The Reunion Party
For me, Galton and Simpson were up there
With Pinter, Stoppard, and all the others.
‘The Reunion Party’ was their peak.
Nineteen sixty-five, when Tony Hancock
Struggled on through his final, fading depths.
Not seen for twenty years, his army mates,
Grown old, have changed, and not for the better.
Oh, disappointment, exasperation!
(‘Oh God, man. You’re not a squirrel; have a sandwich.’)
Sixty years later, the piece still grabs you:
An unvarnished metaphor for decline
And lost illusions. Hancock’s own decline
Had begun. Within three years he was gone,
A casualty of booze and showbiz fame.
The bitter-sweet humour is a symbol
Of a dying England, still stuck in a war
Which could never be won or put to bed.
But, most of all, the performance lays bare
Our greatest misfortune: the march of time.
Stephen Gospage
Sun 19th Mar 2023 09:03
Thanks very much, Greg and Uilleam.
Greg - I agree that there is more warmth in Steptoe and that it was truly great comedy. The Hancock character was built on self-delusion and fantasy and the shows are often very bleak. It is the comedy of despair.
This was one of a pair of one-off recordings, with Hancock and Sid James brought back together one last time. I understand that the performance was hard going, as Hancock was drinking and often fluffed his lines. However, with the magic of editing, it sounds very good.
There is a real sense of Hancock representing a generation wallowing in wildly exaggerated war memories and of lost hopes and dreams. (Still strikes a chord, as you say). Reality, when it hits home, can be a terrible thing.
Uilleam - Yes, I think Galton and Simpson's genius was that they were able to make tragic nostalgia so funny.
And my thanks to Nigel, Philip, Hugh, Manish and Rudyard for liking this.