''Twang!!'' is a musical with music and lyrics written by

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...

and a book by Bart and Harvey Orkin, with assistance from

Burt Shevelove Burt Shevelove (September 19, 1915 – April 8, 1982) was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale (Master's degree). At ...

. The piece, a spoof of the character and legend of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

, was a disastrous box-office failure and cost Bart his personal fortune. After a preview in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, ''Twang!!'' opened at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

in London's West End on 20 December 1965 and closed on 29 January 1966 after just 43 performances, receiving scathing reviews and playing to mostly empty houses. Bart produced it with

Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...

and John Bryan, and

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

directed but quit before it opened. She was replaced by Shevelove and Bart.Roper, p. 84 ''Twang!!'' is remembered as "the most expensive flop" in West End history up to that time.Feiner, Michael
"Bart's ''Twang!!'' – Most Expensive Flop in London"
''The Montreal Gazette'', 2 April 1966 In 2008, the Estate of

commissioned Julian Woolford to write a new book for the musical which was performed in 2013 at

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools The Federation of Drama Schools functions to facilitate ...

. This version is now licensed through MTI

Synopsis

Robin Hood and his Merry Men attempt to break into

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and ...

, in a variety of preposterous disguises, in order to prevent a marriage between the nymphomaniac "court tart" Delphina and the hairy Scots laird Roger the Ugly, arranged for the purpose of securing the loan of Scottish troops for bad Prince John.Roper, p. 93 The new version is a " meta-musical" with a completely different plot. Robin Hood has lost his 'Twang' and is not the hero he once was. Much the Miller's Son arrives in Sherwood Forest having run away from home and is arrested by the sheriff. He is rescued by Robin and the Men before discovering that in Nottinghamshire life is a musical comedy. He falls in love with Delphina whilst Maid Marion helps Robin find his missing 'twang' before King Richard returns to re-establish order.

Roles and principal cast

*Alan-a-Dale –

Elric Hooper Elric James Hooper (born 1936) is a New Zealand director and actor. He was the artistic director of the Court Theatre in Christchurch from 1979 to 2000. Education Hooper was educated at Wharenui Primary School, followed by Christchurch Boys' ...

*Sir Guy of Gisborne – Howard Goorney *Mystery Voice in "Unseen Hands" –

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

*Mutch – Kent Baker *Robin Hood –

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though considered handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety ...

*Little John – Bernard Bresslaw *Will Scarlett –

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

*Friar Tuck – Will Stampe *Sheriff of Nottingham – Bob Grant *Maid Marian – Toni Eden *Prince John –

Maxwell Shaw Maxwell Shaw (21 February 1929 - 21 August 1985 in London, England) was an actor, known for ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' (1962), '' Once More, with Feeling!'' (1960) and ''BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950). He is best remembered for his televis ...

*Delphina –

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.

*Roger the Ugly – Philip Newman

Production

The cast included the strongest players from Littlewood's

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West E ...

, including

and

. But ''Twang!!'' ran into difficulty from the start. The script was weak, especially the part of Robin Hood, which was badly underwritten.Roper, p. 86 When Booth expressed his concerns, he was repeatedly assured that the part would be expanded to a starring role. Littlewood demanded a rewrite, but constant, confusing revisions failed to improve the script. Littlewood, the choreographer Paddy Stone, the designer

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

, and the writers failed to work together. Rehearsals were disorganised and fraught with tension; Bart was drinking; Littlewood threatened to walk out. At a rehearsal, Littlewood accused Bart of failing to fulfill his creative responsibilities because he was too strung-out on

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

.Roper, p. 88 Bart, in turn, accused Littlewood of ruining the piece.''Twang''
1965 shows, Over the Footlights, accessed 25 December 2012 A

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

tryout was scheduled and cancelled. A

preview opened on 3 November 1965 at the Palace Theatre with a script that was unfinished. Word of the disaster leaked to the tabloids. Littlewood quit the company, and a script doctor, American

, was brought in to fix the script and score, leading to more confusing changes, but nothing helped. The scenes had no relation to the songs, and ''Twang!!'' transferred to London preceded by continued bad press. The show opened in disarray at London's

on 20 December 1965. Still, Bart thought he could save the show. On opening night, the musical director, Ken Moule, collapsed of exhaustion and still had failed to orchestrate the second act. Two songs were cut in the hours before the curtain rose, and the piece was played for

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

, even adding some transvestism. The house lights kept going up and down throughout the performance, and vicious arguments were overheard backstage. ''Twang!!'' garnered scornful and derisive reviews. The critics noted the lack of heroics and the pseudo-

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

delivery, although there were some effective musical sequences, including a scene around a gallows that became a

morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...

around a maypole. Windsor also came in for some praise. The show had been intended as a romp that poked fun at the Crusades, the attitude of the Church and the human flaw of wanting to turn an outlaw into a hero. Orkin believed the show failed because they failed to establish the exact butt of that satire; it was too vague and inconsequential. Bart lost his personal fortune in ''Twang!!'' and was devastated by the failure of the show. So was Booth, who made no money for a year while preparing for it. For Ronnie Corbett, however, the failure of ''Twang!!'' was a lucky break – it meant he was free to participate in ''

The Frost Report ''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March ...

'', his breakthrough in television, and also the show where he first worked with

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and '' Open All Hours''. ...

. When revived at the

Union Theatre, London The Union Theatre is a fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan, and has a reputation for staging musicals. Original premises In 1998, Sasha Regan took the initiative to c ...

in 2018, the musical received some positive reviews. It was dubbed "a meta-musical with bags of heart" by ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

''.

Songs

;Act I *May a Man Be Merry – Alan-a-Dale *Welcome to Sherwood Forest – Robin, Mutch, Little John, Will, Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale *Wander – Robin, Marian *What Makes a Star? – Prince John, Heralds and Company *Make an Honest Woman

f Me F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

– Delphina, Crusaders' Wives *Roger the Ugly – Prince John, Sir Guy, Sheriff *To the Woods – Marian, Delphina *Dreamchild – Marian *With Bells On – Robin and Company *Sighs – Little John, Delphina, Alan-a-Dale *You Can't Catch Me! – Robin, Marian ;Act II *Living a Legend – Robin *Unseen Hands – Mystery Voice *Writing on the Wall – Delphina *Wander (reprise) – Marian, Robin *Roger the Ugly (reprise) – Prince John, Sir Guy, Sheriff, Sir Roger *Whose Little Girl Are You? – Delphina *Follow the Leader – Little John, Will, Alan-a-Dale, Mutch, Friar Tuck *I'll Be Hanged – Robin, Company *Tan-Ta-Ra! – Robin, Marian, Company A cast album, produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

, was recorded and released in 1966 on the United Artists Records label on LP (no. ULP 1116). It was re-released in 1987 on the TER label (no. 1055) on LP and cassette. A CD-R pressing was sold in the U.S. exclusively through the online reseller Footlight in 2011. The recording includes a track called "Twang!!" at the beginning of side B.

Notes

References

*Roper, David (1994). ''Bart! The Unauthorized Life & Times, Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs of Lionel Bart'', Pavilion Books Ltd. *Corbett, Ronnie; David Nobbs (2006). ''And it's goodnight from him... The Autobiography of The Two Ronnies''. London: Penguin. . *Parker, Derek & Julia (1979). ''The Story & The Song''. Chappell & Co.

External links

''Twang!!''
at Theatricalia

at the Guide to Musical Theatre {{Robin Hood West End musicals 1965 musicals Robin Hood parodies