Little Britain Live @ Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK
Live Reviews | Dec 26th, 2006
Band Links: link
If you haven’t seen an episode of Little Britain yet, than you’re truly missing out on one of the funniest comedy series ever! Little Britain is a British-based comedy series featuring two comedic actors, David Walliams and Matt Lucas. The comedy duo pretty much do each character on the show (usually in drag) and the overall series is quite hilarious and over the top. The comedy duo took the comedy show on tour and have been doing live performances on & off for a year now. Their last UK performance was on December 16th at Hammersmith Apollo in London and I happened to see the show. I’m so happy I got the chance to see this comedy show because it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen live.
This was the third concert/event I went to on my UK trip and was really looking forward to seeing this one. Little Britain has become one of my favorite shows and it’s HUGE overseas. It’s not as big over in America but it’s slowly catching on (I’ve certainly spread the word about it quite often). I think the show is being brought over here in America and being re-done for HBO. I’m curious to see how much involvement Walliams and Lucas will have. But anyway, seeing this concert was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. I arrived at the venue with my brother and his fiance before the show started, bought some merchandise and then headed down to our seats. We had great seats, 10th row from the stage and to the left a little. It wasn’t too close and it wasn’t too far away; it was just right.
The popular characters Lou & Andy opened the show and Andy’s entrance was quite funny. His exit is just as funny because he ended up stealing someone’s food in the first row. The production of the show was impressive, with a big screen in the back that served as a backdrop. The props were controlled and slide off the set as each sketch ended & started. What was even more impressive is how each actor changed into their characters so quickly. Within minutes/seconds, Matt Lucas, David Walliams or others were in another costume already. It was nice to see familiar faces from the show besides the two leading actors. Tom Baker had taped narration but was still cool to hear his voice. Anthony Head (Prime Minister), Paul Putner (Various Roles) and Ruth Jones (Myfanwy) were all there to reprise their roles. Paul Putner was in many sketches and was just as good as Lucas & Walliams. I’m not sure if they were in every show but they were there that night.
One of the highlights of the show was when David Walliams came out as Des K (“Wicky Woo” character) and was throwing lollipops at the crowd. First it was playful then Des K threw them harder..and ended up chucking the basket at the crowd. But that wasn’t the funny part (it still was funny). Des K then asked 2 members of the audience to come up and play “hide the sausage.” A younger kid who was 19 was picked, and then an older man. As soon as the young kid was on stage, Walliams’ character was touching his ass, poking at him with his fingers, grasping his arms. The game didn’t really progress because Des K kept flirting with the kid, and the kid himself didn’t want to be up there it seemed. Des K snuck a kiss on the lips of the young kid, and then soon found himself on the floor, getting his pants slowly taken off. His ass was shown to the audience, as the entire theater was howling with laughter. David Walliams character proceeding to dry hump the kid til the end of the sketch. The red faced kid was brought back stage to go to his dressing room (or probably forced to sign waivers so he didn’t sue them). It was a great sketch, and I kind of feel sorry for the young kid. I know if I was up there, and getting tickled to death and dry humped; I probably would have pissed myself.
Pretty much every character from the show was represented on stage and it was great to see each character in person…Well not so great to see Bubbles in her all fat nakedness. Other highlights from the live show for me were seeing Carol Beers get disgusted with an old man taking his time getting to her desk, Mr Mann & Roy sketch which was when Lucas & Walliams broke out of character and discussed each other’s sex life. David said something along the lines “you suck a few dicks in your time and you’re branded a homosexual.” It was funny to see the guys veer off the script and improvise a little. Though they probably ended up doing that every show, it was still hilarious. Oh yeah, I also enjoyed sketches from Dennis Waterman, Vicki Pollard, Linda the racist secretary, Marjorie Dawes and of course Anne. EH EH EH!
The last sketch before the encore was Sebastian and the Prime Minister. It was hysterical because Sebastian stripped down naked and tucked in his little fellow there, and was walking around with it tucked underneath his legs. It had the crowd laughing their heads off, and the men (myself included) were covering their eyes. The show ended with a funny musical number featuring the “Only Gay in the Village,” Daffyd Thomas. The song is so popular over in the UK, you can download it on iTunes. It was funny to watch as all the actors came out on stage in skimpy clothing and were all dancing with Daffyd. It was a great way to end the show, and overall the live show was excellent. I couldn’t have asked for a better show, and definitely one of the highlights of my UK trip. If you missed the live show, you can buy the Little Britain Live DVD out now in the UK.
