BEYOND THE FRINGE (TV)
Summary
This program presents the complete 1964 gala farewell performance of "Beyond the Fringe," the satirical revue first mounted at the Edinburgh Festival in 1960 which subsequently played in London's West End and on Broadway. "Beyond the Fringe" kicked off the 1960s satire boom (directly influencing such television shows as "That Was the Week That Was" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus") and jump-started the careers of all four of its young stars: Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. This final performance, which includes highlights from the original edition as well as material included later, was telecast in Great Britain in a truncated, one-hour version. The following sketches are included in this complete edition: an opening salvo in which the quartet describes America; "Royal Box," in which Moore, Cook, and Bennett, discuss the empty Royal box across them in the theater (including an anecdote about the origins of "the Royal Crouchers"); "Man Bites God," a take-off on Sunday morning religious programs (Miller monologue); "Fruits of Experience," about one man's encounter with the legendary T. E. ("Tee-Hee") Lawrence (Bennett monologue); "Bollard," where a group of less-than-manly actors are doing a commercial for the ultra-manly cigarette; "A Piece of My Mind," about an art-gallery curator with a revealing accent (Miller monologue); "Deutscher Chansons," in which Moore plays at the piano, in an exaggerated and affected manner, a pair of classical tunes; "Groves of Academe," in which philosophers Miller and Bennett discuss philosophy's relevance (or lack of) to everyday life; a skit in which a reporter (Bennett) interviews the evasive Deputy Head of Scotland Yard (Cook) about a train robbery; another interlude with Moore at the piano, playing classical variations of the River Kwai/Colonel Bogey March; '"Aftermyth of War," an anthology of British wartime cliches; "Civil War," a lecture by civil defense workers; "Real Class," a comparison of social classes; "Little Miss Britten," with Moore again at the piano, parodying the music of Benjamin Britten and Kurt Weill; "One Leg Too Few," with Moore as a one-legged man who auditions in earnest for the role of Tarzan; "Studio 5," a parody of talk shows with a minister of science, an aristocratic (and degenerate) theater critic, and a Pan-African leader as guests; Cook as a deadpan miner with literary ambitions; "Men Only," with the quartet at a bar and luncheon; "Take a Pew," where Vicar Bennett gives a rousing, if digressive, sermon; "So That's The Way You Like It," a collection of Shakespearian absurdities; and "The End of the World," about a group of religious fanatics awaiting the end of days.
(This version of the program runs longer than the edited broadcast version that aired on December 19, 1964 in a one-hour timeslot.)
The acquisition and cataloging of The Theater Collection was made possible by The Park Foundation, Inc., and the Verizon Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: BBC2 (United Kingdom)
- DATE: December 19, 1964 9:10 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:24
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:71877
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; International Collection - United Kingdom; Theater Collection, The; Satire
- SERIES RUN: BBC2 (United Kingdom) - TV, 1964
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Arnold Brown … Executive Producer
- Burt Shevelove … Supervising Producer
- Don Silverman … Producer
- Michael Young … Production (Misc.), Designed by
- Duncan Wood … Director
- Johnny Dankworth … Music by
- Alan Bennett … Writer, Cast
- Peter Cook … Writer, Cast
- Jonathan Miller … Writer, Cast
- Dudley Moore … Writer, Cast
- Benjamin Britten
- T. E. Lawrence
- William Shakespeare
- Kurt Weill