Little Britain Live is a stage show based on the television sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, David Walliams and Matt Lucas, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power (with Anthony Head and Ruth Jones in certain performances). As in the television show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines are pre-recorded. The show toured the United Kingdom and Ireland from October 2005 until December 2006, and Australia from January–March 2007.
Development In an interview in the show's program, Walliams and Lucas state that they had always wanted Little Britain to be a radio programme, a television series and live stage show.
After production of the third series of the television show, the duo settled down to write and plan the show. In rehearsals, the sketches were tweaked, re-ordered and re-written in order to accommodate the rapid costume and make-up changes required by the principal performers. To remove the need for stagehands to make set and prop changes, an elaborate stage floor was designed with track lines for the props. Sets were projected onto the background of the stage, with computer-animated transitions designed by video and lighting designer Willie Williams.Little Britain Live programme
Certain sketches required elaborate technical mechanisms, such as the vomit machine for the Judy and Maggie "Village Fete" sketch, and oversized props for the Dennis Waterman sketch.
During the show's UK run, several sketches were rewritten to improve the pacing, or removed in cases where the sketch was the same as the television series.
Performances The show's run began at the Portsmouth Guildhall in Portsmouth, Hampshire on 23 October 2005. The show toured for 49 performances in 18 cities: Bournemouth, Southend, Plymouth, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Oxford, Bristol, Ipswich, Birmingham, Blackpool, Brighton and ending in Manchester on 20 December.
Walliams and Lucas took a month off, before resuming the UK tour and returning to the previously-toured cities. A month-long residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in October and November 2006 followed, with two shows at the Brixton Academy.Little Britain Tour 2005 , DavidWalliams.com. There were 3 live shows in Ireland during the summer of 2006, shown at the Point Theatre in Dublin. The show was eventually seen by nearly one million people on its UK tour from November 2005 to December 2006.Matt Lucas: Littler Britain , The Independent, 1 January 2007. Little Britain Live toured Australia in early 2007. Initial bookings were made in Sydney, with other cities added as ticket sales soared. Eventually the show sold out six performances in Melbourne and Brisbane, seven in Sydney and Perth, and two in Adelaide. Performances were also held in Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Show order
Act 1 Lou and Andy – "Welcome" Emily Howard and Florence Rose – "Plumber" Carol Beer – "Disneyworld" Dudley Punt and Ting Tong – "Dudley in Hospital" Kenny Craig – "Engagement Ring" Ray McCooney – "Paying the Bill" Vicky Pollard – "Assembly" Des Kaye – "Hide the Sausage" Maggie Blackamoor and Judy Pike – "Village Fete"
Act 2 Anne – "Stars in Their Eyes" – "Whitney Houston's The Greatest Love of All" (guest star Natalie Brown) Bubbles DeVere – "Bank" Sir Norman Fry – "Press Statement" Mr Mann – "Roy's Paint Shop" Linda Flint – "Chewbacca", "Blind Dave", "Fiddler on the Roof" Dennis Waterman – "Celebrity Big Brother" Marjorie Dawes – "Game for New Members", "Audience Weigh-in" Mrs Emery – "Greengrocer" Sebastian Love and Michael – "Separation"
Encore Daffyd Thomas – "I'm Gay" song
Variations Anthony Head (as the Prime Minister) and Ruth Jones (as barmaid Myfanwy) reprised their roles for certain performances, also appearing as backup dancers during Daffyd's song. Head appeared in three performances in Birmingham (5–6 May, 9 December), two in Blackpool (8–9 May), during the show's London run, Cardiff (7 December), Melbourne (30 January – 2 February) and Sydney (3–5 February). Jones appeared in Blackpool (and hence on the DVD), Cardiff, and during the London run.Shows you shouldn't miss, bbc.co.uk, October 2006.
A special version of the stage show featuring several celebrity guests was performed at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 22 November 2006, and was shown by the BBC on 16 March 2007 as part of Comic Relief. Celebrity performers included Kate Moss as Vicky Pollard's sister Katie, Dawn French as lesbian barmaid Myfanwy, and the real Dennis Waterman who appeared to sing the Minder "feem toon" with his pint-sized counterpart. The show also featured cameo appearances from Russell Brand, Patsy Kensit, Kate Thornton and DJ Chris Moyles.Model Moss joins Little Britain, BBC News, 23 November 2006.
Several sketches are adjusted to reflect local content, such as the locality referred to as a 'shithole' by travel agent Carol Beer (Preston in Blackpool, Bolton in Manchester,Little Britain Live tour review, Little Britain Online, 12 November 2006. Wolverhampton or Chelmsley Wood in Birmingham, Derby in Nottingham, Strabane in Belfast, Shepherd's Bush in London, Broadmeadows in Melbourne, Elizabeth in Adelaide, Balga in Perth, Ipswich in Brisbane, Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, Dapto in Wollongong and Charnwood in Canberra), or retail outlets frequented by Vicky Pollard. In Australia, Lucas and Walliams were assisted by local comedians such as Gina Riley and Jane Turner (creators of Kath & Kim) for Melbourne references and Andrew Denton for Sydney.Adams, Cameron: Look at moi, Britain, Herald Sun, 31 January 2007.
The Des Kaye and Marjorie Dawes sketches include audience participation, with members of the audience invited on-stage to take part in a game of 'Hide the Sausage' with Des, or participate in a 'weigh-in' with Marjorie.
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueUK & Ireland24 October 2005PortsmouthEnglandPortsmouth Guildhall25 October 200526 October 200527 October 2005BournemouthWindsor Hall28 October 200529 October 200530 October 20051 November 2005Westcliff-on-SeaCliffs Pavilion2 November 20053 November 2005PlymouthPlymouth Pavilions4 November 20055 November 20057 November 2005SheffieldSheffield City Hall8 November 20059 November 200510 November 2005ManchesterCarling Apollo Manchester11 November 200512 November 200514 November 2005NottinghamNottingham Royal Concert Hall15 November 200516 November 200517 November 2005GlasgowScotlandClyde Auditorium18 November 200520 November 2005EdinburghEdinburgh Playhouse21 November 2005NewcastleEnglandNewcastle City Hall22 November 200523 November 200524 November 2005LiverpoolLiverpool Empire Theatre25 November 200526 November 200528 November 2005OxfordNew Theatre Oxford29 November 200530 November 2005BristolBristol Hippodrome1 December 20052 December 20053 December 20055 December 2005IpswichRegent Theatre6 December 20057 December 2005BirminghamNIA Academy8 December 20059 December 200510 December 200512 December 2005BlackpoolOpera House Theatre13 December 200514 December 2005BrightonBrighton Centre15 December 200516 December 2005CardiffWalesCardiff International Arena17 December 200518 December 200519 December 200520 December 2005ManchesterEnglandManchester Evening News Arena25 January 2006NewcastleNewcastle City Hall26 January 200627 January 2006GlasgowScotlandClyde Auditorium28 January 200629 January 200631 January 2006SheffieldEnglandSheffield City Hall1 February 20062 February 20063 February 2006ManchesterCarling Apollo Manchester4 February 20065 February 2006EdinburghScotlandEdinburgh Playhouse6 February 20068 February 2006NewcastleEnglandNewcastle City Hall9 February 200610 February 2006ManchesterCarling Apollo Manchester11 February 200612 February 200614 February 2006NottinghamNottingham Royal Concert Hall15 February 200616 February 200617 February 2006BournemouthWindsor Hall18 February 200619 February 200621 February 2006PlymouthPlymouth Pavilions22 February 200628 February 2006LiverpoolLiverpool Empire Theatre1 March 20062 March 20063 March 20064 March 20066 March 2006PortsmouthPortsmouth Guildhall7 March 20068 March 20069 March 2006BrightonBrighton Centre10 March 200611 March 200613 March 2006ManchesterCarling Apollo Manchester14 March 200615 March 200616 March 200617 March 200618 March 200621 March 2006BlackpoolOpera House Theatre22 March 200623 March 2006BirminghamNIA Academy24 March 200625 March 200626 March 200628 March 2006BristolBristol Hippodrome29 March 200630 March 200631 March 20061 April 20063 April 2006BrightonBrighton Centre4 April 20065 April 20066 April 20067 April 20068 April 200611 April 2006LiverpoolLiverpool Empire Theatre12 April 200613 April 2006SheffieldHallam FM Arena14 April 2006BirminghamNIA Academy15 April 2006National Indoor Arena16 April 2006NottinghamNottingham Arena18 April 2006BristolBristol Hippodrome19 April 200620 April 200621 April 200622 April 200624 April 2006OxfordNew Theatre Oxford25 April 200626 April 200627 April 2006NottinghamNottingham Royal Concert Hall28 April 200629 April 2006NewcastleTelewest Arena30 April 20062 May 2006GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre3 May 20064 May 2006BirminghamEnglandNIA Academy5 May 20066 May 2006National Indoor Arena8 May 2006BlackpoolOpera House Theatre9 May 200610 May 2006ManchesterManchester Evening News Arena11 May 2006NottinghamNottingham Arena12 May 200613 May 200614 May 2006SheffieldHallam FM Arena20 September 2006DublinIrelandPoint Theatre21 September 200622 September 200623 September 200624 September 2006BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena25 September 200626 September 200628 September 2006DublinIrelandPoint Theatre3 October 2006LondonEnglandHammersmith Apollo4 October 20065 October 20066 October 20067 October 20069 October 200610 October 200611 October 200612 October 200613 October 200614 October 200616 October 200617 October 200618 October 200619 October 200620 October 200621 October 200623 October 200624 October 200625 October 200626 October 200627 October 200628 October 200630 October 200631 October 20061 November 20062 November 20063 November 20064 November 20066 November 20067 November 20068 November 20069 November 200610 November 200611 November 200614 November 2006EdinburghScotlandEdinburgh Playhouse15 November 200616 November 2006AberdeenPress & Journal Arena17 November 200618 November 200621 November 2006LondonEnglandHammersmith Apollo22 November 200623 November 2006Carling Academy Brixton24 November 200625 November 200626 November 2006ManchesterCarling Apollo Manchester27 November 200628 November 2006LeedsGrand Theatre29 November 200630 November 20061 December 20062 December 20063 December 2006LiverpoolLiverpool Empire Theatre5 December 2006CardiffWalesCardiff International Arena6 December 20067 December 20068 December 2006BournemouthEnglandWindsor Hall9 December 2006BirminghamNational Indoor Arena11 December 2006LondonHammersmith Apollo13 December 200614 December 200615 December 200616 December 2006Australia30 January 2007MelbourneAustraliaVodafone Arena31 January 20071 February 20072 February 20073 February 2007SydneyHordern Pavilion4 February 20075 February 20077 February 2007Sydney Entertainment Centre8 February 200710 February 2007AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment Centre11 February 200713 February 2007SydneyHordern Pavilion14 February 200716 February 2007BrisbaneBCEC Great Hall17 February 200718 February 200719 February 200720 February 200721 February 200723 February 2007NewcastleNewcastle Entertainment Centre24 February 200725 February 2007WollongongWIN Entertainment Centre26 February 2007CanberraAIS Arena27 February 2007MelbourneVodafone Arena28 February 20073 March 2007PerthChallenge Stadium4 March 20075 March 20076 March 20077 March 20078 March 20079 March 2007
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances Bulmers International Comedy Festival
Cancellations and rescheduled shows