Comedy legends return to UEA for 25 year anniversary
By: News Archive
Comedians Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse will return to the University of East Anglia (UEA), where they first met as students, to celebrate 25 years of their cult TV hit, The Fast Show.
Students, staff and members of the public are welcome to attend the event, on the university campus on 5 December, which will mark 25 years since the first episode of the rapid-fire comedy series, The Fast Show.
This in-conversation event on Thursday 5 December, will explore the origins of their ground-breaking comedy partnership, reflecting on the legacy of one of British TV comedy’s most phenomenal success stories.
Charlie commented saying: “This year marks the 25th anniversary of the show and, to celebrate, we’re going back to where it all began and talking about it live on stage at our old alma mater."
Whitehouse and Higson both met at UEA in the seventies. Drawn together by a shared love of music they formed a punk band, The Right Hand Lovers soon afterwards. It would be nearly 10 years before they started writing comedy together, however, and after working with Harry Enfield on Saturday Night Live and Harry Enfield’s Television Programme they came into their own with The Fast Show, the first series of which went out in 1994.
Paul spoke of the format of the show, saying: “I suppose The Fast Show worked because we didn’t outstay our welcome with any particular sketch...we were on to the next one quickly. There was a huge range of characters and some were quite prescient. It wasn’t hugely popular during first series but developed a cult following and we were able to move it on in series two and three...something that isn’t always an option these days as shows are often cancelled after one series.”
The event will feature previously unbroadcast footage of The Fast Show as well as an exhibition of unseen scripts and photos from the British Archive of Contemporary Writing at UEA charting their creative process and production techniques.
It will be hosted at 7pm in the Thomas Paine Study Centre Lecture Theatre at UEA (with doors opening at 6.30pm). There will be a drinks reception to follow, and the opportunity to view the exhibition.
“This event is doubly important for me as I was given an honorary doctorate by the university in 2014 and donated my archive, including a wealth of material relating to The Fast Show.” added Charlie.
Tickets are £9 and £4 for students (with a valid campus card).
For more information, email: events@uea.ac.uk
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