Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Kevin McNally, Robin Sebastian, Susy Kane, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall.

Two microphones stamped with the discerning, almost foreboding B.B.C. logo stand at the front of the stage and five perfectly placed chairs are to be seen in the background, the sense of occasion was already palpable, the sound of quite a number in the crowd already rehearsing under their breath the theme tune to perhaps the absolute master of British Comedy in the last 70 years and his sensational programme written by the only two men who could truly capture and harness his genius. This was not just any old event at the Edinburgh Fringe, this was one in which the spirit of The Lad himself, Birmingham’s Tony Hancock, was given a new voice in which to thrill the crowd all over again.

Earlier this year, Kevin McNally, Robin Sebastian, Susy Kane, Kevin Eldon and Simon Greenall were given arguably the great honour of recreating some of the lost half hour episodes written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for B.B.C. Radio Four. The announcement that the team were then to bring them to Edinburgh certainly caught the imagination of the fans of Tony Hancock and it is no small wonder that the impressive Music Hall at the Assembly Rooms was overflowing and with eager anticipation that rumbled throughout the minutes leading up to the show.

The four half hours on offer by the team are split across alternate nights and Prime Minister Hancock and The Three Sons the Assembly Hall crowd are treated to a display that matched the halcyon days of radio comedy, that truly picked up on the atmosphere that was bubbling and foaming from each section of the room and allowed itself the free reign to be as charming and funny as if Andree Melly, Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Bill Kerr and Tony Hancock were on stage lapping up the attention and looking for anywhere in which the indiscreet ad-lib might throw up an even bigger laugh.

The cast took full advantage of this but in the sheer strength of Mr. McNally’s performance as Tony Hancock and Robin Sebastian’s unnerving ability to capture every nuance and eye catching flicker of the rolling tongue, the audience were given no option but to fall in love with the past and present as they merged, coalesced and became one of the shows of the Edinburgh Festival.

For any fan of radio comedy, of Tony Hancock or for any number of reasons, The Missing Hancocks are a joy and a must see at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Ian D. Hall