Performance

Nona (3x3)

: 19, 1991

(re-broadcast) Les Dawson donned a stringy wig and voluminous black dress to play the title role in Roberto Cossa 's grim satire of post-Falklands Argentina. First shown in 1991, it is repeated here as a tribute to the comedian, who died earlier this year. Nona, "the old one", is the 100-year-old matriarch of a city family, whose gluttony reduces her kinfolk to beggary, prostitution and death. The role is traditionally played by a leading male comic. Dawson chomped his way to an 181b weight-gain during the filming, but was glad of the opportunity to extend himself theatrically. "It's good that people can see me doing something other than a game show. There comes a point when you're not stretching yourself any more - hence my little excursion into the heavier theatre."