Warminster Festival - Leo Aylen - "Why I'm not a Policeman"

The billing for this Warminster Festival event gave no clue to the

variety and dimensions of entertainment in store.

The audience who came to Leo Aylen’s talk Why

I’m Not a Policeman  were treated to an

energetic and highly amusing performance which included almost everything else

except this explanation.

In a rich and varied life, Leo has written films, programmes

for TV and radio, but through it all his poetic streak bubbles to the

surface.  He is often inspired by real

life situations and was once employed by the BBC to write poems about the day’s

news, some of which he recited.  But Leo’s

reciting was also a dramatic performance as he took on the character of whoever

was uttering the words.  One of the

funniest related to the superlatives of an advertising war about new detergents.

 Amidst the animated company of Leo’s vivacious characters

the element of international travel was also included.   From New York to Thailand,

from Canada to Zululand, Leo’s poems ranged from outer space to ancient

Greeks, from totem poles to St Aldhelm.

 An extraordinary amount of energy and verbal agility was

needed to complete a saga of hypothetical motorways which obliterated existing

cities while creating new ones. The amusing final scenes of his one minute

adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet summed up well the talents of this versatile and eclectic entertainer. 

 In thanking him for his performance Librarian Richard Violet

described Leo as “zany” – and that may be one good reason why he is not a policeman!