Just when you thought it was safe to come out, here he is again. Still on Radio Four but in a surprising new guise; not performing but acting. On Sunday afternoon, John Prescott, MP, took a leading role as ‘The Policeman’ in the Classic Serial. Or rather he gave us nine economical lines in a very wordy dramatisation of Robert Tressell’s 1914 campaigning novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. But they were nine rather good lines. Prezzie’s got a natural radio voice. Clear, with a naturally high decibel level. He never has to force it. He also didn’t have to put on the regional accent demanded of his part. I would almost say they were the best nine lines in the hour-long drama. Said with purpose and from an actor truly inhabiting his part: ‘What you say may be all right or it may not…’
It was strange to hear a group of house builders and decorators bemoaning their lot, as if they were the underdogs.
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