Kung-Fu Sketch – ‘Fast Forward’, Seven Nework, 1989-1992
What happens when a sketch begins to fall apart and the actors can’t stay in character? Does it fail? One such sketch that perfectly
demonstrates that a sketch can be hilariously funny, when even the delivery goes wrong, is from TV’s Fast Forward which ran on the Seven
network in the early 90’s.
The Sketch was a rip-off of the popular TV series ‘Kung Fu’, satirising one of the many scenes where the main character reminisces on his
days as a youngster in the tutelage of a wise kung-fu master. In the sketch, Peter Moon plays the wise Kung-Fu master, while Steve Vizard is
the young student.
The sketch relies somewhat on the audience being aware of the TV- series and its ridiculing. For this reason you would not expect it to
become notable. But as it’s performed live and due to the increasing hilarity of the idiotic nick-names the student must endure from his
master, both actors end up breaking character and struggling to complete the sketch while stifling fits of laughter.
Peter Moon as the kung-fu master is able to somewhat contain his laughter by playing on his characters’ supposed mysticism by looking
upward and squinting to avoid catching sight of Vizard’s laughing fits and thereby setting himself off again. While Vizard continues to burst
forth with more laughter as he delivers each line.
It’s the actors difficulty to maintain their composure and barely controllable laughter that sends this otherwise ordinary sketch into classic
sketch territory.
A Warm Welcome – ‘Rowan Atkinson Live’, Boston USA, 1991
Then there are the sketches which are masterfully crafted and carried out. Rowan Atkinson’s one-man-show, ‘Rowan Atkinson Live’ was
recorded at Boston University in 1991 and featured two very highly memorable sketches.
One-person sketches are difficult to perform because there’s no one to get your cues from and no one to bounce off, if things go wrong.
Also the usual sketch tricks of straight-man vs crazy-man & allowing the sketch to descend into chaos doesn’t work as well with just the one
person. Audiences watching a one-person sketch can take good comedy for granted, underestimating the challenges and the lone comic
making it look somewhat easy. Which is why it’s so remarkable that after all these years, Rowan’s one-man sketches are so fondly remembered.
In this sketch, Rowan portrays the Devil welcoming new souls to Hell. He begins; “..as the more perceptive of you have probably realised by
now, this is hell.. and I am the the devil.. Good Evening.. But you may call me Toby if you like..” Rowan’s gift for comedic timing really shines
through as he delivers these opening lines, raising a good laugh from the audience as he reveals the devil is called Toby.
What really makes this sketch become memorable is that although the audience can only hear and see Rowan as he sorts through the new
arrivals into hell, the combination of comedic-timing & a well written sketch is delivered in such a way that the audience can implicitly guess
the responses the new arrivals are giving to Rowan, as he provides increasingly hilarious explanations for their ending up in hell. “Christians?”
He calls out. he then pauses for the responses that the Christians are giving, before continuing “Ah yes I’m sorry, I’m afraid the Jews were right!”
No one called Jones – ‘Rowan Atkinson Live’, Boston USA, 1991
This sketch follows the basic formula. By dressing as a private English school teacher and adopting a stern manner, Rowan, in a few actions
and words, quickly set’s up the sketch. He introduces the character, the setting and the objective as he marches out on stage to address
the crowd as if in a classroom and then begins to call out the roll.
It’s rare that allowing a one man sketch to deliberately descend into chaos can work to make that sketch a notable one, but that’s exactly
what happens here.
As the straight-faced Rowan plays the school-teacher role without a flinch, he launches into the roll-call, and we find that all the boys’
surnames being called out are named after sexual acts, innuendo or associated body-parts. As the audience roars with laughter with each
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