Jo Neary with David Bramwell
Saturday 29th February - 9pm
This ’one-woman Fast Show’ (Brian Logan, The Guardian) brings her razor sharp satire and highly original character comedy to Fireside.
"The real joy here is the character based on Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter, a pitch-perfect impersonation taken to its logical conclusion. This is a show that leaves you with a huge smile and a renewed sense of delight in daftness.” (Stephanie Merrit, The Observer)
Joining Jo will be David Bramwell (No9 Bus to Utopia, Haunted Moustache) whose latest comic lecture delves into the fascinating history of the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra which, despite being entirely formed of non-musicians, performed around the world to great success. The Sinfonia recorded 3 albums, had a top 20 hit single and even performed at the Albert Hall. But why did they split up at the peak of their powers in 1980? David will play hilarious extracts, explore their history and, with the audience’s help, finally resolves the mystery!
"There's a goodness and a goofiness about this elfin entertainer that's utterly enchanting. Her idea of crossing Celia Johnson's character from Brief Encounter with a contemporary (trapped) housewife - relaying her diary's 1940s-styled entries to us throughout the show - is so inspired, and beautifully executed, it deserves its own Radio 4 series.”
Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph
