Rowan Atkinson Live (1992)

May 28, 2022 8:59 PM

Rowan Atkinson Live [1h10m] The ever-morphing man takes the stage in Boston (!) with Angus Deayton to present an evening of comedy of all kind of things. Like, if you can imagine Rowan doing it, he's probably doing something else and more entertaining than you pictured. Introduced by The Devil, the evening goes on from there.
posted by hippybear (15 comments total)

Was just reading today he has a new Netflix series "Man vs. Bee"
posted by rhizome at 9:57 PM on May 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have seen this many times. I have also heard an audio version of the Devil sketch recorded in England. The line that brought the house down there was, "The Americans. Are you here?"
posted by bryon at 11:20 PM on May 28, 2022

I did not know the man spoke. Thank you.
posted by bendy at 1:34 AM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Devil Toby came back.
posted by BiggerJ at 2:44 AM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have always been partial to Rowan Atkinson when he speaks—one of the few actors, who could give Alan Rickman a run for his money when it comes to delivering lines dripping with sarcasm—but The Invisible Man skit illustrates his remarkable genius for physical comedy.
posted by bouvin at 3:42 AM on May 29, 2022 [4 favorites]

I did not know the man spoke. Thank you.

I'm guessing that means you haven't encountered the Blackadder series yet. Some of his best work imo, and highly recommended.
posted by calamari kid at 8:52 AM on May 29, 2022 [10 favorites]

@bendy

Well have you got a treat in store from Blackadder and Not The Nine O'Clock News
posted by GallonOfAlan at 9:27 AM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'd seen the devil and oddly-named schoolboys sketches, but not the rest. Uniformly excellent.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:01 AM on May 29, 2022

I think they played this on HBO back in the 90s. It blew my mind that Mr. Bean could talk!
posted by zardoz at 1:02 PM on May 29, 2022

This is intense for me for an unusual reason.

I was at this show with two of my friends and my dad. (One of my friends got us tickets to the taping through some film people he knew.) One of the audience mics was directly above us. My friends said when they saw it they could hear me laughing. When I watch it I can hear him laughing (he had a distinctive, extremely deep voice). He passed away almost 20 years ago, so it's poignant.

The thing I remember most from this taping is that he flubbed a bit of the Indian waiter sketch, dropped character and told the crew he wanted to restart it. And he did. It sticks in my memory because there is something warm and fuzzy in most of his performance, but when he told them to restart he was very clipped, brusque and businesslike.
posted by rednikki at 1:50 PM on May 29, 2022 [15 favorites]

I mean, he is a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering after all (as per The Queen's College, Oxford). And those type of folk are known to be a bit businesslike.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:21 PM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

I did not know the man spoke. Thank you.

I'm guessing that means you haven't encountered the Blackadder series yet. Some of his best work imo, and highly recommended.

Also 'The Thin Blue Line' where he plays the police chief of the small fictional town of Gasforth. One of my favorite shows to put on when I need a laugh.
posted by WhyamIhereagain at 10:04 PM on May 29, 2022

SaltySalticid:

as per The Queen's College, Oxford

.. unlike Stephen Fry...
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:58 PM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's a pity he's a tory and defended Johnson for making a pretty racist joke, otherwise I might enjoy his work more as he's undoubtedly extremely talented.
posted by Kosmob0t at 6:43 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]

I loved Blackadder and his turn as the horrible comedian in The Tall Guy, but I was saddened when he defended Boris Johnson's racist joke about women in burqas.

(If you're watching Blackadder, don't start with series 1, where it's still very much finding its feet. Start with whichever historical period interests you most out of 2, 3 or 4.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:49 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]