Beyond the Fringe

Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage review written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller. It played in Britain's West End and on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s.

The show

The show was conceived in 1960 by Roger Ponsonby, artistic director for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with the idea of bringing together the best of the Cambridge Footlights and the Oxford Revue that in previous years had transferred to Edinburgh for short runs. Ponsonby's assistant was John Bassett, who knew Dudley Moore, who in turn recommended Alan Bennett who had been a hit at Edinburgh a few years before. Bassett also identified Miller who had been a Footlights star in 1957 who in turn recommended Cook. While Bennett and Miller were already pursuing traditional careers, Cook had an agent due to him having written a west end revue for Kenneth Williams; as a result Cook's agent negotiated a higher weekly fee for him to participate but by the time the agents fee was taken off Cook actually earned less than the others from the initial run.

Related Topics:
1960 - Roger Ponsonby - Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Cambridge Footlights - Oxford Revue - John Bassett - Dudley Moore - 1957 - Kenneth Williams

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The show's runs in Edinburgh and the provinces had a lukewarm response but when it transferred to London, produced by Donald Albery and William Donaldson, it was a sensation thanks in some part to a favorable review by Kenneth Tynan. In London the show was produced by William Donaldson and Donald Albery. The show transferred with its original cast to New York in 1962 with President Kennedy attending a performance. A version continued to run there until 1964, while a London run with different cast continued to 1966.

Related Topics:
Donald Albery - William Donaldson - Kenneth Tynan - 1962 - President Kennedy - 1964 - 1966

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The majority of sketches were by Cook based on material written for other revues, including "One Leg Too Few". Amongst the entirely new material the stand outs are "The End of the World", "TVPM" and "The Great Train Robbery". Cook and Moore revived some of the sketches on their later television and stage shows, most famously the two hander 'One Leg Too Few' in which Cook played a theatrical producer auditioning a one legged Moore for the part of Tarzan.

Related Topics:
One Leg Too Few - Theatrical producer - Tarzan

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It had a drastic effect on the careers of Bennett and Miller, who had been preparing for lives in academia and medicine. The show continued in New York with most of the original cast until 1964 while the London version continued with a different cast until 1966.

Related Topics:
1964 - 1966

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