SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

A sketch from the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe, written and performed by Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller, and first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1960. The sketch satirises Shakespearean blank verse and the history plays in particular. An extract runs thus:
Miller: ‘Get thee to Gloucester, Essex. Do thee to
Wessex, Exeter,
Fair Albany to Somerset must eke his route
And Scroop, do you to Westmoreland, where shall
bold York
Enrouted now for Lancaster, with forces of our
Uncle Rutland’. It concludes:
`I most royally shall now to bed,
To sleep off all the nonsense I’ve just said’.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video

Year of release

1961

Credits

Cast

Alan Bennett
Dudley Moore
Jonathan Miller
Peter Cook

Additional Details

Production type

Sitcoms/Variety

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Edinburgh Festival; Revues

Notes

Notes

The DVD of the Gala farewell stage performance is available as Region 1 only, a version running at 120mins. An audio version of the sketch is included in COMPLETE BEYOND THE FRINGE - a 3 CD box set available from retail outlets. The sketch also forms part of THE SHAKESPEARE REVUE performed by Christopher Luscombe and Malcolm McKee. See separate catalogue entry for details of format and availablility.

General

Beyond the Fringe transferred to the West End where it ran for five years and later went to Broadway. It’s success was partly responsible for the wave of satire in Britain in the 1960s. A gala farewell performance was televised by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 12 December 1964 in a one-hour slot. The US premiere of the show, running at 120 minutes, was broadcast at the Museum of Television and Radio, New York City (now Paley Center for Media) during February/March 2005.

Archive

Name

Paley Center for Media

Web

http://www.paleycenter.org/ External site opens in new window

Phone

(212) 621-6600

Address

25 West 52 Street
New York
New York
110019
USA

Notes

Formerly Museum of Television and Radio (MTR). The name changed in 2007.

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web

http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window