Up Pompeii! audio play recording

David Benson as Lurcio, recording the 2019 Up Pompeii! audio play. David Benson. Copyright: Kim Jones

On Saturday 12th October 2019, a full cast ensembled at the Shaw Theatre, opposite the British Library in central London, to record a brand new audio adaptation of the hit Up Pompeii! audio play.

Actor and noted impressionist David Benson took on the lead role of Lurcio, the Ancient Roman slave character made famous by the great comic Frankie Howerd in the original BBC television series of 1969 - 1970.

David Benson as Lurcio, recording the 2019 Up Pompeii! audio play. David Benson. Copyright: Kim Jones

The play, written for Howerd towards the end of his life, was fatefully never performed by the star: he was invited to appear in a West End revival of the major comedy play A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, in a role he had last inhabited during the 1960s and which had been part of the inspiration for the BBC sitcom.

David Benson as Lurcio, recording the 2019 Up Pompeii! audio play. David Benson. Copyright: Kim Jones

Donning a full Lurcio outfit, Benson lead a cast also comprised of Ben Perkins, Cleo Rocos, Camille Coduri, Frazer Hines, Madeline Smith, Jack Lane, Rosa Coduri, Jilly Breeze, Tim Brooke-Taylor and producer and co-adaptor, Barnaby Eaton-Jones.

Frazer Hines and Cleo Rocos as Ludicrus Sextus and Suspenda, recording the 2019 Up Pompeii! audio play. Image shows from L to R: Frazer Hines, Cleo Rocos. Copyright: Kim Jones

Devised by BBC comedy executives Michael Mills and Tom Sloan, the series was written by Talbot Rothwell - later with Sid Colin - and the late-1980s play by Miles Tredinnick. The audio adaptation was made by Eaton-Jones with Daniel McGachy and Iain McLaughlin.

The full cast of the 2019 Up Pompeii! audio play. Image shows from L to R: Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Camille Coduri, Jilly Breeze, Jack Lane, Madeline Smith, Rosa Coduri, David Benson, Frazer Hines, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Cleo Rocos, Ben Perkins. Copyright: Kim Jones

Recorded across two performances on that October Saturday, the 50th Anniversary Audio Revival is available to order now, and is released on Friday 29th November 2019 as a double-CD set.


Up Pompeii - A 50th Anniversary Audio Revival

Marking 50 years since Frankie Howerd's TV sitcom first aired, this is a new adaptation of the successful spin-off stage play by Miles Tredinnick, based on the original characters and scripts by Talbot Rothwell, adapted for audio by Barnaby Eaton-Jones with Daniel McGachy and Iain McLaughlin.

Welcome to ancient Pompeii, where the steps of the Forum are peopled by nubile slave girls and a range of outrageous characters including Lurcio's owner, Ludicrus Sextus the Senator, his wife Ammonia, his son Nausius and his daughter, Erotica. Lurcio attempts to deliver his prologue and begin proceedings before he's quickly caught up in the myriad of sexual liaisons in all quarters of his master's house. Why does Ludicrus not leave for the Senate meeting in Rome? Why does his wife return so quickly from the country? Who will take care of the escaped slave girl, Voluptua, and will Nausius's love poetry improve? Whilst growing chaos ensues, an increasing rumbling is heard in the distance - what could that possibly be?

The new recording features an all-star cast: David Benson as Lurcio, Frazer Hines as Ludicrus Sextus, Cleo Rocos as Suspenda, Tim Brooke-Taylor OBE as Captain Treacherus, Jack Lane as Nausius, Madeline Smith as Ammonia, Camille Coduri as Voluptua, Rosa Coduri as Erotica, Jilly Breeze as Senna, Ben Perkins as Corneous, and Barnaby Eaton-Jones.

First released: Friday 29th November 2019

  • Discs: 2
  • Catalogue: UP-2CDS-1-2

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Published: Tuesday 5th November 2019

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