Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! is a 2006 BBC Four
television play
starring Michael Sheen
as the English
comic actor Kenneth Williams
, based on Williams' own diaries. Cheryl Campbell
plays Williams' beloved mother, Lou.
The drama received good reviews, The Observer
singling out Sheen's performance as "a characterisation for which the description tour-de-force is, frankly, pretty faint praise". The Times
compared Sheen's performance to "a diamond that is so dazzling as a result of the expertise deployed in its cutting that you can’t fully focus on the underlying shape of the stone, which is what actually enables it to glitter so spectacularly."
Viewing figures were 860,000, including timeshift
, making it by far the most popular BBC Four broadcast of March 2006.
Sheen's performance won a Royal Television Society
award for Best Male Actor, and the play also won two BAFTA nominations (best single play and best actor, Michael Sheen).
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
television play
Television play
From the 1950s until the early 1980s, the television play was a popular television programming genre in the United Kingdom, with a shorter span in the United States. The genre was often associated with the social realist-influenced British drama style known as "kitchen sink realism", which depicted...
starring Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
as the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comic actor Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, based on Williams' own diaries. Cheryl Campbell
Cheryl Campbell
Cheryl Campbell is an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early years:Cheryl Campbell was educated at Francis Bacon Grammar School, St Albans; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
plays Williams' beloved mother, Lou.
The drama received good reviews, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
singling out Sheen's performance as "a characterisation for which the description tour-de-force is, frankly, pretty faint praise". The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
compared Sheen's performance to "a diamond that is so dazzling as a result of the expertise deployed in its cutting that you can’t fully focus on the underlying shape of the stone, which is what actually enables it to glitter so spectacularly."
Viewing figures were 860,000, including timeshift
Time shifting
Time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer. Typically, this refers to TV programming but can also refer to radio shows via podcasts....
, making it by far the most popular BBC Four broadcast of March 2006.
Sheen's performance won a Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
award for Best Male Actor, and the play also won two BAFTA nominations (best single play and best actor, Michael Sheen).
Cast
- Michael SheenMichael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
– Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February... - Cheryl CampbellCheryl CampbellCheryl Campbell is an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early years:Cheryl Campbell was educated at Francis Bacon Grammar School, St Albans; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
– Lou Williams - Peter Wight – Charlie Williams
- Beatie EdneyBeatie EdneyBeatrice "Beatie" Edney is an English television actress.Born Beatrice Edney in London, she is the daughter of famous British actress Sylvia Syms and cousin of Nicholas Webb. Edney first came to audiences' attention as Heather MacLeod the 1986 film Highlander, the first film in the Highlander series...
– Joan SimsJoan SimsJoan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:... - Kenny DoughtyKenny DoughtyKenny Doughty is an English actor who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Married to the actress Caroline Carver.-Filmography as Director:-Filmography as Actor:...
– Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies... - Ron CookRon CookRon Cook is an English actor who has been active in the theatre, film and television since the 1970s. He is from South Shields, Co Durham, England and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College.- Stage appearances :...
– Peter EadePeter EadePeter Eade was an English theatrical agent of the late 20th century. Among those he represented were Kenneth Williams, Ronnie Barker and Joan Sims.... - Martin TrenamanMartin TrenamanMartin Trenaman is an English comedy writer and actor, who has contributed to many modern comedy series.Winner of So You Think You're Funny? in 1994, Martin has gone on to write additional material for shows such as Head on Comedy, Lenny Henry in Pieces and Haywire, and comedians such as Harry...
– Tony HancockTony HancockAnthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in... - David CharlesDavid CharlesProfessor David Owain Maurice Charles is Colin Prestige Fellow, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of Graduate Studies at Oriel College, Oxford. Prof...
– Charles HawtreyCharles Hawtrey (film actor)George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio... - Ewan Bailey – Kenneth HalliwellKenneth HalliwellKenneth Halliwell was a British actor and writer. He was the mentor, boyfriend and eventual murderer of playwright Joe Orton.- Childhood :...
- Rachel Clarke – Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
- Connor Garnet Comerford – Young Kenneth Williams
- Beatrice Comins – St JoanSaint Joan (play)Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
/Actress - Timothy DaviesTimothy DaviesTimothy Davies may refer to:* Timothy Davies , British Liberal Member of Parliament* Timothy Davies , British judoka* Timothy Davies , British runner...
– 1st Doctor - Stephen CritchlowStephen CritchlowStephen Critchlow is a popular and versatile British actor, notable for his work in the theatre and appearances on radio series such as Truly, Madly, Bletchley, The Way We Live Right Now and Spats, along with radio episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who...
– Kenneth HorneKenneth HorneKenneth Horne was an English comedian and businessman. The son of a clergyman and politician, he combined a successful business career with regular broadcasting for the BBC. His first hit series Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh written with his co-star Richard Murdoch arose out of his wartime service as... - Guy Henry – Hugh PaddickHugh PaddickHugh William Paddick was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona and Julian and Sandy...
External links
- Interview with Michael Sheen during the making of the film.