Sound Charades
Encyclopedia
Sound Charades is a variant of charades
played on BBC Radio 4
's "antidote to panel game
s", I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
. As with some other ISIHAC games, such as Celebrity What's My Line?
, the game has been created by taking an existing one and removing the central concept. As the late chairman Humphrey Lyttelton
put it: "In the original, the players were not allowed to speak, resulting in much hilarity. Our version differs subtly in two ways."
The format of the game is largely similar to the original. One team is given the name of a book, film, television or radio series. They announce the number of words and the format, and act out a short improvised
play, conveying the title, usually by means of a rather forced pun
.
For instance, the clue for the BBC 2 science documentary series Q.E.D.
was:
Occasionally, truly masterful clues are given: for example the film Dirty Harry
was clued with the single line "Potter
! ... Don't do that.", delivered in an impression of Alan Rickman
's portrayal of Severus Snape
. Another memorable clue was for the film Monsters, Inc.
, in which Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden are about to do the washing up, at which point Barry cries "Good lord! You don't wash the dishes in this, do you? It's enormous!" ["Monster Sink"]
As the above shows, the sketches would often belabour the point somewhat. This was particularly true in later years when Graeme Garden
and Barry Cryer
invented the characters of Hamish and Dougal
, two rural Scotsmen
who featured regularly in the sketches, and later were given their own series, You'll Have Had Your Tea.
Another tradition in the later years was that Humph's initial explanation of the game would mention the television
version of charades, Give Us a Clue
. This would inevitably involve a double entendre
about either Una Stubbs
, or more often, Lionel Blair
for example:
A particularly memorable example occurred in the programme broadcast from the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, in May 2002. On this occasion, the guest panellist was Sandi Toksvig
. Humph concluded his introduction to the round as follows:
This caused Toksvig to corpse
, and the game was held up for almost a minute while peals of laughter echoed from the audience in response to Sandi's hysterical laughing that had rendered her completely helpless. This is possibly the only time that the Radio 4
has broadcast a minute of uninterrupted laughter.
Just before the "mystery voice" tells the listeners the title of the subject, Humph usually announces that the team to perform it and the audience are being shown it on the "laser display screen" (sometimes described in more elaborate terms). This is, in fact, the programme's producer running on to the stage holding a large card with the title written on it — a joke only for the benefit of the studio audience (and to make listeners wonder why they laugh a moment after the words "laser display screen"). Occasionally, particularly if the apparatus has been described with more ridiculous lavishness (with terms such as "multiplex", "digitally enhanced", etc.), Humph has added another joke based on its actually being a big card by saying it has been "so generously funded by our hosts".
Charades
Charades or charade is a word guessing game. In the form most played today, it is an acting game in which one player acts out a word or phrase, often by pantomiming similar-sounding words, and the other players guess the word or phrase. The idea is to use physical rather than verbal language to...
played on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's "antidote to panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
s", I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game broadcast since 11 April 1972 at the rate of one or two series each year , transmitted on BBC Radio 4, with occasional repeats on BBC Radio 4 Extra and the BBC's World Service...
. As with some other ISIHAC games, such as Celebrity What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, the game has been created by taking an existing one and removing the central concept. As the late chairman Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
put it: "In the original, the players were not allowed to speak, resulting in much hilarity. Our version differs subtly in two ways."
The format of the game is largely similar to the original. One team is given the name of a book, film, television or radio series. They announce the number of words and the format, and act out a short improvised
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
play, conveying the title, usually by means of a rather forced pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
.
For instance, the clue for the BBC 2 science documentary series Q.E.D.
Q.E.D. (BBC TV series)
Q.E.D. was the name of a strand of BBC popular science documentary films which aired in the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1999.-Format:...
was:
- "I want some scratchcardScratchcardA scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...
s." - "Well, Edie, you just join that line of people."
- "I want some scratchcards."
- "Just stand behind that man there, Edie."
- "How can I get my scratchcards?"
- "Edie, how else can I put this?"
- ["Queue, Edie"]
Occasionally, truly masterful clues are given: for example the film Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
was clued with the single line "Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
! ... Don't do that.", delivered in an impression of Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
's portrayal of Severus Snape
Severus Snape
Severus Snape is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling. In the first novel of the series, he is hostile toward Harry and is built up to be the primary antagonist until the final chapters. As the series progresses, Snape's character becomes more layered and...
. Another memorable clue was for the film Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, in which Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden are about to do the washing up, at which point Barry cries "Good lord! You don't wash the dishes in this, do you? It's enormous!" ["Monster Sink"]
As the above shows, the sketches would often belabour the point somewhat. This was particularly true in later years when Graeme Garden
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
and Barry Cryer
Barry Cryer
Barry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
invented the characters of Hamish and Dougal
Hamish and Dougal
Hamish and Dougal are two characters from the long-running BBC Radio 4 "antidote to panel games", I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, who later went on to have their own Radio 4 series, You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Hamish and Dougal.-History:One of the...
, two rural Scotsmen
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
who featured regularly in the sketches, and later were given their own series, You'll Have Had Your Tea.
Another tradition in the later years was that Humph's initial explanation of the game would mention the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
version of charades, Give Us a Clue
Give Us A Clue
Give Us a Clue is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two teams, one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una...
. This would inevitably involve a double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
about either Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and in the theatre, and less frequently in films. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge.-Film and...
, or more often, Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair is a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter. He is the son of Myer Ogus and Deborah Greenbaum...
for example:
- The master of the genre was undoubtedly Lionel Blair, and who will ever forget him, exhausted and on his knees, finishing off An Officer and a GentlemanAn Officer and a GentlemanA Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American drama film that tells the story of a U.S. Navy aviation officer candidate who comes into conflict with the Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who trains him. It was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford...
in under two minutes?
- We particularly recall one very early show when Una Stubbs scored maximum points after the teams took only a few seconds to recognise her Fanny by GaslightFanny by Gaslight (film)Fanny by Gaslight was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir . It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas"...
.
A particularly memorable example occurred in the programme broadcast from the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, in May 2002. On this occasion, the guest panellist was Sandi Toksvig
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
. Humph concluded his introduction to the round as follows:
- "...miming the titles...against a strict time limit. The most highly skilled of all was Lionel Blair — but how the tears of frustration welled up in his eyes during their Italian tour at not being allowed the use of his mouth to finish off Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
!".
This caused Toksvig to corpse
Corpsing
Corpsing is a British theatrical slang term used to describe when an actor unintentionally breaks character during a scene by laughing or by causing another cast member to laugh...
, and the game was held up for almost a minute while peals of laughter echoed from the audience in response to Sandi's hysterical laughing that had rendered her completely helpless. This is possibly the only time that the Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
has broadcast a minute of uninterrupted laughter.
Just before the "mystery voice" tells the listeners the title of the subject, Humph usually announces that the team to perform it and the audience are being shown it on the "laser display screen" (sometimes described in more elaborate terms). This is, in fact, the programme's producer running on to the stage holding a large card with the title written on it — a joke only for the benefit of the studio audience (and to make listeners wonder why they laugh a moment after the words "laser display screen"). Occasionally, particularly if the apparatus has been described with more ridiculous lavishness (with terms such as "multiplex", "digitally enhanced", etc.), Humph has added another joke based on its actually being a big card by saying it has been "so generously funded by our hosts".