Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35485 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-11-19
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
"What do you think this is... Dick Whittington?" shouts Reece Shearsmith in The League of Gentlemen--Live at Drury Lane--the West End version of the BBC2 series--"You'll be wanting to see men dressed as women next!" Reece is, needless to say, dragged-up to the nines at this point. The first half of the production--which Shearsmith, alongside Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton took to Drury Lane in March 2001--sees the trio revisit their Perrier Award winning show of 1997. Clad in tuxedos, the League explore a public schoolboy's love of theatre and smut with sketches that border on post-modern: football fans chant "Ooh-ahh, Ophelia" during Hamlet; a Restoration comedy turns into a Faustian pact; Artic explorers battle repressed homosexuality. The second, and funnier half sees the action move to Royston Vasey, as Tubs looks over the audience and coos "we can't kill them all". The favourite characters transfer to the stage brilliantly, thanks to swift direction and filming that captures every macabre expression. Herr Lipp--looking like Richard Whitely in twin set and pearls--is a scream, and the closing mystery of "Who Shot Pauline?" is heaven for any League fanatic. --Ian Watson

On the DVD: Not a great many extras here, but a couple of additional scenes are welcome. We get Benjamin and the Dentons at breakfast, familiar from Series 1 of the TV series, plus demented newsagent owner "Pop" and his dynastic ambitions for his two sons. There's also the "Big Woman" phone message which first appeared in the League's radio series, multi-angle versions of two sketches ("Scott of the Antarctic" and "Go Johnny Go Go Go Go"), Web site links and a screensaver. --Mark Walker

Video Description
DVD special features:
Screensaver
Link to Website
Selectec Multi-Camera Angles
Bonus Scenes
Phone Calls
Soundtrack: English stereo
Picture: 16:9

Synopsis
The oddball characters from Royston Vasey stop by Drury Lane in this hilarious live performance by the League of Gentlemen. Tubbs and Edward, Mr. Chinnery, Herr Lipp and others create disturbingly funny chaos on the stage for all to witness.

Customer Reviews

Unforgettable performance from this inimitable comedy team
If you missed the live performance by The League of Gentlemen you missed a classic. The video must be the next best thing and will be an essential for me.

Two series by this trio have already carved a niche for them with an individual brand of dark humour which centres on the fictional village of Royston Vasey. Characters include shopkeepers Edward and Tubbs (part pig, part depraved humans), tyrannical restart officer Pauline, butcher Hilary Briss (who trades in 'special' meat suspected to be human), and the bizarre freak show master Pa Lazarou. Although distinctly Pythonesque, the type of comedy defies definition and is very much their own. It shocks but doesn't rely on blunt shock laughs, it develops the bizarre yet still aims to be more than just 'wacky'.

The stage show features excerpts from the first two series including the classic card game 'Go Johnny Go Go Go Go', newsagent Pops' discovery of the missing chocolate bars, Pamela's audition and Pauline's outburst at Ross. A few new characters are introduced, but the old ones still dominate. The return of Edward and Tubbs is classic, and the trial of Pauline, calling witnesses including her replacement and the dopey Mickey, is unforgettable.

The highlight for me was the performance by theatre company 'Legs Akimbo' of their summary of northern life. Everything 'Legs Akimbo' have done in the series has been so close to reality in parodying over enthusiastic theatre that it's almost too real to be funny, but The League's form of comedy has achieved it's individuality by pushing back boundaries. 'Legs Akimbo' live dropped jaws and left the entire audience transfixed, scared to laugh in case they missed anything, and like the entire evening I watched, was performed with precision.

With such strong characters and strong performances, it's hard to conceive that the evening I saw was played out by just three men, but it's a tribute to how well worked the night was, and how well the characters have been presented.

It's rare to laugh as much, and considering the general poor standard of TV programmes, these guys deserve to stand out. From this position they rose further to create an unforgettable stage show which won't be forgotten.

Fantastic!
To say that this was an outstanding performance would be an understatement. I was at the night they were recording it and I can conclusively say it will not disappoint.

A healthy mix of old and new stuff with Royston Vasey favourites (such as Tubbs & Edward, Papa Lazarou, the Dentons and loads more), with less familiar, non-Royston Vasey sketches such as the mountain climbers (as seen on the Red Nose show 2001 in the UK).

There is also a lot of other never-before-seen stuff including the Tubbs and Edward conclusion to the series 2 and the Heir Lip Experience!

Good show, rubbish DVD.
As a huge League of Gentlemen fan, I saw the live show several times and couldn't wait for the release of this DVD. I assumed, not least of all because of the quality of the other DVDs, that this one would include extras. The possibilites were endless- behind the scenes, footage filmed by Jeremy Dyson, corpsing, the making of, clips from the last show, interviews, a scrapbook of pictures, and so the list goes on. But no. There are none. Of course the show itself is fantastic and well worth buying on VHS, but having spent more on the DVD to find the only extras are the bits cut out when they could easily have been left in, I am a bit peeved to say the least.
So for those thinking of buying the DVD, save your money and get the video instead.