Peter Cook and Dudley Moore Confronting Comedy Critical Analysis

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Peter Cook and Dudley Moore

Confronting Comedy Critical Analysis

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were two great comedians who started their careers in a satirical sketch show, ‘Beyond the fringe’, during the 60’s. The audience expected great things from these two comedians in their own show, and they certainly delivered. I have recently watched three of their most memorable sketches, ‘Bo Dudley’, un-welcomed visitors and ‘Art Gallery’.

During ‘Bo Dudley’ Moore plays a black jazz musician. He is clearly white and has no real idea about the music he alleges he is an expert in. This sketch is a satire on the very 50/60’s BBC Responses to their art forms explored in Art programmes. They are obviously two very different people and the comparison alone makes the sketch funny .During this Peter and Dudley’s comedy relies as usual upon the partnership between Cook as the comic imagination and wit and Moore as the slapstick clown.

Throughout the sketch ‘Moore sings about ‘Mamas New Bag’ and what she does to it which Cook interprets to the audience in a very serious manner. To the audience it is obvious that Moore is singing about a relationship between a man and a woman, not a bag.

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The satirising of sexual references expresses their foolishness; the explanation of the song is the joke in the sense of the ridiculous. The sketch proved very popular with the audience. As there were many taboos in the 60’s which Cook and Moore took no notice of and really pushed the boundaries on. The audience admired their confidence and they were described as the ‘Beatles’ of comedy. As in the other two sketches, they are filmed very close on and have very little set. This makes us as the audience feel closer to them. It also means that we can ...

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