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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Live 1994

Billy Connolly

1994 · 1 h 32 min

A breathless storytelling set from a record-breaking London run.

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The core of this set is a frantic, breathless routine about an eccentric Scottish uncle, a former prisoner of war who survived by stealing bread and maintained the habit at the family dinner table. Billy Connolly relies on loud, physical delivery to sell these domestic absurdities, pacing the stage and treating casual memories with total incredulity. Filmed during a 22-night run at London’s Hammersmith Apollo, the show captures Connolly after a tour of Scotland and amid his relocation to Los Angeles. He highlights the cultural whiplash between Britain and America, alongside tangents about men’s scrotums, yoga, and Italian waiters. The tape became the best-selling comedy VHS in the UK that year. It also caused a brief legal headache when a solicitor for serial killer Rosemary West demanded the video be pulled from retail shelves, claiming a three-minute joke about the Wests could prejudice her impending trial.

The set list

2 bits

  1. The difference between men and women

    Takes on an ostensibly well-worn comedy subject and demonstrates that execution matters more than standard comedic conventions.

  2. Sausage-meat and retro pop culture

    Surreal musings on sausage-meat mixed with retro-gags about Slade and The A-Team.

How it plays

Tone
Riotous, outrageous, and hilarious.
On stage
Spontaneous performer described as going on stage without scripts, preparation, or set plans, delivering riotous comedy that carries on regardless of prevailing trends.
Pace
Riotous, high-momentum, and outrageous.
About
Difference between men and women, Pop culture and retro gags, Absurdist everyday musings

What the critics said

Received universal acclaim and positive reviews from critics, noting that his comedy style does not date.

In the room: Sell-out audiences across a multi-night London residency.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: billyconnolly.com, en.wikipedia.org, amazon.com, thetvdb.com, imdb.com, chortle.co.uk, pro.imdb.com.

Backstory

Filmed during a record-breaking twenty-two night concert run at London's Hammersmith Apollo following a 45-date tour across Scotland titled Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland.

Details

Released
Taped
Hammersmith Apollo, London
Runtime
1 h 32 min
Director
Nobby Clark
Honors
Best-selling comedy VHS tape in the UK in 1994
Topics
Before
Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London (1991)
After
Live at Edinburgh Usher Hall (1995)

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