{"id":9156,"date":"2007-03-13T11:29:02","date_gmt":"2007-03-13T11:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=9156"},"modified":"2017-07-04T11:29:37","modified_gmt":"2017-07-04T11:29:37","slug":"tv-review-michael-sheen-in-kenneth-williams-fantabulosa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=9156","title":{"rendered":"TV REVIEW: Michael Sheen in ‘Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2013 Kenneth Williams, whose sucked-in cheeks, rolled eyes and stretched vowels were known best internationally from the cheerfully vulgar \u201cCarry On\u201d comedies, was born a princess who longed for a Prince Charming but was far too fastidious to act out his dreams.<\/p>\n

That is according to a poignant new BBC biopic, \u201cKenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!\u201d, which airs on BBC4 on Monday. Screenwriter Martyn Hesford has drawn from the late comic actor\u2019s diaries to depict a tortured soul who could never escape his own fussiness long enough to get close to anyone other than his indulgent mother.<\/p>\n

Michael Sheen is on track for the top British acting awards for his incisive portrayal of a man who made homosexuality sound like fun on TV and radio in the days when it was illegal in the U.K. An accomplished entertainer in West End revues, he bought routines from the very young Peter Cook, before \u201cBeyond the Fringe\u201d made Cook a star.<\/p>\n

Williams became a household name in England thanks to his outrageous antics on such BBC Radio comedies as \u201cHancock’s Half Hour\u201d and \u201cRound the Horn\u201d, and he was a stalwart in the long-running \u201cCarry On\u201d pictures.<\/p>\n

Director Ben Evans sticks very close to Williams in an 80-minute biography that will work better with those who know Williams\u2019s story than those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In the insufferable days before the laws were changed, gay men led harshly closeted lives and even Williams\u2019s dear old mum, Louisa (Cheryl Campbell, in a fine performance) was convinced her son was \u201casexual, none of that mucky stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t alone on the \u201cCarry On\u201d gang with Charles Hawtrey (David Charles) there, but he found he could speak openly only to gay friends such as playwright Joe Orton (Kenny Doughty) and his lover Kenneth Halliwell (Ewan Bailey). That relationship, of course, did not end well, although the film does not dwell upon Orton\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n

On camera and especially in the narration, Sheen captures Williams\u2019s flamboyance and uniquely exaggerated manner of speech. Williams was so lonely and self-involved that he didn\u2019t care to stick around to take care of his doting but increasingly senile mother. The film doesn\u2019t shrink from the man’s selfishness but it captures his dogged wit and illuminates his sadness with great compassion.<\/p>\n

Airdate: March 13 2007 (BBC4); Cast: Michael Sheen, Cheryl Campbell, Peter Wight, Beatie Edney, Kenny Doughty, Ron Cook, Martin Trenaman, David Charles, Ewan Bailey, Rachel Clarke, Stephen Critchlow, Guy Henry, Ged McKenna; Director: Andy de Emmony; Writer: Martyn Hesford, based on \u201cThe Diaries of Kenneth Williams\u201d; Director of photography: David Odd; Production designer: Janice Flint; Art director: Keith Slote; Music and sound: Norwell & Green. Producer: Ben Evans; Executive producers: Richard Fell, Sally Woodward Gentle; Producer: Ben Evans; Executive producers: Richard Fell, Sally Woodward Gentle; Production: BBC Drama.<\/p>\n

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett LONDON \u2013 Kenneth Williams, whose sucked-in cheeks, rolled eyes and stretched vowels were known best internationally from the cheerfully vulgar \u201cCarry On\u201d comedies, was born a princess who longed for a Prince Charming but was far too … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[4641,4642,4643,2534,4644],"class_list":["post-9156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-television","tag-kenneth-williams-fantabulosa","tag-kenneth-williams","tag-martyn-hesford","tag-michael-sheen","tag-tony-hancock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9158,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9156\/revisions\/9158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}