Burton Taylor

Tuesday 23rd – Saturday 27th February, 9.30p.m.

“At just one hour long, this show promises to entertain, bemuse and excite even the most straight faced audience member.” Camilla Turner ★★★★★

“The whole production in general contained elements of great British comedy; for instance the satirical touch and the reoccurring sketches running throughout the performance was very reminiscent of ‘Little Britain’, while anticipatory humour involving a painfully funny development to the climax is an approach used frequently in ‘Fawlty Towers’.” Catherine Owen ★★★★★

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The Oxford Revue goes to Blighty ★★★★★

Camilla Turner

The opening scene of The Oxford Revue goes to Blighty sets the tone for the rest of the evening: flamboyant, vibrant, and of course, hilarious. Seven students, dressed in typical Brighton attire of striped T shirts, introduce the sketch show with an animated song about Brighton, accompanied by pianist Rob Stockhill.  The light hearted and happy-go-lucky atmosphere, set by this opening number, remains throughout the show, with almost every sketch as funny, or even funnier than its forerunner.  The Oxford Revue’s own promise to present some “cheeky frolics” and “bawdy sketches” are by far surpassed, with the audience in absolute hysterics throughout.

Ongoing themes are the Health and Safety Inspector (Ollie Mann) who interrupts science experiments and Trojan battles alike to ensure that the correct procedures are being adhered to. Another recurring act is the senile and slightly mad gentleman (Samuel Cumberbatch) whose faithful sidekick Johnson tries in vain to restrain the old man’s attempts foil spurious plots of world domination.

The quality of sketches undoubtedly picked up as the night went on, with some of the best appearing in the middle of the show. One such highlight is the scene featuring two “gap yar” students, (Sophie Klimt and Alice Pearse), who revel at the prospect of being mugged by a member of the “lower middle class”. Equally hilarious sketches include the dinner party, Orange voicemail auditions, the interpretive theatre workshop, and Madam Magnificat, all of which are executed to perfection in terms of comic timing, choreography and spacing.

Perhaps better use could have been made of lighting, but then again, the fewer intrusions and distractions from the raw acting and comedic talent the better. The seven students who appear in the show, all of whom study either English Literature or History, write as well as perform the sketches. The budding talent that can be found here in the Burton Taylor really is among the best that Oxford has to offer: original, energetic and vivacious. The fact that there are only seven actors in the production is masked by the vast array of engaging and eccentric characters that feature throughout the evening. At just one hour long, this show promises to entertain, bemuse and excite even the most straight faced audience member. The Oxford Revue goes to Blighty is a definite five star production, which offers the best of Oxford’s young talent. If you do one thing in sixth week, make sure it is seeing this show; it will be the best £4 you spend all week.

The Oxford Revue goes to Blighty ★★★★★

Review by Catherine Owen

When offered the opportunity of review ‘The Oxford Revue’, I was filled with both a sense of excitement and anxiety. For over half a century now, ‘The Oxford Revue’ has provided quality comedy entertainment for generations of Oxford students.

However having been founded by the don of comedy, Michael Palin (member of ‘Monty Python’) and having nurtured the talent of entertainment titans such as Terry Jones, Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, the boots that need to be filled are of epic proportions- a daunting feat for even the quickest of wits, which was bravely attempted by the current Revue company.

One of the first things that quickly became apparent was the general superb quality of the script, which provided a range of humour- spanning from physical comedy, such as the kind included in a brilliant sketch involving a physical theatre teacher, to the parody of stereotypes, used in a sketch portraying two rahs being mugged while on a gap year. However all was connected through the wit of the script, which was maintained at all times and therefore saved the audience from ever having to busy themselves with their programmes or by counting the number of lighting fixtures on the ceiling in order to distract themselves from the awkwardness on stage that amateur comedy often causes. Even when dealing with taboo issues the comic lightness of the script was still sustained. The whole production in general contained elements of great British comedy; for instance the satirical touch and the reoccurring sketches running throughout the performance was very reminiscent of ‘Little Britain’, while anticipatory humour involving a painfully funny development to the climax is an approach used frequently in ‘Fawlty Towers’. Occasionally more development of the comic ideas could have occurred, as well as more attention to the comic performance of lines by the performers in order to fully convey the comedy in the script.

A factor that particularly added to the delight of the performance was the relationship of the performers as each one provided something very individual to the performance, such as Ollie Mann’s superb ability of perform pantomimic movement and Vyvyan Almond’s comic outrage, while still maintaining versatility throughout the sketches. The cohesion of the company was also excellent as they came together as a whole group for the opening and closing numbers, which included a highly amusing rap battle.

Overall the company very successfully managed to sustain the traditional quality associated with the Revue, while contributing their own sparks of originality. I look forward to seeing the various talents in the company being developed to new comic plains.