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.
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 |
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| 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) |
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| Ladies of London | Words by Caryl Brahms andNed Sherrin from No be For Bacon (1959), music by Malcolm McKee (1994) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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 |
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| 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) |
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| Put Out the Light | Words by William Shakespeare, music by Malcolm McKee (1995) |
Photographs
