Hoffnung: A Last Encore (includes the Oxford Union Speech) (BBC Radio Collection)

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Customer reviews

review by: Olly Buxton date: 2008-06-08 rating:
A delightful trip into the absurd
Another reviewer of this product complained that the interview section with Charles Richardson isn't very funny - a reaction I simply can't understand, as these twelve interviews are simply the funniest exchanges I have ever heard. Gerard Hoffnung was just 35 when he died, but he sounds like a portly (and utterly mad) sixty-year-old, and his timing and instinct for the absurd are just exquisite. br / br /A special mention to Charles Richardson, a totally straight American reporter, assigned to extract a meaningful interviews from this eminent musician and cartoonist but finding each attempt he makes to start a conversation quickly unravelling and thus being driven ever so gently to utter exasperation. Richardson surely *must* have been in on the joke, but you wouldn't know it - he plays the straight role exquisitely, and as a result Hoffnung leads him a merry dance. The final instalment, which apparently takes place inside Hoffnung's house (with no doors, which one enters and exits through the windows), and at which Mr Hoffnung's deaf grandfather makes an appearance, is a perfectly absurd conclusion to the series. br / br /The Oxford Union debate is also reproduced in its entirety, as is some other monologues about music and the cinema. For me, though, the Richardson Interviews are the reason to buy this set. br / br /Olly Buxton

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review by: Flowerbed date: 2006-11-18 rating:
A neglected gem
This is great comedy. At turns surreal, observational and improvisational with superb timing and delivery. br /Any fan of anything funny at all should give this a whirl. br /Soon you'll also wonder why Hoffnung is not a household name along with others of his time. br / br /Ignore the absence of hype. Get it and chuckle.

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review by: date: 2003-11-07 rating:
A mixture of the dire and the inspired
Gerard Hoffnung died in the year I was born -- 1959 -- at the absurdly young age of 34. Today he is best known for his cartoons and THAT speech to the Oxford Union, recorded a year earlier, where he tells the story of the bricklayer the pulley and reads out some alleged replies from Tyrolean hoteliers to his wife's request for a room. pIf you didn't know his age, you'd assume from his manner that he was a rather portly fifty or sixty-year-old. In his eccentric interviews with the North American Charles Richardson on CD1 of this collection, Richardson remarks more than once on Hoffnung's weight and diet. It is regrettable that Hoffnung, who died of a stroke, didn't take more notice of this warning.pThe Oxford Union speech has long assumed classic status. I can remember in the 1970s my Dad playing me a recording of the speech on his reel-to-reel tape machine. His material wasn't entirely original -- versions of the bricklayer's tale have been known since the 1920s. But Hoffnung clearly had a fantastic, endearing rapport with his audience, who didn't seem to care that the stories he included in that speech had nothing to do with the motion that was being debated. The full speech is included in CD2, and in the last two minutes, Hoffnung brings his talk back to the matter that he was supposed to be debating -- giving a very earnest, personal view.pI have to say that, on the evidence of the rest of these two CDs, Hoffnung was overrated as a radio humorist. CD1 consists of 12 interviews with Charles Richardson which were broadcast by the BBC. The BBC must have been desperate for fillers in the 1950s! The sleeve-notes proudly declare that the only preparation for each interview was a quick chat in a nearby coffee shop, and my goodness, it sounds like it. Much of the time, Richardson is funnier than the bombastic Hoffnung. Now I understand why none of today's comics cites Hoffnung as a major influence. Roll on 'The Goons', 'Beyond the Fringe', and even the 'Carry On' series!

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review by: blamanche date: 2003-06-06 rating:
Classic Hoffnung
This audio gem is an absolute must for Hoffnung fans. Containing the famous Charles Richardson interviews and the Oxford Union "bricklayer" speech, it will have you laughing until you cry. As a Hoffnung fan since I was at school, it was a delight to listen to him again after so many years. Immaculate.


review by: jennyclyde date: 2002-07-21 rating:
English humour at its best
You need to know nothing of Hoffnungs work to appreciate his surreal and humanistic sense of humour. These tapes never fail to help lighten me up when I need a good laugh. The interviews with Charles are the highlight for me. Worth six stars!

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