Joke (sketch)
Encyclopedia
"Joke" is a comedy
sketch
written and performed by English
comedian
s Rowan Atkinson
and Richard Curtis
. It was performed live during Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom
. A live recording was made at the Grand Opera House
in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
, on 19 or 20 September 1980 and released as the last track on Atkinson's live
comedy album
, Live in Belfast
.
". He goes on to explain, "It's one of those ones where I ask a question and you say 'I don't know, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot'." Rowan begins the joke by saying, "I say, I say, I say, what is the secret of great comedy?" Richard replies by literally saying, "I don't know, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot." After laughing at his own wit, Richard tells the annoyed Rowan that he'll "do it again." Rowan repeats the question and Richard replies, "I don't know. What is the secret to great comedy?" However, before Richard can finish his reply, Rowan interrupts, "timing." The point of the joke is that Rowan deliberately got his timing wrong when saying that timing is the secret to great comedy; however, Richard does not understand the joke. Bewildered by Richard's stupidity, Rowan enquires, "But didn't you see?" "Sorry, was it a visual joke?" Richard replies, still confused. After trying the joke a third time, Richard still does not understand the irony
of the joke. Annoyed by Richard, Rowan asks, "Don't you think that's a clever joke?" to which Richard replies, "Clever... no. Joke... no." Disheartened by his joke falling flat with Richard, he claims "it was very funny when Michael told it," then makes the excuse that his timing might be out to which Richard replies, "It could be other factors like the complete absence of anything funny in the joke." Rowan proclaims, "It's so difficult telling jokes," before suddenly exclaiming that he has another joke that is "far more straightforward" to which Richard replies, "As long as it's funny, I don't mind."
The second joke begins with Rowan saying, "Knock! Knock! Who's there? Death..." but he is interrupted by Richard who complains that knock-knock joke
s "are meant to be two-handers". Rowan argues that this joke "doesn't work that way". It becomes apparent that Rowan is attempting to tell the same joke told by Toby, the Devil
, during a previous sketch. The joke is meant to go "Knock, Knock. Who's there? Death. Death wh..." at which point the person telling the joke pretends to die. If a second person was replying in the joke, they would not know to pretend to die when saying "Death who?". Richard protests and Rowan gives in and the pair attempt the knock-knock joke in the "old way". Richard, ignorant to the fact he is meant to say the punch line
, replies "Death who?" and Rowan replies "Ah, now, that's where it goes wrong." Rowan explains to Richard how he is meant to say the punch-line but after another attempt at the joke, Richard replies wrong. Rowan, getting increasingly more annoyed as the sketch goes on, says he has another joke and this time he will be "third time lucky".
Rowan explains that the third joke is "a very old joke but a very good joke". Rowan begins to tell the classic joke, which begins "I say, I say, I say, my wife's gone to Jamaica
". The person replying is meant to say, "Jamaica?" which sounds like "D'you make 'er?" or "Did you make her?". The joke-teller then replies, "No, of her own accord." However, when Rowan says, "I say, I say, I say, my wife's gone to Jamaica," Richard replies, "Of her own accord?" which ruins the whole joke and causes Rowan to swear
loudly and give up telling jokes to Richard.
Side two
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
written and performed by English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
and Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
. It was performed live during Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A live recording was made at the Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House (Belfast)
The Grand Opera House is a theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham. It opened on 23 December 1895....
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, on 19 or 20 September 1980 and released as the last track on Atkinson's live
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
comedy album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Live in Belfast
Live in Belfast
Live in Belfast is a live comedy album by English comedian Rowan Atkinson. It was first released in 1980 as a vinyl LP and cassette tape on Arista Records, then re-released in 1996 on CD....
.
Synopsis
At the start of the sketch, Rowan Atkinson's character tells Richard Curtis' character he's "got a jokeJoke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
". He goes on to explain, "It's one of those ones where I ask a question and you say 'I don't know, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot'." Rowan begins the joke by saying, "I say, I say, I say, what is the secret of great comedy?" Richard replies by literally saying, "I don't know, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot." After laughing at his own wit, Richard tells the annoyed Rowan that he'll "do it again." Rowan repeats the question and Richard replies, "I don't know. What is the secret to great comedy?" However, before Richard can finish his reply, Rowan interrupts, "timing." The point of the joke is that Rowan deliberately got his timing wrong when saying that timing is the secret to great comedy; however, Richard does not understand the joke. Bewildered by Richard's stupidity, Rowan enquires, "But didn't you see?" "Sorry, was it a visual joke?" Richard replies, still confused. After trying the joke a third time, Richard still does not understand the irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
of the joke. Annoyed by Richard, Rowan asks, "Don't you think that's a clever joke?" to which Richard replies, "Clever... no. Joke... no." Disheartened by his joke falling flat with Richard, he claims "it was very funny when Michael told it," then makes the excuse that his timing might be out to which Richard replies, "It could be other factors like the complete absence of anything funny in the joke." Rowan proclaims, "It's so difficult telling jokes," before suddenly exclaiming that he has another joke that is "far more straightforward" to which Richard replies, "As long as it's funny, I don't mind."
The second joke begins with Rowan saying, "Knock! Knock! Who's there? Death..." but he is interrupted by Richard who complains that knock-knock joke
Knock-knock joke
The knock-knock joke is a type of joke, probably the best-known format of the pun, and is a time-honored "call and answer" exercise.It is a role-play exercise, with a punster and a recipient of wit.The standard format has five lines:...
s "are meant to be two-handers". Rowan argues that this joke "doesn't work that way". It becomes apparent that Rowan is attempting to tell the same joke told by Toby, the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, during a previous sketch. The joke is meant to go "Knock, Knock. Who's there? Death. Death wh..." at which point the person telling the joke pretends to die. If a second person was replying in the joke, they would not know to pretend to die when saying "Death who?". Richard protests and Rowan gives in and the pair attempt the knock-knock joke in the "old way". Richard, ignorant to the fact he is meant to say the punch line
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
, replies "Death who?" and Rowan replies "Ah, now, that's where it goes wrong." Rowan explains to Richard how he is meant to say the punch-line but after another attempt at the joke, Richard replies wrong. Rowan, getting increasingly more annoyed as the sketch goes on, says he has another joke and this time he will be "third time lucky".
Rowan explains that the third joke is "a very old joke but a very good joke". Rowan begins to tell the classic joke, which begins "I say, I say, I say, my wife's gone to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
". The person replying is meant to say, "Jamaica?" which sounds like "D'you make 'er?" or "Did you make her?". The joke-teller then replies, "No, of her own accord." However, when Rowan says, "I say, I say, I say, my wife's gone to Jamaica," Richard replies, "Of her own accord?" which ruins the whole joke and causes Rowan to swear
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
loudly and give up telling jokes to Richard.
Personnel
- Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
– joke-teller - Richard CurtisRichard CurtisRichard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
– joke receiver - Howard GoodallHoward Goodall210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
– musical accompaniment
Live in Belfast track listing
Side one- "Man in Seat C23"
- "Sir Marcus Browning M.P."
- "Mary Jane"
- "The Wedding a. The Vicar"
- "The Wedding b. The Best Man"
- "The Wedding c. The Father of the Bride"
- "I Hate the FrenchI Hate the French"I Hate the French" is a satirical comedy song performed live by Howard Goodall during Rowan Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom. A live recording was made at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 19 or 20 September 1980 and released on Rowan Atkinson's live comedy album,...
" - "Interval Announcement"
Side two
- "Do Bears Sha la la"
- "Senator Brea's Dead"
- "The Devil"
- "Impatient Man in Queue Behind Student"
- "Station Announcement"
- "Joke"