"A BYTE OF ALL RIGHT"
"This is a collector's item. Whatever you collect, put this on the list. It is instant nostalgia. At CD-ROM antique fairs in the year 2050 it could be worth a fortune.
Created by American actor, Clarence Sheridan, who did a 15 month tour of ‘Hello, Dolly!’ with US legend Carol Channing, it arose from ‘the frustration of always trying to figure out where I was’.
It is a computer game (and works both on PC and Mac) and also an audio monologue by Channing herself.
Channing, for hazy memories, was the first ever Blonde who Gentlemen Preferred. She was Dolly before sheep clones were dreamed of. In a voice that embodies the entire history of American theatre this century – arch, brash, generous, spoilt, but above all very emphatic – she tells us that her theatrical ambitions came to her late – in Grade Four at the age of seven.
But Channing is no stereotype. While there are the inevitable bits of folksy showbiz wisdom – ‘my father told me, be careful what you set your heart upon for you will surely get it’ -- her zest and love for the job redeem all.
She takes us, without shame or vanity, through the list of all her hits, while speculating on Bernard Shaw’s secret women, Caesar's enemy Vercingtorix, Greek tragedy, and co-star Julie Andrews. Even her French sounds pretty good.
You detect, under the automatic storytelling of a thousand chat shows, a broad intelligence and heroic dedication. More than one worthwhile nugget is offered for the young actor of today: ‘Remove the fear from the classics before you learn to be afraid.’
Listening to Channing I thought how much we might have valued similar self-selected monologues from some of our own legends – Olivier freewheeling, Burton ruminating, Evans and Ashcroft spilling the beans. (Hey someone, grab Gielgud now!)
She sums up herself and her work with an answer to that dire question all actors are asked: Don't you get sick of doing the same thing night after night?
‘The only person who asks that question,’ she says, ‘is someone who is sick of the work they do themselves.’
An assortment of characters like the head carpenter, the stage manager, the company manager and the acting coach pop up.
Some will ask you a number of testing questions on you theatrical knowledge. The acting coach, for example, throws out a number of Shakespeare questions in an actor-laddy voice unheard since the thirties.
If it gets too much, switch to the Channing audio for an authentic slice of fast-disappearing American theatre."
Ian Flintoff
THE STAGE (London)