This evening’s event is a portrait of much-loved 1930s/40s comedian Will Hay, who created the mould for all subsequent British comedy in a performing career that spanned stage, radio and such classic films as Oh, Mr. Porter! and Ask a Policeman – and whose re-emergence into the public’s consciousness is long overdue. Join Graham Rinaldi, author of the recent Will Hay biography, as he takes a close look at Hay’s comedy theories and provides a unique insight into the fascinating on- and off-screen personae of a man whose passion for comedy was matched with a tremendous thirst for knowledge.

Hay had a relatively brief screen career: by the time he made his first film he was in his mid-40s and an established music hall artist, and his last role came less than a decade later. He worked on 18 films in total, at Elstree, Gainsborough, and Ealing studios, all built upon his stage persona and routines.

In the course of his extensive research, Graham worked closely with Hay’s family, and had access to extensive personal archives, including Hay’s unfinished and unpublished autobiography I Enjoyed Every Minute, sadly curtailed by his untimely death in 1949. They revealed a polymath with a gift for languages and great expertise in the fields of aviation, engineering and astronomy – a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, he was noted for having discovered a white spot on the planet Saturn in 1933, and as one of Britain’s first private pilots he gave flying lessons to Amy Johnson! 

This evening’s programme will feature extracts from the comedian’s films, plus Hay rarities including a silent “Fourth Form at St Michael’s” sketch, newsreel footage, and an extract from a new as-yet unfinished documentary Next Train’s Gone – The Making of Oh, Mr. Porter!

This event is expected to end around 22.00.

Tickets & Pricing

Spring Season 2011 ticketing applies.