Six programmes in which we meet Phyllis King and Ivor Cutler happily enmeshed in a roomful of songs, poems and dialogues until.... the knock on the door.
With artist Glen Baxter
King Cutler I, 9.30pm Radio 3
Songwriter, painter, poet, novelist and deadpan comedian - Ivor Cutler's diverse gifts have made him difficult to pigeonhole. Now, at the age of 66, this doleful Scot is in danger of becoming something of a cult figure. John Peel and Andy Kershaw have introduced him to a new audience on Radio 1, while this week he gets his first comedy series on Radio 3, King Cutler I (you might have seen it in the making on Sunday's See for Yourself, BBC1 8.05pm).
The 'King' is not a reference to the distinctly un-regal Ivor but to his partner, the poet and songwriter Phyllis King. 'For me the most exciting bits of the work are what Phyllis has done,' he says gallantly. Together they explore an eccentric world of stories and song (including occasional theses upon 'Great Races of the World' - such as sack, wheelbarrow or egg and spoon), with Cutler accompanying them on his harmonium and regular interruptions from weekly guests - the first is cartoonist Glen Baxter.
Radio first discovered Cutler in 1959 when he was offered a regular spot on the weekly revue Sunday Night at Home. Songs and books have taken up much of his time since (though the Beatles cast him as Buster Bloodvessel in their Magical Mystery Tour) and he has also written a number of bizarre plays for Radio 3.
He's happy to be back on the network because he reckons it has a fine humorous heritage - 'There were all the Hilda Tablet plays and then that one-upmanship guy, Stephen Potter.' Where does he fit into radio's comic tradition? 'I used the Goons as a launching pad. I owe an enormous debt to Spike Milligan.' He's dubious about classifying his style, but maintains: 'If I were flip, I could say it was rooted in fear, but I actually think that incongruity is the basis of laughter. Kafka turned me from a sixth-former into an adult as far as humour is concerned.' (David Gillard)
