Sherborne Literary Festival, Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset

October 10 & 14, 2018

If I were a betting man, I’d hazard that the chances of a two-part retrospective on Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker’s happening in a small community hall in deepest Dorset were two to the power of seventy-five thousand to one against… and rising! But infinite probability drive be damned, here we were, in the presence of Douglas’ friends, colleagues and family on balmy October Days.

When you consider that Douglas wrote the first Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book behind a desk at his mother’s house in Stalbridge, a mere seven miles up the road, the connection makes sense, as reinforced by host, archivist, animator and uber-fan, Kevin Davies. Sherborne’s Oliver Holt Gallery previously hosted an exhibition of Adams’ memorabilia on what would have been his 60th birthday year in 2012, but this time there were people (and an Android) to regale us with their showbiz and family anecdotes. Douglas’ siblings Susan and James were also in the audience, the latter rounding off each of the two sessions with an appreciation of the guests.

Kevin Davies (Hitchhiker’s original TV series animator, documentary maker and producer of the new Blu-ray set) had brought with him some great set dressing from a Pan Award, rare-as-hen’s-teeth original LPs, towel and dressing gown (and his patient son on the laptop) and introduced his guests Dirk Maggs (adapter and producer of the radio productions post book 2 and many other related projects including the roadshow), Philip Pope (music producer, composer and singer on the latter radio shows) and Sandra Dickinson, TV’s Trillian, and formerly married to the Dish of the Day, Peter Davison.

A lot was covered in the ninety-minute first part, and while some of the anecdotes were well known (Paul Simon cancelling a meeting with Douglas because the latter was probably too tall) there were some lovely behind-the-scenes chats ranging from Sandra’s skimpy ‘space minx’ outfit (her husband of the time allegedly suggested it), getting changed in a portaloo in a St Austell clay-pit and trying to fit in lots of shots with little time.

All guests shared how they first met Douglas or became in involved with Hitchhiker’s. Dirk was particularly fascinating as he told us about how he was proud to continue Douglas’ legacy following his untimely death, and how he had to wear a dispassionate head while translating books four and five into radio scripts. Sandra was also delighted that Trillian returned to the radio in the form of Tricia, allowing her to appear alongside original radio Trillian, Susan Sheridan. Every now and then, the touring version of Marvin – a collection of mics, radio and tape recorder parts – would chime in with Steven Moore’s laconic lines, to everyone’s delight.

Part 2 still featured Kevin, Dirk and the Adams family (sorry!) but David Learner (Marvin on stage an performer on the TV show) replaced Sandra and Philip. Following a similar format to Part 1 – How did you first meet Douglas? – David shared how his performance in Theatre Clwyd production led to his TV casting, as well as how he enterprisingly created ‘Don’t Panic’ badges to sell to the punters. There was the very occasional repetition of content from Part 1, but this was all context setting and Dirk in particular shared some stories about the highs and lows of the touring production and the joy of working with original voice of Marvin, Stephen Moore. One highlight was Dirk flapping around the black umbrella that had been used in the touring show as Agrajag (to Douglas’ voice) as Kevin stood-in as Arthur, complete with dressing gown.

Verdict: An intimate and fascinating fireside chat (without the fireside) about Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker’s legacy in the company of those who knew and loved him. A real coup for the Sherborne Literary Festival – I’m sure Douglas would have approved of this bunch of really hoopy froods. 10/10

Nick Joy