Jonathan Trew: The Wicker Man’s spooky goings-on get a comic twist

GIVEN its cult following and ripe potential for parody, it’s surprising that it has taken nearly 40 years since the release of The Wicker Man film for a spoof stage play to arrive.

While it may have taken a while to come about, the writers of An Appointment with the Wicker Man, a National Theatre of Scotland production, look to be the right ones for the job.

With a keen ear for dialogue and a wry sense of parochial Scottish life, Greg Hemphill, of Still Game and Chewing the Fat, and Donald McLeary, co-writer of Radio 4’s corner shop comedy Fags, Mags and Bags, are the ideal sorts to give the remote, spooky goings-on a comic twist. Hemphill and Johnny McKnight, star of numerous pantos, are at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal tonight.

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Sport and classical music don’t always have overlapping fans but that supposition could be turned over this evening at a Music Nation show in Glasgow called A Sporting Fanfare. Performing at the Clyde Auditorium, violinist Nicola Benedetti and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Donald Runnicles, are among the musicians tackling a winning programme of music to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games.

Among the pieces included are John William’s Olympic Fanfare, Vangelis’ theme from Chariots of Fire and Ravel’s Bolero. The latter is a piece that will always remind some of Torvill and Dean’s gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics while more vulgar listeners, such as myself, will instead recall the hilariously disastrous Dudley Moore/Bo Derek seduction scene in the film 10. The concert will also feature the world premiere of a new fanfare from Scots composer James MacMillan.

Sarah Millican, Sunderland’s best comedy export, plays Edinburgh Playhouse tonight. The frankly boring debate over women in comedy will no doubt continue to rage for years to come. However, Millican’s delightful brand of steely filth in a floral glove is very substantial proof that Y-fronts are not a must-have stage prop to be funny or successful.

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