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Show type:
All
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Shows (E)East-West Comedy Summit - Free Eco-Friendly Jihad Ed Byrne: Different Class Ed Hammell [2008] Edinburgh and Beyond 2008 Edinburgh Harvest Festival Edinburgh-on-Sea Edward Aczel: Do I Really Have To Communicate With You? Eighties Luke: Live at the Living Room Palladium Eleanor Tiernan & John F. O'Donnell - Irish American Electric Cabaret 2008 Electric Mouse: A La Carte Elise Harris and Ollie Broadway: Mother's Fat Accident Elizabeth And Raleigh: Late But Live Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman – Now With Added Welshman Eric’s Tales of the Sea: A Submariner's Yarn Eros Vlahos: Problem Child Essential Chic Murray Evening Without Dignity EY Snackers Confectionary Company |
Following last year’s triumphant Johnson and Boswell, full of virulent anti-Scottish jibes and knockabout stand-up, comes this rather disappointing sequel. This time around, Miles Jupp, who plays the elegantly arrogant Sir Walter Raleigh, and Simon Munnery, the aging queen, seem afraid to let slip they are having fun. The direction is stiffly formal, the language imposingly Shakespearean, the musical accompaniment vividly atmospheric – but while ridiculous things do occur, no one lets their rigid facades slip, bottling up the humour. We start in Elizabeth I’s boudoir, where Sir Walter Raleigh awaits the Monarch, hoping she will finally succumb to his amorous advances. He introduces himself with a few gags about his home town of Budleigh Salterton and a list of his titles, illustrated with slides which stretch a simple gag too far. Things pick up with the arrival of Munnery’s majestic queen, face ash-white and an elaborately regal dress outdone only by his elaborately regal headgear. An all-powerful, infallible ruler is the perfect channel for Munnery’s domineering comedy, and a few of his excellent, stupidly xenophobic, lines from his Cluub Zarasthustra days are dusted down to make the point. No one can tackle this period comically without reference to Blackadder, and Munnery’s Monarch makes Miranda Richardson’s petulant brat look positively sane. But once we settle into the dialogue between Queen and subject, that formality kicks in. Writer Stewart Lee certainly has the pair doing stupid things, variously involving mashed potatoes, trampettes and one-galleon hats, but mostly Jupp and Munnery maintain their deadpan dignity and sense of gravitas. That feeing is reinforced by the overly-theatrical presentation in a swanky Edinburgh venue which even boasts a full-size organ, used to enhance the ambience. But while the intention was to perform silly things with a po-face, hoping the juxtaposition is funny, this formal atmosphere effectively quashes the comedy, making the audience unsure where to laugh. A couple of very minor ad libs do get a reaction, because they crack the pomposity of the situation, rather than the scripted moments that seem afraid to. Looser performances and more playfulness is what’s needed here. Reviewed by: Steve Bennett When can I see this show?
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Starring Comics:
Miles Jupp Simon Munnery
These comics also appear in:
Miles Jupp: Young Man In A Huff Simon Munnery's AGM The Lost And Lonely Rebels Simon Munnery's Annual General Meeting Miles Jupp Presents The Lost And Lonely Rebels Simon Munnery's AGM Simon Munnery: Buckethead Live (Original) Floorshow - Live! Miles Jupp: Gentlemen Prefer Brogues Simon Munnery: Trilogy Where Did It All Go Wrong? BBC Scotland Live Floor Show Simon Munnery: Noble Thoughts Of A Noble Mind Fish Supper Hegley's Journals and Playlet With Simon Munnery Three Fat Ladies Latitude 2008 Malcolm Hardee Charity Cabaret 2007 Robin Ince's Christmas Book Club 2006 Tedstock Ten Best Stand-ups In The World Ever. Gig 1 Johnson and Boswell: Late But Live Miles Jupp: Everyday Rage And Dinner Party Chit-Chat Simon Munnery: Annual General Meeting 2007 Guardian at the Gilded Balloon Miles Jupp: Drifting Simon Munnery: Annual General Meeting 2008 This Show Belongs To Lionel Richie No 3: Up Arthurs Seat
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