The Shakespeare Revue
by Christopher Luscombe & Malcolm McKee
Amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
directed by Chris Boott
Judith Creighton – pianist
Performed on 5 nights in February 2015
An enchanting collection of witty songs and sketches about the Bard. This revue gathers together some of the finest comic material inspired by Shakespeare. Devised for and first performed at the RSC, this show has been a hit with audiences all over the world, and includes songs and sketches by Noel Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Fry and Laurie, Victoria Wood, Monty Python, Cole Porter, J.B. Priestly, Alan Bennett and many more.
Poster
Part One
Prologue
Bernard Levin from Enthusiasms (1983)
The Bard of Avon
Cole Porter from Kiss Me Kate (1948) additional lyrics by Laurence Phillips (1995)
Who was William Shakespeare?
Patrick Barlow from Shakespeare:The Truth (1993)
The Music Hall Shakespeare
Words by Worton David , music by Harry Fragson (c.1905)
I’m in the RSC!
Jack Klaff (1981)
If You Go Down to the Vault Tonight
Words by Mary Holtby (1985), music by John W. Bratton (1947)
And How Is Hamlet?
Perry Pontac (1992)
Moody Dane
Words by Herbert Farjeon , music by John Pritchett from Nine Sharp (1938)
Give Us A Rest
Sandy Wilson from See You later (1953)
The Man Who Speaks in Anagrams
Monty Python (1972)
The Heroine the Opera House Forgot
Words by Laurence Phillips music by Carlton Edwards (1995)
Swap a Jest
Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie from Cambridge Circus (1963)
Which Witch?
Words by Alan Melville music by Charles Zwar for Sky High (1942) additional lyrics by Jeremy Browne
Away with the Fairies
Dillie Keane (1995)
Fear No More
Words by William Shakespeare, music by Stephen Sondheim from The Frogs (1974)
Othello in Earnest
Perry Pontac (1995)
Carrying a Torch
Words by Anthony Drewe, music by George Stiles (1995)
Giving Notes
Victoria Wood from Up to You, Porky (1985)
In Shakespeare’s Day
Words by Anthony Drewe, music by George Stiles (1995)
Part Two
PC or not PC
Words by Maureen Lipman, music by Denis King (1995)
Stage Directions
Michael Green from the Art of Coarse Acting (1964)
So That’s The Way You Like It
Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore from Beyond The Fringe (1960)
Ladies of London
Words by Caryl Brahms andNed Sherrin from No be For Bacon (1959) , music by Malcolm McKee (1994)
The English Lesson
Adele Anderson and Dillie Keane (1995)
The Repertory Actor
Guy Boas (1925)
Wherefore Art Thou Juliet?
Alan Melville from For Amusement Only (1956)
Cravin’ for the Avon
Words by James Gilbert, music by Julian More from Grab Me A Gondola (1956)
William and the Lost Tourist
Richmal Crompton from William the Conqueror (1926)
Teach Me, Dear Creature
Words by William Shakespeare, music by Julian Slade from musical The Comedy of Errors (1954)
The Night I Appeared as Macbeth
William Hargreaves (1922)
The Curtain
Guy Boas (1925)
Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Cole Porter from Kiss Me Kate (1948)
Curtain Speech
Ronald Harwood from The Dresser (1980)
That Shakespearian Rag
Words by Gene Buck & Herman Ruby, music by David Stamper from The Ziegfreid Follies of 1912
Let’s Do It
Cole Porter from the musical Paris (1927) Additional lyrics by Noel Coward (1934) further lyrics by Linda Bassett and Christopher Luscombe (1991/95)
Put Out the Light
Words by William Shakespeare, music by Malcolm McKee (1995)
Photographs