Comic monologues
Not traditional folk tales, but certainly a part of British traditional culture
Reciting these much-loved monologues by Marriott Edgar is where my performing experience began – as a teenager over 60 years ago.
Having posted one to my video gallery, and been asked for more, I am delighted to offer this as a small but occasionally growing collection – a tribute and thanks to those who popularised them on the BBC radio of my youth.
- The Battle of Hastings
- The Recumbent Posture
- Three Ha’pence a Foot (coming soon)
Edgar’s stage friend, Stanley Holloway, the actor more commonly associated with the monologues, used a droll, dry flat delivery with piano accompaniment, as this recording shows. It was clearly one they knew worked in the music halls.
I prefer a more expressive way of handling the text – an experience which has stood me in good stead as a storyteller. The monologues also provided great training in timing.
Probably the most well known of all the poems was “Albert and the Lion”. Here is a rare clip of Edgar performing it.
Where it began
In the 1960s, after Christmas dinner in St. Peter’s Vicarage, Congleton, my father (who was the vicar) would call on me to perform my “party piece” for the assembled guests. Each year I’d have a new monologue. “The Battle of Hastings” was the first – and has remained a great favourite ever since.
A note about accent
Congleton is in Cheshire, and as a teenager my language was (to my mother’s horror) coloured by the local accent. However, until the age of 10 we had lived in the south of England, so I do not claim any particular authenticity for my speech.
Edgar’s texts are written in a northern accent, and always performed that way.
St. Peter’s Vicarage, Congleton – where I grew up.
Want to download the video?
Videos are provided free to view.
If you want to download one, I can arrange that. Just send me a mail telling me which story you’d like, and your reason for wanting a download.
The video clips here are all amateur quality, shot in various theatres or, as here, in my home studio.
Their intention is just to show the range of my storytelling and give a flavour of a live performance.
Permission is granted for use in non-commercial educational contexts.
The videos are © Richard Martin.
Professionally recorded CDs and DVDs are available here.
Go here for tales to watch
Go here for a list of all tales included on this site
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Permission to tell outlines my views on copyright
For those who are teachers: Telling stories in the classroom: basing language teaching on storytelling