Puckoon

Last updated

Puckoon
Puckoon.jpg
First edition
Author Spike Milligan
IllustratorSpike Milligan
CountryUnited Kingdom
Subject Comic novel
GenreComedy
Publisher Anthony Blond
Publication date
1963

Puckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. It is his first full-length novel, and only major fictional work. Set in 1924, it details the troubles brought to the fictional Irish village of Puckoon by the Partition of Ireland: the new border, due to the incompetence of the Boundary Commission, passes directly through the village, with most of the village placed in the independent Irish Free State, but with a significant portion to Northern Ireland.

Contents

The protagonist of the novel is the feckless Dan Milligan, a man so lazy that the author is obliged to take direct action to prevent him spending the entire novel lounging about at home; thus alerted to his status as a fictional character, Dan frequently breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the writer about the trouble he has been made to endure.

Adaptations

An abridged audiobook version, read by the author, was released on LP and cassette.

A film adaptation, written and directed by Terence Ryan, was released in 2002. It stars Sean Hughes as the renamed "Dan Madigan" and Richard Attenborough (in his final film role) as the narrator (after Spike Milligan's poor health prevented him from taking the part), [1] along with British, Irish and American character actors including Elliott Gould, Griff Rhys Jones, Milo O'Shea, David Kelly, Marc Sinden, Daragh O'Malley, Nickolas Grace and Freddie Jones. [2] Jane Milligan (Spike's daughter) appeared in the small role of Mrs. Madigan. The film was cast by Jo Gilbert and shot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Puckoon was adapted for the stage in 2009, and toured Ireland and the United Kingdom. [3]

An adaptation by Ian Billings, narrated by Barry Cryer and starring Ed Byrne as Dan Milligan and Pauline McLynn was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Milligan</span> Irish comedian (1918–2002)

Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Disliking his first name, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band Spike Jones and his City Slickers on Radio Luxembourg.

<i>The Goon Show</i> BBC Radio show broadcast from 1951 to 1960

The Goon Show is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 1951, was titled Crazy People; subsequent series had the title The Goon Show.

<i>The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy</i> Science fiction series

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it was later adapted to other formats, including novels, stage shows, comic books, a 1981 TV series, a 1984 text adventure game, and 2005 feature film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long John Silver</span> Antagonist of Stevensons Treasure Island

Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel Treasure Island (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg and parrot, in particular, have greatly contributed to the image of the pirate in popular culture.

<i>Nineteen Eighty-Four</i> (British TV programme) British TV series or programme

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a British television adaptation of the 1949 novel of the same name by George Orwell, originally broadcast on BBC Television in December 1954. The production proved to be hugely controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over its supposed subversive nature and horrific content. It starred Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence and André Morell.

Bridget Rose Jones is a fictional character created by British writer Helen Fielding. Jones first appeared in Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, which did not carry any byline. Thus, it seemed to be an actual personal diary chronicling the life of Jones as a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life, love, and relationships with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s. The column was, in fact, a lampoon of women's obsession with love, marriage and romance as well as women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and wider social trends in Britain at the time. Fielding published the novelisation of the column in 1996, followed by a sequel in 1999 called The Edge of Reason.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Stark</span> English comedian, actor

Graham William Stark was an English comedian, actor, writer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puckane</span> Village in Munster, Ireland

Puckane, officially Puckaun, is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The village is located 10 km north of Nenagh along the R493 and close to Lough Derg and Dromineer. It had a population of 250 people as of the 2016 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Hughes (comedian)</span> Irish-British comedian, writer and actor (1965–2017)

Sean Hughes was a British-born Irish comedian, writer and actor. He starred in his own Channel 4 television show Sean's Show and was one of the regular team captains on the BBC Two musical panel game Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

The Three Musketeers, the 1844 novel by author Alexandre Dumas, has been adapted into multiple films, both live-action and animated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Glen</span> Scottish actor (born 1961)

Iain Alan Sutherland Glen is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil film series (2004–2016) and as Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). Other notable film and television roles include John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon (1990), Larry Winters in Silent Scream (1990) for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, Manfred Powell in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Brother John in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), the title role in Jack Taylor (2010–2016), Sir Richard Carlisle in Downton Abbey (2011), James Willett in Eye in the Sky (2015), and Bruce Wayne in Titans (2019–2021).

Edward Ian MacNaughton was a Scottish actor, television producer and director, best known for his work with the Monty Python team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathaniel Parker</span> British actor (born 1962)

Nathaniel Parker is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of Merlin.

Terence Ryan is a British film director, writer, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nico Mirallegro</span> English actor (b. 1991)

Nico Cristian Mirallegro is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry "Newt" Newton in the soap opera Hollyoaks (2007–2010), Finn Nelson in My Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015), Joe Middleton in The Village (2013), and Johnjo O'Shea in Common (2014). His feature film credits include Spike Island (2012), Anita B. (2014), The Pass (2016), and Peterloo (2018).

<i>Badjelly the Witch</i> 1973 book by Spike Milligan

Badjelly the Witch is a brief handwritten, illustrated story by Spike Milligan, created for his children, then printed in 1973. It was made into an audio and a video version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ireland Screen</span>

Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. The agency's purpose is to promote the development of a sustainable film, animation and television production industry.

David Morley is a British writer and radio producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Claflin</span> British actor (born 1986)

Samuel George Claflin is a British actor. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2009, he began his acting career on television and had his first film role as Philip Swift in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Lowden</span> British actor (born 1990)

Jack Andrew Lowden is a Scottish actor. Following a four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace, which led to starring roles in feature films. He has received several awards including two BAFTA Scotland Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.

References

  1. Flynn, Bob (23 July 2002). "'It's fantastical, magical stuff'". The Guardian.
  2. "Puckoon – Cast Gallery". guerilla-films.com.
  3. "Info".
  4. "BBC – Puckoon – Media Centre".