Shakespeare sketch - A Small Rewrite

[veritaas]

The groundlings has rewrote Shakespeare, look, look, look!

[Gruntslayer556]

Hey, where can I find the script for this?

[Imthekey]

just love how he works in such details, like when he says 'brilliant' 3:29

[petertrubody05]

Hamlet is one of my favourite Shakespeares. This was great character comedy by a master of character comedy.

[canadasprincesss]

rowan atkinson and hugh laurie should do more scenes together they complement each other very well, they are both extremely talented actors

[Choefoe]

@canadasprincesss They made a whole series "togehter"called "Blackadder"" you,d find a lot of funny scene,s of that on you tube ;-)

[faridjabba]

wat year? i lov his accent

[etherealrhythm]

I suppose this sketch was the inspiration for all of those Orange ads in some form or another? The resemblance is too striking to be a coincidence.

[JankeyL]

Much funnier when you know the play

[lotsofcooki3s]

Yawnsville hahah XD

[LookMaNoBrains]

OMFDOG what an amazing shakespeare satire!!!

[Balian49]

This is so gold

[2012UKOlympics]

excellent

[ricomon35]

Soundtrack sync is wayyy off.

[nicksasexiebeast]

@ricomon35 Its not out of sync on my computer, something must have gone wrong whilst it was uploading.

[tarnmonath]

@nicksasexiebeast

I find YouTube sometimes does that when you upload stuff. Very irritating.

[E2theSamps]

10 years ago, the average American watched this and said, "Who's the blonde guy talking to Mr. Bean?" Today, they ask, "Who's that guy talking sh*t to House?"

[MaskedMan66]

@E2theSamps Not that they're recognizable as either Bean or House in this skit.

[ChaosButterfly8]

"What cracker is this same that deafs our ears with this abundance of superfluous breath?" (smile)

[doctortehe]

Just a note: it's not from Comic Relief, it's from "Hysteria 2" :)

[nickthegreek992]

I'm greek and i'm probably going to study english philology since I finished high school. English humor is awesome and that's a motive for sure!

[Alcagaur1]

Like Pratchett's "Hedgehog Song", the "Avocado Monologue" just begs to be written. The tap-dancing Othello (and, for some reason, my mind's eye instantly supplies Mr. Lenworth Henry) would also be an inevitable joy. As ever the rapport between Hugh and Rowan as actors is evident, the fluency emergent from long familiarity. A tiny treasure too long overlooked; thank you so much for posting.

[kimonji]

That's gibberish!

Hahahaa

[Deel2506]

Tap dance at the end of Othello :D

[BeholdTheCircusFreak]

Haha Shaky xD

[PrinceOfSpane]

when was this?

[mrsotter19]

"Take out 'victim', take out 'coward'.  Just start: 'To be or not to be'"

"You can't say that. It's gibberish!"

Exactly!

Wait, just kidding, don't stone me!!!!

[lugia3]

But all I'm sayin, Shaky, LOL

[Lily161]

"it's gibberish" !!

[dakessi1]

Shakespeare? Yawnsville? That's hilarious!

[evikeysn]

Hamlet, i can see you're annoyed. :D

[Demireve90]

I've been thinking of a skit like this for the Shakespeare Theatre to put on! Very Fun!

[LilithMaura]

LOL - "The 'To be' soliloquey- Yawnsville." Just shows that editors can get it wrong.

[firegoat]

@LilithMaura

actually, 'To be' soliloquey was supposed to be much longer here. the editor then proceeded to trim it to the 'to be' that we know today...

so he did get it right

[childoftheking568]

Hysterical! :D

[frankantoniomartin]

Brilliant, What year was this skit done?

[mdacatrina]

"whoops! (hamlet falls off the battlements)"

[xmasnicely]

"and we'll see which one history remembers" hahahahah

[Arcamea]

"It's boring Bill."

[passionofwildness]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

OMG

LMFAO

this is the funnest ever

[TheChiliDragon]

Dead wood?? ROFL!!

[MrCanadiaEH]

That is some good wrestling!!

[trollsSuck4ever]

Throw in David Tennant playing Hamlet in this sketch and it would be perfect. :))

[Ledamonster]

Sooooooo Funny! ! ! It hits me on all sorts of levels... problems of writing plays... puns on Shakespeare's works... hahahaha... I bet Shakespeare would approve!

'N HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAKESPEARE ! ! !

[alphidee78]

BRILLIANT!!!

[DuchessAliana]

HAHAHAHAHA this is why I love being an English lit major LOL xD

[samthepsycicclam]

I would love to hear that avacado monolouge!

[Detoracia]

I hadn't noticed it was Hugh Laurie as Shakespeare! D: Shame on me!

[funkygirl59]

british comedy is amazing. i lovee rowan and hugh

[smart256]

Booring People!!!! Shame on You.. If u cant be like him So atleast dnt make fun of Such a great Persnolity

[samthepsycicclam]

@smart256

Sorry? Are you critacising Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie for this? You do realise that they both studied English at Oxford and have both expressed great admaration towards him. This satire of his work is in fact a critisicism of the 5 hour preduction of Hamlet which had just been made into a film. Shakespeare knew when writing Hamlet a large amount of it would be cut. Rowan Attkinson inparticular is known for criticising the publics impatienance with shakespeare by satire.

[itsaroyalfizzbin]

Rowan Atkinson. Hugh Laurie. Hamlet.

THIS IS EPIC.

[souplovesongs]

pointless silly comment

[sparticus110]

Foooooooo' Shizzle

[mrswilberforce]

"all I'm saying, Shakey..." :D :D :D

[marshalparshal]

to be or not to be much a do about nothin

[twowordsJohnnyDepp]

EPIC. Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie taking the piss out of Hamlet. Does it get better than this?

[grinsomx]

not a big fan of rowan atkinson but this was hilarious

[bonham1981]

Genious!

[Hopeless03]

You mean Hamlet was LONGER? ._.

xD They're awesome together

[kickymcface]

You now realize the man playing Shakespeare is House. (Hugh Laurie)

[amiserable]

both these actors are incredible - would that they did more together. fantastic!11

[nicksasexiebeast]

They are awesome together, especially in Blackadder the third and Blackadder goes fourth!

[casdebom2]

@nicksasexiebeast

You should watch A Bit Of Fry and Laurie. Awesome.

[nicksasexiebeast]

@casdebom2 I have watched it, it's one of my favourite shows! Love HL

[TheSTR8junkie]

@casdebom2 ...and Fawlty Towers!

[PolishMuslimah1]

hahaha! This is brilliant! And this "Shakey" :D One more thing - I had never seen H. Laurie in something comedy-like..

greetings from Poland.

[Theomachos]

Maybe you should take a look at "Blackadder" and "A bit of Fry and Laurie"... ;-)

[valerjaa]

omg this s fantastic! witty and funny!! love it!

[abc101090]

Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie - BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!

[JakerO4]

is this all theres if of that plauy/skit? or is there more. if so can anyone tell me?

[nicksasexiebeast]

I'm pretty sure this is it.

[jjdanieljimmyjones]

I do not understand english but i laugh when the crowd is laughing and i think it must be very funny and it is funny to laugh with the crowd.Like a family .....

[ChemicalCrimson]

if anyone wants the transcript to this, i have it available. I was planning to use this sketch for my oral interpretation course but i dint get the opportunity. If anyone is interested in using it for their reenactment or whatever, message me for it and i could send it to your email.

[mrkevprod]

brilliant

[TheLeafMaster]

LMFAO! "But let's just say Shakey..." Still laughing hehehheheheh

[banished8910]

In Slovakia wo also have two comics that were making a parody of Shakespears Hamlet :-) but it was better in my opinion ... it was different.

They were called Lasica and Satinský... i loved them.

[kosherjellyfish]

Shakey!

[RCkiller2]

This is brilliant! One of the best comedy sketches I have ever seen!

[yankeeangel26]

Brilliant. Gotta love British comedy!

[skinnydipper16]

what does tempremental mean?

[nicksasexiebeast]

Temperamental means unpredictable

[floppetylove]

at a guess, this was filmed in the globe theatre?

[Leolmlr]

doesnt look like it, im pretty sure the globe has an open roof and is quite a lot smaller than that.

[Rutle]

Rowan atkinson is a genius this is great.

[justabill61]

Both of these guys are brilliant.

[scattythescott]

I love rowan atkinson theres no one else like him

[sweetcandyescape]

rowan atkinson is awesome, possibly the best of the century.

[wolverine2099]

The Blackadder series are way better than Mr. Bean. In my humble opinion Blackadder is the best series Rowan Atkinson ever did.

[sakib1990]

I don't think you can compare as the acting is completely different. I love Blackadder though

[sebluthiers]

@wolverine2099 I agree. The best about Rowan, IMO, is his fantastic voice and the way he uses it to express sarcasm, wit or cunning plans. It's quite ironic that his best known character (world-wide, not in Britain) is almost mute.

[ch7pper]

So many great in jokes! Love! The best part is how the editor sounds like every editor ever!

[kapakal]

i don't understand Laurie's words at 1:03, when he answers abouit the toilets/ can someone write them?

[maybeitsmimi]

He says " Yeah well I've always said the Rose theatre is a dump, frankly, I mean the sooner they knock it down and build something decent the better."

[grumpybowman]

this was filmed at a time when the remains of the rose theater (which is one of the places shakspere plays were originally held) were discovered during excavations for a new build in the centre of london, there were lots of calls to preserve the site, but in the end the wheels of commerce kept turning and the building went ahead

[billallman]

@grumpybowman Yer right, "Grumpy" but... the new building has been built somewhat like a letter "P" (that's the best way I can describe it without sketching it) so that the foundation of the Rose is accessible under the overhang. It's a fascinating site and a great visit (especially if you've just been over to the new Globe Theatre).

[Komicklepto]

@kapakal

He says "Yeah well I've always said the Rose Theatre is a dump. Frankly, I mean the sooner they knock it down and build something decent the better".

[RiMeAnne]

Love the wig. Great sketch!

[Bassbiene87]

I've never heard rowan atkinson talk and never before seen hugh laurie.... but they're both really funny

[smaakjeks]

@Bassbiene87

You've got a lot to look forward to, then!

[pubwin]

LOOL you people

[maggytou]

Shaky! lmao

[8jimmyjazz]

OMG OMG OMG it is....erm Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie :P

Cheers for posting this, much appreciated!

[murphy1935]

Willy Shakes for the win

[basic118]

roman atkinson is such a doof

[lestephenois1]

3:10 "To be or not to be that is the question..... Tre trea tre trea, tre trea trea"... Absolutely brilliant.

[SigridVibe]

As far as I know the Rose burned down - that's why te Rose joke is funny.

Brilliant sketch!

[Alittoh]

Shakey... ^^

[HighKingTurgon]

I like Hugh Laurie better as a comedian than a grumpy doctor, anyhow, regardless of my introduction to him. He's just a fantastic actor is all.

Now, if you're worried about soliloquy-length, you should be cutting "rogue and peasant slave"; that one's 59 lines long!

[TFSmytheQJM]

Oddly enough, I struggle to believe Hughs voice/accent since he became a merrycan. Bring back Berti and and Prince George.

[Bottomsmells]

ok then, it is really good. satisfied now

[Ranja86]

"It's the Ghost that sells the show" lol. Great idea! They would've made a good team I think! xD It's great how Atkinson trimmed the play down to the "final" version we know today. I love Hamlet. ^^

[4EyedBlonde]

i bet this is EXACTLY how Hamlet was written. i love rowan and hugh. they are amazing!

[balrogthane]

Am I allowed to say "OMG it's Bertie Wooster"?

Seriously, very awesome. Although the sound is a bit off, Laurie and Atkinson are fantastic.

[Craplatte]

@balrogthane Can't be Wooster though, Jeeves is not around to serve :-)

[enderwigginfan]

was this actually written by them? it's so great! i love how shakespeare is portrayed as a platinum blonde, as is prince hamlet often portrayed, to suggest that shakey actually was a bit of an egomaniac. it's so subtle and ridiculously funny!

[enderwigginfan]

This is incredible! I'm in heaven! Hugh Laurie AS shakespeare in a funny sketch. You totally made my day!

[TengYt1]

Man the audience is a humourless lot, eh? I was laughing all the way through it.

[MsStarsea]

Rowan's definitely channelling "Mr B" here and having Blackadder as your editor would drive you mad! Of course, this is all drawn from their real life experience.

"You said that about the avocado monologue in "King Lear"! And the tap dance at the end of "Othello"!" *dies*

[cowbuchou]

"To be, or not to be."

"You can't say that, it's GIBBERISH!"

Hilarious!!

I don't understand the joke about the rose theatre, though.

[DottiePalooza]

Wikipedia it.

[Prycik]

It's because the Rose theatre predates the Globe. Hamlet was written in 1599, the same year they built the Globe.

[springandnoodles]

FUNNY AS HELL!!!! Amazing! Lol.

[Aakanaar]

This is not bad. I had a hard time really believing that was Hugh Laurie's voice at first, but this is a side of him I have not seen before. Although I have seen Rowan Atkinson in many roles other than the "bean" one that I never call him Bean.

But as for this paticular sketch, it had me laughing. It was very well  played by both participants. Definately 2 thumbs up from me.

[garethac81]

You "had a hard time believing that was Hugh Laurie's voice"?

You know, amazingly enough, Hugh's career does not begin and end with bloody House.

*sigh* Americans...

PS - You are granted a stay of execution for eventually identifying that this sketch was, in fact, brilliant.

[leighroypaddy73]

Lay off the yanks - I suppose you are a Brit and have had the benefit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and so forth - as did us Australians. Yanky bashing is getting old now that they have learned to vote for a half decent fellow and not a megalomaniac texan oil magnate - It's time to forgive them.

[Prycik]

Aww, thanks Aussie!

[Vampyrflaggermus]

And the scull rutine?

Yep, the whole sketch.

I love this, it's so hilarious.

[ahardie21]

lol "tempermental git....."

[VamLoveAndKisses]

My favourite bit, 'Fine, and, and we'll see which one history remembers.'

[MudakEbu4iy]

Would someone kindly to type the text? Can't understand half of words:(

[PrincessShittyBottom]

How darest thou upset the solemnity of this night?

[TheTruebloodvampire]

ahhahahahahhahahahhahahhahahah­ahahahahaha he is helarious.

[JakerO4]

amazing

[fatalbeatings]

nicksasexiebeast thank you very much for not only posting this video but for warning people not to be ignorant and post moronic comments like "Mr. Bean and House". It is nice to see these two greats being recognized instead of being typecast and unknown.

[Dries000]

Couldn't agree more. There's so much more to these lads than Mr Bean and House, as is shown in great shows like Blackadder.

[kailathekaila999]

riveting.

[ycwho1am2i3]

"Shakey", this skit is excellent.

[Confusedcuckoo]

OMG it's Lord Percy!

[Racoulda]

wahahaha,

yes, indeed.

Hilarious sketch

[PandaLV]

LOL

[Clairski3]

how Hamlet came to be... brilliant!

[vincentws03]

traffic was a bitch XD

[anus419]

i can't express how genius this is, it's actually too awesome.

[FranBMan]

Brilliant. I love them both.

[VicenteIbanez2620]

Rowan atkinson is a very good comedian and actor

it's a shame in France we only know him as Mr Bean :(

[ThePythonfan]

Yeah in Greece happens the same thing! He is brilliant!

[Hoogahoogainsano]

OMG I love python too!

[clopnaz]

It was lupus.

[Valentinwar90]

That costume on Rowan reminds me of the Black Adder 8D

[BeachinBritify]

Calling Hamlet's soliloquy a yawnfest = priceless! It's a Blackadder reunion! LOVE IT!

[Prycik]

Did you see the Blackadder scene where he kicks Shakespeare's ass and says "That's for every schoolboy for the next 400 years!" It's brilliant!

[Vividveggie]

HAHAHA LOL... I LOVE these two!!! It's like Blackadder all over again, only parodying Shakespeare instead of history! Absolutely hillarious

[ianhzabner]

if Shakespeare were alive today he'd have laugh at this sketch too

Oh darn it! I can't help myself.

"OMG: it's Bertie Wooster and Blackadder II"

[gokartmozart]

Soooo classic. I love watching this skit often. Laugh just as hard each time! Just great.

[JoeDator]

OMG it's Johnny English and the dad from Stuart Little!

[LokixAlwaysxRight]

Nope, it's Edmund Blackadderand and Prince George .

[noseolvidanada]

OH MY GOSH! I LOVE BLACKADDER! and I felt like sayng but I then I read this.

[SideWaysThinker]

I'm not sure if you're serious or if you are making a comparison, but it is supposed to be two completly diffrent charecters. It is supposed to be Shakespeare and his boss.

[CodyKunLvsGackt]

Prince George could barely piece together a coherant sentence, let alone write Sha.......actually, you have a point...

[Erkynar]

Bloody marvelous! Thank you so much for posting! :)

And: Oh, dear! It's Johnny English and Berty Wooster!

Sorry, sorry. Couldn't stop myself. :)

[TheConciseStatement]

Show this to school kids! (And then when they don't like it, the teachers have my express permission to bitch about why they should.)

[question87]

that is the most incredible sketch by the best two actors ever! i wish they would do more stuff together!

[Rotaderp1]

Look up Fry & Laurie. Hundreds of videos. Hours of entertainment

[OSuKaRuTV]

WOOO!! Two of the greatest (and my personal favorites) british comic actors... Together!! And Spooffing Sakespeare!!!

Favorited ^-^

[HaKeeMraz]

Rowan Atkinson And Hugh Laurie Is Fantastic!

[Blatio83]

What's the word he's saying in 3:05? I can't comprehend it... :>

[nicksasexiebeast]

HL is saying the word "Gibberish"

[Blatio83]

Thanks a lot :)

I'm not an English native, I didn't know the word.

[coasterpovking]

lemmie guess your american?

[tarzandres]

But all I'm saying, Shaky....

And 3:12...

JUST BRILLIANT.

[Aimismyname]

I keep half expecting him to say 'differential diagnosis'. :D

[amkaen]

Thank God for editors! Can you IMAGINE going to the library for William Shakespeare, the Exhaustive plays? We'd never have graduated High School!

[Blatio83]

What's the word Laurie is saying in 3:05? I can't figure it out...

[batesweb]

The word is "Gibberish"

[whencanwehaveoursay]

OMG it's Yanks who think that House is the beginning of Hugh Laruie's career instead of the end!

[osgilioth]

haha i love the casual creation of iambic pentameter, lol.

[c1976newfie]

hugh laurie is from britian, if i am not mistaken, so the accent would be real.

[LjMolivche]

Shaky XD ahahahhahaha