A Resounding Tinkle by N. F. Simpson

First performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 1957, A Resounding Tinkle has been described as both "unstageable," and "absurd."

There is no plot to speak of: Bro and Middie Paradock (Deryck Guyler, Alison Leggatt) are sitting at home drinking nectar when there is a knock at the door: Middie answers it and tells Bro that he has been asked to form a government, a task which proves difficult, if not impossible, at six o'clock in the evening. 

Uncle Ted (Betty Hardy) comes in having undergone a sex-change operation; while the family are still happy in one another's company, it proves difficult for Bro and Middie to think of him/her as a man. 

The couple become quite concerned, when they believe that inanimate objects have been rendered animate: "There are knives in the drawer if they want to go at each other." 

Other subjects for debate include the couple's pet boa-constrictor, the difficulties of living in a bungalow (which might or might not have two storeys), Bro's gum-boots, and dinosaurs.  Oh, and we must not forget the parody-sermon that forms an interlude to the action.

 

Originally broadcast in 1960, Charles Lefeaux's production proved how well a play like this can work on radio - as opposed to the stage.  The medium can create its own worlds through sound and voices; concepts such as 'realism' and 'truth to life' seem insignificant.  The two actors - Guyler and Leggatt - came across as a perfectly ordinary middle-class suburban couple, treating absurd subjects as if they were daily occurrences.  By such techniques they underlined the randomness of our existence: what we think of as "normal" might actually be "abnormal" in different socio-cultural contexts.

 

For aficionados of the absurd, this comedy offers a feast of verbal pyrotechnics. 

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArrWZcg2lV80mUxQRpQvWxIBDmeM?e=sfHtOB

length 45minutes, bitrate 64kbps, size 21mb

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Replies

  • Thanks, William.  This sounds intriguing for sure!

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