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
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