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Analysis of the Comedy of Peter Cook and Dudley MoorePeter Cook and Dudley Moore were two great comedians who started theircareers in a satirical sketch show, ‘Beyond the fringe’, during the60’s. The audience expected great things from these two comedians intheir own show, and they certainly delivered. I have recently watchedthree of their most memorable sketches, ‘Bo Dudley’, un-welcomedvisitors and ‘Art Gallery’.
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During ‘Bo Dudley’ Moore plays a black jazz musician. He is clearlywhite and has no real idea about the music he alleges he is an expertin. This sketch is a satire on the very 50/60’s BBC Responses to theirart forms explored in Art programmes. They are obviously two verydifferent people and the comparison alone makes the sketch funny.During this Peter and Dudley’s comedy relies as usual upon thepartnership between Cook as the comic imagination and wit and Moore asthe slapstick clown.
Throughout the sketch ‘Moore sings about ‘Mamas New Bag’ and what shedoes to it which Cook interprets to the audience in a very seriousmanner. To the audience it is obvious that Moore is singing about arelationship between a man and a woman, not a bag.
The satirising of sexual references expresses their foolishness; theexplanation of the song is the joke in the sense of the ridiculous.The sketch proved very popular with the audience. As there were manytaboos in the 60’s which Cook and Moore took no notice of and reallypushed the boundaries on. The audience admired their confidence andthey were described as the ‘Beatles’ of comedy. As in the other twosketches, they are filmed very close on and have very little set. Thismakes us as the audience feel closer to them. It also means that wecan see everything that goes wrong.
In the sketch, ‘un-welcomed visitors’, Cook and Moore play two oftheir most memorable characters, – these are their alter ego’s, ‘Peten Dudd’. Two cloth capped idiots who discuss all manner of worldly
