Elizabeth and Raleigh: Late But Live

Review by Tom Hackett | 10 Aug 2008

Never a man to shy away from risky new ventures, last year Stewart Lee tried something that, even by Fringe standards, was a wee bit different. Johnson and Boswell: Late But Live, a two-man, semi-improvised comic play devised by Lee and performed by fellow comedians Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp, was an anarchic mix of eighteenth and twentieth century humour and timeless silliness that worked beautifully on its own unusual terms.

In Elizabeth and Raleigh, Lee, Munnery and Jupp attempt to repeat that success, reusing more-or-less the exact same formula with two very different historical figures. Munnery plays Elizabeth, like Dr Johnson, as an overbearing and conceited snob, even adapting his opening line from that of Johnson in the previous play: “I am Queen Elizabeth. You are not.” Jupp plays Raleigh, like James Boswell, as an obsequious admirer, whose adoration is not repaid but rather exploited sadistically by his idol.

It feels like a bit of a rehash, and the odd combination of elements fails to gel quite as satisfyingly as it did last year. There is still plenty of fun to be had though, especially in the most gleefully daft moments. In a scene that sees Raleigh being force-fed mashed potato by his Queen, the pair dissolves into fits of giggles that engulf the entire audience.

Lee's occasionally abstruse creativity can misfire, as it does in the odd and inappropriately melancholic ending. But if you’re looking for something truly Fringey in spirit, you could do far worse than this.