One of her favourite stories is worth repeating, and I hope it makes sense to my American friends...
"... the producer was keen on Hobson's Choice, but I had such strong memories of Julia McKenzie in the role of that I doubted my capabilities to measure up to her.
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| Julia McKenzie |
Almost my favourite theatrical anecdote is Julia's experience of playing Maggie Hobson to Ronald Pickup's Willy Mossop. One night, well into the run, she came to the moment in the show when Maggie summons Willy from the basement to inform him that he has great skills as a cobbler and she intends him to be her husband. 'Willy,' she tells him, 'show me your hands,' and goes on to tell him that he has the hands of a craftsman.
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| Ronald Pickup |
On this particular night, she summoned him as usual, he poked his head out of the trapdoor and, bright as a button, she rapped out the command: 'Hans, show me your willy!'
Suffice it to say that the Willy in question shot back down the trapdoor and Maggie Hobson got uncommonly interested in the dusting of every article on the upstage mantelpiece!"
Spoonerisms tend to be quite funny, but the example above is a winner! [A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels or morphemes are switched between two words in a phrase.]
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| Maureen Lipman |
