Where the Blackadder feared to tread – that is the territory occupied with resolution and wit by Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp in Stewart Lee’s take on the first Elizabethan age.
The plot of Elizabeth And Raleigh – passingly relevant as an excuse to move things along – has Raleigh wooing the Virgin Queen only to find her truculent, indeed downright vengeful, in the face of his romantic entreaties.
The Queen is played with the sort of comic force of persuasion that Munnery brought to his TV persona in Attention Scum! She/he repairs to her trampette to bounce off her anger while Miles Jupp – comically versatile in a Hugh Laurie vein – energetically counts the ways he loves her.
This is advanced panto fare – with knowing quips to the audience, sharp ad libs, mashed potato as a form of torture and soiled underpants as a makeshift crown. But amid the setpiece ribaldry, there’s nifty wordplay, dextrous acting, and, despite the odd codpiece gag, the script happily steers clear of the lowest common denominator.
The audience at Greenwich Theatre was not large and the wind outside was whipping and cold. The pair – old hands at this kind of thing – did a handsome job of warming an initially bewildered audience (what is this, we wondered as Raleigh gave us a slide show featuring Jimmy Carr), finally bringing us to our feet for a closing rendition of the national anthem.
God save this gracious queen.
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
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World Without End, Twitter
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Idrie, Youtube
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Bosco239, youtube
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Guest1001, Youtube
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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John Robins, Comedian
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Mpf1947, Youtube
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Stokeylitfest, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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FBC, finalgear.com
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Cyberbloke, Twitter
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Stuart, Chortle
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Pnethor, pne-online.com
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk