Little Britain's grotesque characters are ready to shock and entertain us live on stage, says JAMES WIGNEY. via The Advertiser
After reading an article reviewing the lastest stage show of the UK export, Little Britain, I found myself fascinated on another country's take on our British humour. We have known for decades how if we ever wanted to get in the U.S's good books, we just send them a dozen copies of Benny Hill shows or even a knotted hankie to remind them of the days when the Americans could not get enough of Monty Python, so when I read how the cast of LB were going down under in Oz, I was quite surprised to find that the country who gave us surfer dudes, heavenly bodies and Neighbours, actually are easily shocked by over weight men dressed up as women.
Perhaps they never looked at Dame Edna Everage in the same light, she was, notably a Queen in her country: fully dressed, made up and beautifully cutting with her remarks to our home grown Michael Parkinson when in conversation, yet LB has probably taken the reality of transvestites a little too far. I personally don't like the show, but then again, I grew up on a steady diet of Blackadder and was inspired to write for a living after being exposed to such cleverly crafted wit and historic wisdom.
It is this sort of upbringing in middle class suburbia which takes a horrible hold and refuses the patient to ever see past Stella Street ever again. Despite the audience roughly having the same chance of being hauled up on stage as you would expect at a Derren Brown show, at least you are not going to be exposed to giant licks on the forehead by the UK's biggest trickster. However, we can imagine that since the big wigs of the Beeb won't travel any further than Tolworth Roundabout on location, we can safely say that anything goes when on stage with Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
The further they are from censorship, the more vile they become. This new style of rock and roll is booming; meaning that the unlikely pair are selling out over there as well as a year over here. They have shocked a few million with their bare buttocks and overly theatrical script which first appeared on Radio Two six years ago. The concept of these grotesque figures actually representing the United Kingdom is something we should revolt over on a national scale, yet we find ourselves embracing these darkly macabre characters as if they have moved in next door. We are shifting the comedy to the unimaginable, yet as a country, no matter what we dish out, we will always lead the world with a chuckle...
mduffy 2007
Perhaps they never looked at Dame Edna Everage in the same light, she was, notably a Queen in her country: fully dressed, made up and beautifully cutting with her remarks to our home grown Michael Parkinson when in conversation, yet LB has probably taken the reality of transvestites a little too far. I personally don't like the show, but then again, I grew up on a steady diet of Blackadder and was inspired to write for a living after being exposed to such cleverly crafted wit and historic wisdom.
It is this sort of upbringing in middle class suburbia which takes a horrible hold and refuses the patient to ever see past Stella Street ever again. Despite the audience roughly having the same chance of being hauled up on stage as you would expect at a Derren Brown show, at least you are not going to be exposed to giant licks on the forehead by the UK's biggest trickster. However, we can imagine that since the big wigs of the Beeb won't travel any further than Tolworth Roundabout on location, we can safely say that anything goes when on stage with Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
The further they are from censorship, the more vile they become. This new style of rock and roll is booming; meaning that the unlikely pair are selling out over there as well as a year over here. They have shocked a few million with their bare buttocks and overly theatrical script which first appeared on Radio Two six years ago. The concept of these grotesque figures actually representing the United Kingdom is something we should revolt over on a national scale, yet we find ourselves embracing these darkly macabre characters as if they have moved in next door. We are shifting the comedy to the unimaginable, yet as a country, no matter what we dish out, we will always lead the world with a chuckle...
mduffy 2007
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