonnes, the Shannon is also self-righting, returning to an upright position in the event of a capsize. It is also the first lifeboat to be named after an Irish river.
The other main difference is how the Shannon is launched off the Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) that most of these newer lifeboats use. Let Howard Owen, Coxswain at Hoylake explain:
‘The Mersey class lifeboat we had before at Hoylake, was excellent. Regardless of the weather, she saw us all home safely’, said Howard. ‘But launching her involved part of the crew being outside and invariably getting soaked, before the rescue mission had even started. Being cold and wet for several hours can be debilitating, no fun at all. With the Shannon and its new launching trailer, we can all be inside on launch, dry and warm, making the mission we are launching to, a lot easier to contend with. It’s also, obviously, a lot safer.’
Former Coxswain at Fleetwood RNLI, Tony Cowell, who has spent most of his working life at sea, agreed and added ‘The Shannon is one of the finest boats I’ve ever been on. Whilst I loved our Tyne class lifeboat, William Street, I could never go back to it. Not now we have the Shannon.’
Launch a Memory is a RNLI fundraising campaign which allows more supporters to not only donate to a new search and rescue vessel, but to honour loved ones by including their names on the world-class Shannon all-weather lifeboat. RNLI Anstruther in Fife is the next and fourth Shannon to be part funded by this campaign. Having a loved one’s name on an active memorial, is a marvellous way of ensuring their name continues into the future for many years. You can find out more details from the RNLI website.
Growing up in Liverpool during the ‘60’s, my parents were keen to show our family that there was life beyond the Mersey.
Our frequent camping trips to North Wales often seemed to result in a visit to the local RNLI station and it became clear, my dad was in awe of the volunteers who’d drop everything when required and risk their lives to help save others. I spent a lot of time ‘launching’ the little lifeboats in collection boxes with pennies!
It seemed fitting that the memory of my late parents should be part of the new Wells-next-the Sea lifeboat. Raymond and Alice Harcombe will be amongst many names on the RNLI Wells Shannon lifeboat when it arrives in Norfolk this September. My sisters and I will visit Wells and I’ve no doubt, tears will be shed. But as fundraising campaigns go, Launch a Memory is quite poignant and enduring. I know my parents’ names will be around a lot longer than I am and I can’t think of a better cause. There really couldn’t be a finer tribute to them. n
