Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
- Director: Andy DeEmmony
- Writer: Martyn Hesford; Kenneth Williams
- Producer: Angie Daniell; Ben Evans
CGiii Comment
Compulsive obsessive, lonely, repressed with terrible wind and truly gifted - and ever so slightly mad.
Sheen's performance in nothing less than mesmeric - but, to appreciate this you have to appreciate Williams himself - if you do...then, this is nothing short of near brilliance.
A tragic exposé of a confused and bewildered man.
Fine work indeed.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Finicky,hygiene-obsessed comic actor Kenneth Williams,living in a flat block with mutually adoring mother Louie,looks back on his life. At loggerheads with his homophobic father over his career Kenny fulfils his dream of becoming a classical actor but is spun off into comedy,allowing full rein to his crowd-pleasing array of funny voices. A compulsive,often selfish performer off-screen,he becomes a national treasure following the radio show 'Round the Horne' and the successful series of film farces 'Carry On'... though he is disdainful of the latter,given that he once trod the boards with Orson Welles. Privately he is a tormented closet gay,sickened by his sexuality,unlike his friend,promiscuous playwright Joe Orton,and desperately asks his 'Carry On' co-star Joan Sims for a show marriage,which she refuses. Ultimately Louie's death,his own hypochondria,a down turn in work and a sense of his own isolation will result in a fatal encounter with a bottle of tablets in 1988.
Cast & Characters
Michael Sheen as Kenneth Williams;
Cheryl Campbell as Lou Williams;
Peter Wight as Charlie Williams;
Beatie Edney as Joan Sims;
Kenny Doughty as Joe Orton;
Ron Cook as Peter Eade;
Martin Trenaman as Tony Hancock;
David Charles as Charles Hawtrey;
Ewan Bailey as Kenneth Halliwell;
Rachel Clarke as Barbara Windsor;
Connor Garnet Comerford as Young Kenneth Williams;
Beatrice Comins as St Joan / Actress;
Timothy Davies as 1st Doctor;
Stephen Critchlow as Kenneth Horne;
Guy Henry as Hugh Paddick