Where the Blackadder feared to tread – that is the territory occupied with resolution and wit by Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp in Stewart Lee’s take on the first Elizabethan age. The plot of Elizabeth And Raleigh – passingly relevant as an excuse to move things along – has Raleigh wooing the Virgin Queen only…
HAVING seen Richard Curtis’ jokey take on history in Blackadder and Frankie Howerd relating his doubles to the people of ancient Rome in Up Pompeii, we’re all familiar with lampooned versions of the history books. But not many stray as far as this gloriously silly interpretation of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and her…
Hmm… a woman played by a bloke? Sounds a mite Elizabethan and – hey, look! It is. Our eponymous heroes in Late but Live: Elizabeth and Raleigh are ably portrayed by funny men Simon Munnery (Queen Elizabeth I) and Miles Jupp (Sir Walter Raleigh) in this gag-fuelled romp at the Tobacco Factory Theatre. And, yes,…
……..The first show I see is Stewart Lee at the Stand Comedy Club. His show is called Scrambled egg and is subtitled: Old Material and new. In random order. (Notes towards a television project). The expected lack of flow given the show’s title was evident the night I was there. It was a particularly disjointed…
Historical themes are not always the easiest for a theatre group to capture, what with actual facts always getting in the way. The best and worst of these attempts are here. Warming himself to the audience like a cuddly chat show host, Sir Walter Raleigh, discoverer of worlds, champion of potatoes, begins with his particular…
LOOKING more like Heath Ledger’s Joker than the Virgin Queen, Simon Munnery is, nevertheless, surprisingly, perfectly cast as Elizabeth I in this dementedly enjoyable follow-up to Late But Live with Boswell and Johnson. Once again he’s joined by Miles Jupp, as Sir Walter Raleigh, in a show scripted by Stewart Lee. The result of all…