Waiting for Malcolm (Not Starring Sir Ian McKellen)/Aaaaaaaargh! Malcolm Hardee Documentary Preview

An unfinished script means that apparently we are going to have to wait for Malcolm for another 12 months. Replacing the planned two-man show on influential comedian and impresario Malcolm Hardee is instead a brace of films about the great man, originally scheduled for just two Fringe screenings.

For those who know little about the ultimate comic's comic, this is the ideal introduction. It's said that every comedian has their own favourite Malcolm Hardee story and many of these crazy-but-true tales are included over the course of these two productions by Tunnel Films.

First up is The Tunnel, a 30-minute documentary about the notorious comedy venue Hardee presided over during the 1980s. An interview with Tunnel regular Simon Munnery at the now modernised pub is used as a jumping-off point for a stream of anecdotes about the venue and Hardee himself. Newpaper cuttings, flyers and other ephemera are used to fill in the story and shaky handycam footage of the acts living or dying on stage (mainly dying) gives real insight into the period.

Then it's on to a taster from Tunnel Films' feature-length production on Hardee. Just ten minutes long, it nevertheless gives the impression that the end result will be an impressively in-depth biopic, with an extensive list of comedic contributors. Always anarchic, usually funny, but often tragic, Hardee lived and died without making any concessions to social convention. Both films successfully capture that spirit and deserve the wider audience this extended run should give them.

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