Ying Tong - A walk with the Goons, New Ambassador's Theatre, london
Dead comedians and their unknown personal demons are everywhere at the moment. Following last year’s Peter Sellers biopic and the TV depiction of the lives of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore comes Ying Tong – a Walk with the Goons, a warts and all journey back in time.
The play charts the mental breakdown of Spike Milligan as he struggles to maintain the creative peaks of the 1950s radio programme the Goon Show.
Both set and plot are based on Milligan’s mixture of genius and insanity. The stage doubles as a radio studio and a padded hospital cell, the two intertwined to an extent where they are indistinguishable.
In the opening scene, an episode of the show, Milligan (James Clyde) breaks down having finally lost his marbles”. From there we witness his struggle to cling on to reality through a series of flashbacks and illusions.
Playwright Roy Smiles depicts the struggle in Goon Show style. All the characters, symbolising stages in Milligan’s life, are played by the four cast members of the show: Milligan plus Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and the announcer Walter Greenslade. Given the subject matter, these parts are a mix of surrealism and hilarity; including Jewish leprechauns and Nazi psychiatrists.
The second half is composed of a Goon Show episode entitled “A journey into the centre of Spike’s brain” where all the characters search for Milligan’s marbles.
Impersonating such a cult show requires a watertight cast and each of the four is so impressive in their flexibility and likeness that it appears effortless. Clyde is impressively maniacal as Milligan, although the point when he switches from hyperactive, tortured genius to rubber-stamped mental patient is indeterminable. Peter Temple has Sellers down to a tee, especially his Henry Crun and Major Bloodnok. Christian Patterson captures middleman Harry secombe’sSecombe's joviality and loyalty but any more optimism and he would grate.
By balancing comedy and near-tragedy, Smiles’ production risks falling between two stools. Ying Tong could rely on established crowd pleasers but Smiles attempts to veer away from this and succeeds to a large extent. But nostalgia rules the day and although the mental complexities of Milligan are given due attention, the sight of the entire cast cracking up in the leprechaun scene shows you don’t have to be mad to like this – but it helps.
Greg Norman - Gravitas, April 2005
