Welcome to
to view the website
December 2011
- An Appeal to the 
for a Tribute Programme to be made in memory of Patrick
Fyffe for May 11th 2012 (10th Anniversary of his death)
Dear BBC,
Hinge and Bracket Comedy Classic TV Tribute Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/HandBTVT/petition.html
I recently read of the intention for your channel to focus upon music, arts and culture, and to serve as the main showcase for items from the BBC archive. As author of the above petition to the BBC, I am writing to ask you to consider broadcasting the television recordings of Hinge and Bracket on BBC4.
This comedy partnership was one of the most original and best-loved of the 20th Century, and though the act was curtailed in 2002 by the death of Patrick Fyffe, the BBC archives contain the best television work produced by this popular act. With some appropriate background and introduction, today’s viewers could still be given the chance to experience the musical skill and mischief of Hinge and Bracket in their heyday.
At time of writing, over 550 people have signed the Hinge and Bracket Comedy Classic TV Tribute Petition to express support for this request. The petition is an appeal from a body of admirers wishing to see their old favourites enjoyed by a new generation of viewers. It also bears the signatures of younger fans who, through the encouragement of their parents and grandparents, are enjoying Hinge and Bracket for the first time.
Our petition includes a request for a tribute programme to be made celebrating Hinge and Bracket’s special contribution to British comedy.
We hope that you will review the work of these talented entertainers for broadcast on BBC4, as we feel that there are excellent grounds to reopen the TV schedules to their work. Here are a few reasons for consideration:
1: Hinge and Bracket Were Ahead of Their Time
Although the act traded heavily on nostalgia in its style and presentation, Hinge and Bracket broke new ground with their distinctive comic delivery. In the late Seventies, when gay comedy was still polarized between clubland drag acts on the one hand, and the limp-wristed stereotypes reserved for prime-time TV, Hinge and Bracket represented a more empowering brand of gay humour, and enjoyed unusual success with mainstream television and radio audiences. Theirs was a pioneering approach based upon subtlety and finesse, preferring to ambush their audiences with clever, artless remarks which masked mostly gentle, but sometimes risqué allusions.
Performing in character, they won audiences over to the new, and then rather bold, concept of two gay men on stage setting their own comic agenda. No audience ever laughed at Hinge and Bracket for being gay, they laughed with them because they were. This was a marked departure from the mainstream comedy norm, where gay stereotypes were routinely presented for ridicule. It was also a remarkably clever coup, in an era when quite innocuous programmes were still vulnerable to censorship. Even while the Mary Whitehouse movement still exerted a restraining influence on the content of Dr Who, Hinge and Bracket were regular fixtures in the culture slot over on BBC2, gently mocking The Establishment and delivering risqué broadsides from behind a veneer of gentility. They were abetted in this mischief by mock-serious, po-faced introductions to their concert appearances, delivered by the Petroch Trelawnys of the day.
Audiences who arrived at a Hinge and Bracket Gala expecting a cultural evening were never short-changed: their concerts always afforded a high-quality musical and comedy experience, but the breezy gay subtext which accompanied every show added an extra comic dimension to the material. To watch the early Gala Evenings of Hinge and Bracket is to witness the delicately-wrapped blue joke being delivered to the unsuspecting blue-rinsed - and still passing as family entertainment, so well integrated and low-key were the risqué allusions.
The BBC’s recordings of the Hinge and Bracket Galas represent a milestone of gay humour in British comedy, as well as an amusing commentary on the musical traditions of a bygone era. Today, with the wide acceptance of gay comedy, actors and comedians, Hinge and Bracket deserve to be shown once again, so that they can be appreciated by audiences with the benefit of a modern awareness. Their comedy deserves now to be celebrated for its originality and innovation.
2: Hinge and Bracket Reinvented Drag
Far beyond mere frock and caricature, Patrick Fyffe and George Logan created credible, engaging female counterparts in the characters of Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket. In doing so, they channelled their own personalities through the characters, and brought these figures to life. The flavour of the act was neither glamorous, nor camp nor gruff in the manner of other drag acts – instead, it was subtle, studied and convincing. And it served their comedy well.
The unique selling point of Hinge and Bracket was the plausibility of the characters’ backgrounds: the listener is asked to accept them as the former “leading lights” of a touring opera company – and is able to do so. This is due in no small part to the innate musicality of their creators, but also to the well-observed execution of the characterisations.
Hinge and Bracket’s act rang true in a manner never achieved by other male performers who merely wore a frock for comic effect. And as if to concede the existence of Hilda and Evadne as “real” women, popular comedians such as The Two Ronnies, Kenny Everett and Billy Connolly even appeared in drag to spoof these characters.
The authenticity achieved by Fyffe and Logan’s female impersonations was an important enabler for the humour of the act. Prim, genteel presentation and disingenuous delivery were deliberate devices to catch an audience off-guard with their carefully integrated risqué references. Broad caricatures could never have achieved the same impact.
In Hinge and Bracket’s early appearances, the true identity of the two “ladies” was a mild joke at the audience’s expense. At the outset, there was a sense that at least some audience members were not aware that their entertainers were men. However, once “the ladies” became familiar figures in the public eye, the humour traded instead upon audience complicity with what was by then an open secret. But though the proportion of uninitiated public diminished sharply as the fame of Hinge and Bracket spread, the performers still continued to work their mischief on any spectators failing to look beyond the obvious. Until quite late in their careers, Hinge and Bracket would be met at the stage door by audience members coming to congratulate them on an evening of “good clean fun”. Some admirers were apparently still oblivious to the stream of innuendo which was the trademark of the act.
“The Ladies” were an illusion consciously maintained by Logan and Fyffe, whose own names would not have been known to many people familiar with Hinge and Bracket. As a consequence, the talent of the imaginative and cultured men behind the characters has never been properly celebrated. The wit and original artistry of these performers is long overdue for recognition, and a tribute programme would be an appropriate opportunity to explore the dynamics and inspirations of this popular comedy partnership.
3: Hinge and Bracket Were Musicians of Great Talent and Versatility
The Hinge and Bracket Gala Evenings
http://www.acornmediauk.com/index.php/hinge-and-bracket-gala-evenings-dvd.html
Whilst Hinge and Bracket’s musical interpretations were nearly always broadly comic or mock-serious, their standards in musical performance were unfailingly high. The partnership comprised two serious musicians: an accomplished, classically-trained concert-standard pianist (Logan) and an exceptionally gifted male operatic soprano (Fyffe). This was the high degree of musical ability that underpinned their acting and comic repartee, and it accounts for the professionalism of the concerts given by the pair.
Patrick Fyffe was an instinctive performer and a natural clown, lending his considerable comic skills to the egocentric persona of Dame Hilda Bracket. He was also a singer of great expressiveness and considerable technical skill. His soprano voice produces flights of coloratura in ‘The Waltz Song’ from Tom Jones (Gala 6), and reaches a top A flat (nearly the top of the female soprano range) at the end of ‘Can’t Help Lovin’ that Man’ (Gala 5). Moreover, in ‘The Waltz Song’, Fyffe demonstrates his natural aptitude for farce by simultaneously delivering a virtuoso mime and dance performance. Another example of this versatile mix is the ‘Czardas’ from the Royal Northern College masterclass recording (“Dear Ladies” Series 2 – Special Features). But this is not to ignore Fyffe’s equal gift for pouring soul and pathos into his lyrical numbers as the mood required.
George Logan’s exceptional musical ability in a multi-tasking situation is evident in every concert. With the spotlight on Fyffe, it is easy to overlook that his partner is in fact directing the orchestra whilst simultaneously accompanying the singing, and harmonising in falsetto. All executed in female costume.
Evadne:
“I accompany Dame Hilda on the piano.
Someone has to.”
Logan exhibits great sensitivity as an accompanist, and subservience to Fyffe’s vocals during, for example, the Ivor Novello medley (Gala 2) and in ‘Bill’ from the Showboat medley (Gala 6). A tour de force of Logan’s simultaneous playing and singing is demonstrated in the Royal Northern College masterclass performance of ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter’ (from Ruddigore). His own skilful accompaniment arrangements are showcased in performances of ‘Gangway’, ‘Midnight Choo Choo’ (Marti Caine Show), ‘Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter’, ‘Over My Shoulder’ (‘Random Jottings’ radio series), ‘Bali Hai’ (from ‘Enchanting World’ radio series & Gala 5).
Original George Logan compositions also featured in performance, including the ‘Liste des Vins’ (Gala 3), and the “Dear Ladies” series theme tune. A running joke of the act was Evadne Hinge’s own work in progress “The Golden Twinset”, reputedly in composition for 22 years. This work was aired in concert, but did not feature in any BBC recordings, although an audio recording of the piece does exist.
Evadne: “I mean: Wagner didn’t knock
out The Ring in a week, you know.”
The close musical rapport between Fyffe and Logan shines in numbers such as the ‘Czardas’ (Royal Northern College Masterclass), ‘Caller Herrin’ (‘Random Jottings’ radio series) and ‘Countess Mitzi’ (from ‘Enchanting World’ radio series).
Musical precision was mixed with humour and farce in their many different Gilbert & Sullivan interpretations, and with poignancy and nostalgia in their Ivor Novello performances. Together, the wide range of contrasting songs, ensembles and medleys of the Hinge & Bracket repertoire shows the outstanding musical talent and versatility of these two performers.
4: Hinge and Bracket Revived the Music of The Golden Age
In their heyday, Hinge and Bracket took the work of unfashionable composers such as Ivor Novello, and affectionately turned the songs into comic parody. Occasionally, though, the presentation is so moving that the listener is surprised into emotion, plunging from laughter to sadness in the space of a few bars. Hinge and Bracket could swiftly transport an audience from hilarity to pathos with unparalleled skill.
Once-popular operetta, including the work of such composers as Lehar, Kalman, Romberg and German, and salon music of the Victorian era, is prominent in their repertoire, but even dated pieces are rendered accessible by Hilda and Evadne’s unswerving conviction that they are performing the still longed-for musical gems of The Golden Age. Their infectious enthusiasm engages the audience – but particularly so when the song lyrics are open to mischievous interpretation, as in “Come, boys [let’s all be gay, boys]” and “Stout-hearted Men” (Romberg). Fyffe’s performance of Denza & Weatherly’s “Come out and be a Queen…of May” also exists as a recording, but sadly not on video.
“Our
Gilbert and Sullivan Stands on its Own”
Composers arguably held in higher regard than Novello are performed with due respect. Extracts from grand and light opera are seasoned with the usual Hinge and Bracket stage-mischief, but there is no discernible tampering of the source-material (occasional key transpositions to accommodate Fyffe’s remarkably supple mezzo soprano were allowed). Hinge and Bracket saluted the musical and intentional comic value of the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, but the particular humour of their own delivery arose from the eccentricity and foibles of the Hilda and Evadne characters. Their approach actually enriched the material and imbued it with a warmth largely absent from the original. G&S aficionados responded well to this gentle subversion of their favourite pieces. And listeners normally apt to find Savoy operas a little too Victorian in style could still laugh at Hinge and Bracket’s delightful send-up of their own personae and of typical Savoyard stage business.
The musical side of Hinge and Bracket, like so much of their work, is multi-faceted. They present a wholly different appeal once they begin to add lighter music to their repertoire. Prior acquaintance with the songs they performed was unnecessary to the audience’s enjoyment. A skilfully assembled medley of songs from the pen of Noel Gay (a favourite composer of H&B by reason of both music and name) entertains the audience in “A Prize Performance” recorded by the BBC at Cheltenham Ladies’ College in 1984. This beguiling collection, compiled from the musical “Me and My Girl” was performed by the duo at the time of the show’s revival, and charms the listener entirely on its own merits. Here the musical skills of Logan and Fyffe are celebrated to the full when the pair not only sing the inter-linking songs but also subvert their own highbrow cultural image with “impromptu” turns from Evadne striking up the banjo and Hilda shamelessly upstaging her partner on a full set of drums. Their performance is a tour-de-force of versatility, and demonstrates how they adapted to changing audiences over the years.
5: Hinge and Bracket’s Appeal was both Cultivated and Comic
Audiences responded first and foremost to the warmth of Hinge and Bracket’s performances, and this rapport aided their appreciation of the more highbrow, less familiar content of the act.
Whilst Hinge and Bracket’s musical appeal certainly benefited from audience familiarity with their music, its associations and mannerisms, the act never relied entirely upon instant recognition of the pieces. Their interpretations of the songs of “The Golden Age” were faithful to the originals, but were infused with an inimitable comic style and an undercurrent of gay innuendo. This made their performances palatable to many who would not necessarily have chosen to attend musical concerts or operetta.
Hilda to Evadne: “… you have Gilbert’s
fiery temperament and acid wit, Dear.
I think I have Sullivan’s gentility.”
Over the years, verbal comedy became more prominent in the shows. This played to their strengths, as the more obvious Hinge and Bracket humour was entirely character-based, and benefited from regular episodes of broad farce inserted by Dame Hilda. The quirkiness of the characters and their clashing personalities were a rich source of comic effect: Evadne’s reserved, pedantic superiority offers a satisfying contrast to Dame Hilda’s bossy, flamboyant, egocentric stage presence, and their frequent on-stage bickering was a device popular with the audience. These elements gave them immediate and superficial appeal quite separate from their choice of music, or the tenor of any underlying allusions. The performances can simply be enjoyed at face value as they milk the eccentricities of the characters and the quaint old-fashioned sensibilities of a past era.
Hinge and Bracket’s stage craft involved “reading” an audience, and tailoring a performance to the mood of the house. This was acknowledged by Patrick Fyffe (interviewed in character as Dame Hilda): “It is important to feel your audience so that you can get a completely relaxed attitude both sides of the footlights” and “One can sense different audiences as one travels”.
To some, Hinge and Bracket were a musical act with comedy, to others a comic act with music. In performance, they achieved the fine balance which catered to both tastes.
These then are the key elements of the act’s appeal. Given the modern fondness for the in-joke, the work of this comedy duo must surely be considered for revival. And so I hope that you will make room for them on BBC4.
The 10th anniversary of Patrick Fyffe’s death falls on 11 May 2012, presenting a topical reason to re-examine and re-broadcast the work of a witty, independent and innovative comedy partnership. I sincerely hope, as do all signatories of the petition, that the BBC will acknowledge and celebrate the place of Hinge and Bracket in British comedy history with a tribute programme around this time.
A visit to the petition signature pages will convey some sense of the warmth with which Hinge and Bracket are remembered. Please take a little time to read the comments left by supporters.
http://www.petitiononline.com/HandBTVT/petition.html
The links below will take you to short clips of Hinge and Bracket’s work, deposited on YouTube:
Gala Evening Clip (Royal Hall Harrogate 1977)
Gala Evening Clip (Gala 4 excerpt from The Mikado)
Gala Evenings Clip (Gala 4 with Christopher Underwood, now Professor of Singing at the RSAMD)
Gala Evening Clip (Gala 6 - New Year’s Party)
Hinge and Bracket in “Die Fledermaus” Gala Performance as Prince Orlofsky’s Guests 1984
Dear Ladies – “Self Service” 1982
Hinge and Bracket in “Dear Ladies”
An Evening With Hinge and Bracket at the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival 2000
More background information can be found in Wikipedia: Hinge and Bracket , and The Only Official Hinge and Bracket Website , the site run by Paul Dunford, who petitioned successfully for the release of Hinge and Bracket’s BBC recordings on DVD.
Many thanks for your attention.
Yours sincerely
Sue Lavender & Paul Dunford
On behalf of the Hinge and Bracket Comedy Classic TV Tribute petitioners