A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick) is the title of the first show in what later became the Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows for human rights organization Amnesty International, [1] although it pre-dated by three years the first show to bear that name. The film of the show was titled Pleasure at Her Majesty's which is sometimes mistakenly thought to be the title of the actual benefit show.
The landmark 1976 show starring the Monty Python, Beyond the Fringe , and The Goodies teams and other top British comedic performers of the 1960s and 1970s, led directly to the 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball - which in turn triggered the involvement of major rock stars such as Sting, Bono, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Geldof in working for the human rights cause. It set a precedent that would inspire many subsequent Amnesty galas, as well as Comic Relief. The concept was also the inspiration of similar events in aid of Amnesty International in countries around the world.
The show took place on Thursday, April 1, 1976, Friday, April 2, 1976, and Saturday, April 3, 1976 as a series of late-night galas at Her Majesty's Theatre – a theatre in London's West End theatre district. The show was directed by Beyond the Fringe alumnus Jonathan Miller.
The event was audio-recorded and an album featuring highlights of the three nights was released in November 1976 by Transatlantic Records. The album had the same title as the show.
The event was also the subject of a film shot by documentary-maker Roger Graef that documented the rehearsals, backstage moments and show performances. The resulting film was titled Pleasure at Her Majesty's. It premiered in November 1976 at the 20th annual London Film Festival held at the National Film Theatre. The film was then screened on British television by the BBC in December 1976. Subsequently, the film received a modest theatrical release at arthouse cinemas in 1977.
Though the show included sequences featuring the Monty Python, Beyond the Fringe, and Goodies teams who were billed under their group names on the individual track listing of the resulting album — for the show itself, the album cover, and the cast listing on the film credits, the performers were listed under their individual names.
The cast included: John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam of Monty Python (with "Python girl" Carol Cleveland); Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, and Alan Bennett of Beyond the Fringe; Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, and Tim Brooke-Taylor of the Goodies. Solo performers included: John Fortune, John Bird, Eleanor Bron, Barry Humphries in character as Dame Edna Everage, Neil Innes, and mime artist Desmond Jones.
The show consisted primarily of "greatest hits" of the various performers. Peter Cook and Alan Bennett performed iconic solo routines from their early 1960s revue Beyond the Fringe. The Monty Python team performed several of their most famous skits including the Dead Parrot sketch, the Custard Pie (aka The Japes Lecture), and "The Lumberjack Song". The Goodies performed their hit single "The Funky Gibbon". Bird, Fortune, and Bron performed several of the routines they made famous in their appearances in the early 1960s at the satirical nightclub The Establishment.
The working title for the show was An Evening Without David Frost – a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the fact that David Frost was a common frame of reference for all the performers, most of whom had worked with him — or for him — early in their careers.
Pleasure at Her Majesty's was the name given to the film release of A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick), the first of the Amnesty International comedy benefit galas. The show was performed at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, and the title is a play on the phrase "at Her Majesty's pleasure". In America, the film was originally called Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe .
The film consists of both on-stage and backstage footage, taken from all three nights of the run (1–3 April 1976).
Co-founders of The Secret Policeman's Ball, campaigner David Luff, and executive Martin Lewis, collaborated on producing the successor show — videotaped in 1977 as The Mermaid Frolics. Then, Lewis and other co-founder John Cleese teamed up (with Amnesty's new fundraising director Peter Walker) in 1979 to create The Secret Policeman's Ball — the first show to carry what became the iconic Secret Policeman's Ball title.
The above item titles do not appear anywhere in the film but are the titles ascribed to the skits and songs on the cast album released by Transatlantic Records in 1976.
Graham Chapman was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as the Colonel and the lead role in two Python films, Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979).
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus. Along with his Python co-stars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, Cleese starred in Monty Python films, which include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983).
Monty Python were a British surreal comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and influence, including touring stage shows, films, albums, books and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Regarded as an enduring icon of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".
The "Dead Parrot Sketch", alternatively and originally known as the "Pet Shop Sketch" or "Parrot Sketch", is a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus about a non-existent species of parrot, called a "Norwegian Blue". A satire on poor customer service, it was written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman and initially performed in the show's first series, in the eighth episode.
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist and comedic actor. He was a leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s.
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies.
The Secret Policeman's Ball is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 British concert comedy film directed by Terry Hughes and starring the Monty Python comedy troupe as they perform many of their sketches at the Hollywood Bowl. The film also features Carol Cleveland in numerous supporting roles and Neil Innes performing songs. Also present for the shows and participating as an 'extra' was Python superfan Kim "Howard" Johnson.
"Argument Clinic" is a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman. The sketch was originally broadcast as part of the television series and has subsequently been performed live by the group. It relies heavily on wordplay and dialogue, and has been used as an example of how language works.
The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch is a comedy sketch that parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. It features four men from Yorkshire who reminisce about their upbringing. As the conversation progresses they try to outdo one another, and their accounts of deprived childhoods become increasingly absurd.
The Goodies is a British television comedy series shown in the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by the BBC, initially on BBC2 but soon repeated on BBC1, from 1970 to 1980. One seven-episode series was made for ITV company LWT and shown in 1981–82.
Martin Neil Lewis is a US-based English humorist, writer, radio/TV host, producer, and marketing strategist. He is known for his participation in a variety of projects in the arts and entertainment worlds including his work as the co-creator and co-producer of the Secret Policeman's Balls benefit shows for Amnesty International and as a comedic performer and writer on American TV. He hosts his own daily radio show, heard in America on Sirius Satellite Radio and worldwide on Sirius Internet Radio. He is an occasional contributor to The Huffington Post website.
The Secret Policeman's Ball was the third of the benefit shows staged by Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. In later years, other Amnesty benefit shows also bore the Secret Policeman's title. They are informally referred to as The Secret Policeman's Balls.
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated "Secret Policeman's" title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls.
Monty Python Live at Aspen was a reunion show featuring the surviving members of the Monty Python team: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, appearing on stage together for the first time since their Hollywood Bowl shows in 1980. Filmed on 7 March 1998 at the Wheeler Opera House in Colorado as part of The US Comedy Arts Festival, it featured the five Pythons in an interview with host Robert Klein. The late Graham Chapman was also allegedly in attendance as his "ashes" were brought out in an urn with his portrait attached to the front, only to be knocked over by Terry Gilliam.
This is a list of audio, video and film releases of The Secret Policeman's Ball series of charity shows.
The Secret Policeman's Ball 2012 was the title of the show staged as a benefit for human rights organization Amnesty International at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on 4 March 2012, it was one of the long-running series of similar Amnesty benefits.
Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK is a large format book by Monty Python, released in 1979 to tie in with their film Monty Python's Life of Brian. As the title suggests, it consists of two separate books joined together. The first contains the film's screenplay, illustrated by black and white stills. On the reverse side is the scrapbook, which contains a variety of material such as scenes cut from the film, newly written material plus unrelated items, including the lyrics to Bruces' Philosophers Song. The book was assembled by Eric Idle, with assistance from Michael Palin.
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live is a 2014 British documentary telefilm, directed by Roger Graef and James Rogan, about a 10-day series of live performances at London's O2 arena. The film features interviews with Monty Python members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin as they perform on stage together for the first time in 34 years. Also appearing are Carol Cleveland, Prof. Brian Cox, Stephen Hawking and Mike Myers. The documentary is dedicated to Graham Chapman.
And Now for Something Rather Similar is a documentary about the Monty Python team as they prepare for their first live performances in 34 years. Airing on BBC 1 on 29 June 2014 as part of the Imagine series, the programme is presented by Alan Yentob, who tracks down the five surviving Pythons in the months leading up to their Monty Python Live (Mostly) shows at the O2 arena in July 2014.