麻豆约拍

On Tuesday (21 April) 220 members of the 麻豆约拍 Alumni were treated to a preview of the first episode of the second series of W1A, the 麻豆约拍 based sitcom written by John Morton, which will air this evening on 麻豆约拍 Two. Alumni member and former 麻豆约拍 producer Gordon Lamont reviews the evening's entertainment.

is hilarious, stuffed full of eccentric characters with their stock phrases, their specialised ‘in the know’ jargon and their loose grip on reality. The show named after the postcode isn’t bad either…

It was a treat to be back at the for this sneak peek of the new series and especially to have the whole thing introduced by writer and director John Morton. He revealed that one of the most common questions he’s asked is about how much is improvised. The answer: none. Just like Morecambe and Wise who ‘just thought of it’, or in the case of W1A, ‘just grasping for the thought’ or ‘speaking before I think’ dialogue is all scripted.

John paid tribute to a brilliant cast who spend hours getting those conference scenes just right. Take after take they hone the interjections, looks of bewilderment and moments of insane invention until it’s so perfect it looks like no effort at all; apart that is, from the effort of (Hugh Bonneville) to convince himself to keep swimming through the mud. In the edit, John would sometimes have to get out rather than watch his team go through it all again and again. There’s art and then there’s art that hides itself behind a desire to bring us joy. W1A is collaborative art at its humble best.

What did I make of the show itself? First, it was brilliant to watch with an audience, especially this ‘in the know’ audience. The laughter and applause were testament to the enduring appeal of the series but to my mind there was something new as well, an inventive ratcheting up of the farcical elements. There’s a mad dash through BH old and new, all against the ticking clock of a VIP arrival and technological meltdown. At one point Ian Fletcher and colleagues ran through the very Radio Theatre we were sitting in and the laughter became joyous. The new series more than sustains the premise and promise of the old, revealing that the 麻豆约拍 of W1A is unashamedly Marxist in the Harpo, Chico and Groucho mould with a rich mix of verbal and visual humour.

As ever, one of the great things about any 麻豆约拍 Alumni event is the opportunity to see old friends and colleagues and meet new people. There’s something even better about doing it at the 麻豆约拍 which, like Hogwarts, has its own reality. It’s like the rest of the world, but tilted sideways by a degree or two. As soon as my wife and I were through the door I spotted our old friend Jo. ‘Dahling…’ I shouted across the space. Not my usual language at all. I didn’t need to catch my wife’s eye to imagine what she was thinking. W1A was in the air already…

Before the show I got chatting to the couple sitting next to me. It turned out that he and I were in the same division (or was it a ‘petal’ in those Greg Dyke days?). He started a year after I left. His partner’s father worked in radio so that was another bond as that’s where I started. As we chatted she asked me when I’d retired and I rather balked at the question. ‘I’m not’, I retorted quoting freelance jobs for Discovery and writing for 麻豆约拍 Schools.

I’m happy to be an alumnus, but retired? Never! I think that’s the thing about all these Alumni events and newsletters: once you’ve been to Hogwarts you can’t shake off the spell.

Gordon Lamont is a former 麻豆约拍 Producer and 麻豆约拍 Alumni member.

• The second series of begins tonight at 9pm on 麻豆约拍 Two.
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