The High Life set to fly again as a musical
- Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson are developing a musical adaptation of their cult airline sitcom The High Life
- The pair are also publishing a book, Victor And Barry's Kelvinside Compendium, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their double act
- Featuring song and dance numbers, The High Life only ran for a single series on BBC Two in 1995
The High Life is set to take-off again after almost 30 years - as a musical, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson's BBC Two sitcom about cabin crew on a budget airline only ran for one series in 1995 but attracted a cult following, popularising the catchphrase "Oh dearie me!"
A stage adaptation has been mooted for several years, with Cumming revealing on Channel 4 daytime show Steph's Packed Lunch in 2021 that he and Masson had discussed potentially adapting the comedy into a song and dance show.
BCG understands that a combination of the coronavirus pandemic and other commitments prevented the project developing further at that time, but Masson's agent Vivienne Clore today confirmed to this website that the show is now "a work-in-progress".
The news comes as Cumming and Masson revealed that they are also writing a book celebrating the 40th anniversary of the comedy cabaret act they formed while studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. They would further develop their Victor and Barry alter-egos, firm favourites at the Edinburgh Fringe from 1984, and ultimately "transmogrify" - in Cumming's words - them into The High Life's central characters.
Written by and starring Cumming and Masson as stewards, the narcissistic Sebastian Flight and the sex-obsessed Steve McCracken, the sitcom was set aboard the fictional Air Scotia, flying out of Prestwick Airport. It co-starred Siobhan Redmond (Two Doors Down) as chief steward Shona, variously described by her colleagues as "Hitler in tights", "Mussolini in Micromesh" and "Goebbels in a Gossard", and Patrick Ryecart (The Crown) as the deranged pilot Captain Duff.
Frequently surreal, the pilot and six subsequent episodes were interspersed with song and dance numbers. Piloted the year before, The High Life only ran for a further six episodes in 1995 because of Cumming's burgeoning career in Hollywood and on Broadway. He starred in James Bond film GoldenEye as villainous computer expert Boris Grishenko later the same year.
Speaking to the official Red Dwarf website in 2004, having guest starred as a Stan Laurel wax-droid in the 1991 episode Meltdown, Masson, who also had recurring roles in Catastrophe and Rab C. Nesbitt, disclosed that a second series of The High Life was written but never recorded.
"There was a possibility of a second series, but then that all fell by the wayside" he told the website. "I wrote scripts but it never saw the light of day. There was a change of management at the BBC and Alan had other work commitments, but prior to the change of management they were keen for it to go ahead without Alan. Angie [de Chastelai Smith], the director, was on board - but then it just fizzled out.
"We had quite a fight to put it on in the first place. We had a script editor who was sacked ... it was all kind of difficult to begin with. And it was just a lot of camp old pish - but it was funny, y'know? At one stage I was handed this document entitled 'how to write a sitcom', and you go, 'Well, I don't want to read that. If we fail we fail, but at least let us do what we want to do.'"
Cumming and Masson plan to publish their book, Victor And Barry's Kelvinside Compendium: A Meander Down Memory Close, through Edinburgh-based publishers 404 Ink shortly before the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe - prompting speculation that the musical might also be set to make its debut there.
Laura Jones, co-founder of 404 Ink, said: "It goes without saying that it's a privilege to be publishing an equally nostalgic and hilarious reflective on Alan and Forbes's early career duo who offered a genteel, harmonious parodying of amateur dramatics and Glasgow's aspirational gentrification in the '80s before their careers took them to prolific new heights in writing and performance. Quite unlike anything 404 Ink has published before, this Kelvinside Compendium marks an experimental turning point for our list that we hope readers will enjoy as much as we have."
Cumming and Masson added: "Victor and Barry have had such a huge effect on both our lives. What we learned as writers and performers has influenced and stayed with us all through our careers, so looking back and celebrating the incredible experiences and the huge amount of laughs Victor and Barry gave us and our audiences has been a joy and we can't wait to share it with everyone."
Victor And Barry's Kelvinside Compendium: A Meander Down Memory Close
Victor And Barry's Kelvinside Compendium includes Cumming and Masson's reminiscences about their Victor and Barry characters alongside scripts, interviews, memorabilia and "fond memories" from fans including actor David Morrissey, television presenter Kirsty Wark and a foreword from former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
First published: Thursday 25th July 2024
- Pages: 144
- Catalogue: 9781912489930
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The High Life - Series One
Alan Cumming stars in this campy comedy series about the zany antics amongst the crew of a charter jet.
Includes all six episodes of the first (and only) series, the Comic Asides pilot episode (no pun intended), and a Pebble Mill interview with Alan Cumming.
First released: Monday 6th April 2009
DVD- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Minutes: 205
- Catalogue: BBCDVD2958
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