A BOURNEMOUTH theatre company is entering the hallowed territory of Hancock’s Half Hour to present two of the great comedian’s best known radio plays as stage plays.

Burnt Toast Theatre will perform The Missing Page and The Bowmans at Bournemouth’s Winchester pub on July 15 and 20 with the full blessing of writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, as well as the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society.

“We wanted to do this with every respect to the legacy and Ray and Alan have emailed me personally to lend their support, bless them,” says director Moira Clark.

Both plays were written for radio, although both were also performed on television. The Missing Page is about what happens when The Lad Himself gets to the end of a thriller only to find the last page has been removed, while The Bowmans is a parody of The Archers.

“We’re staging them as a mix between radio play and live performance, so you’re invited to enter the library in The Missing Page, but the actors are stood in front of four microphones although there are costumes and changes. The audience will be providing some of the sound effects, passing props, holding cue boards, that kind of thing. Hancock is played very much in his vocal style, although it’s not an impression – that would be foolish.”

Depending on the reception for its Hancock’s Half Hour night, Burnt Toast may take it to other venues or work on other Hancock scripts.

“The possibilities are really exciting,” says Moira. “It’s so moveable, we could take it anywhere really. There are other scripts we could do. First though, we’ll find out if the people of Bournemouth are up for it.”