The Fish-Slapping Dance
Encyclopedia
The Fish-Slapping Dance is a comedy sketch written and performed by the Monty Python
team. The sketch was originally recorded in 1971 for a pan-European May Day
special entitled Euroshow 71. In 1972 it was broadcast as part of episode two of series three of Monty Python's Flying Circus
, which was entitled "Mr & Mrs Brian Norris' Ford Popular".
The sketch stars John Cleese
and Michael Palin
in safari outfits and pith helmet
s at the side of a lock
(Teddington Lock
in west London
). Both are facing each other and light-hearted music
plays while Palin dances towards Cleese, lightly slapping him in the face with two small pilchards
, and returning to his starting spot. After Palin does this four times, he returns to his starting spot and stands still. In traditional British folk dancing, of which this is reminiscent, one would now expect the other dancer to repeat these steps. Instead, the music stops, Cleese reveals his fish — a much, much larger halibut
— and clobbers Palin on the head with it, knocking him into the water several feet below.
The music is "Merrymakers Dance" from "Nell Gwyn suite" by British composer Sir Edward German
(1862-1936).
The sketch is about 30 seconds long, but its situational non-verbal portrayal endears it to the audience. It remains one of Michael Palin's favorite routines on the show, and he made it the centerpiece of his own choice of sketches for his Monty Python's Personal Best
miniseries episode. Palin has stated that the sketch summarises concisely what Python is all about.
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
team. The sketch was originally recorded in 1971 for a pan-European May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
special entitled Euroshow 71. In 1972 it was broadcast as part of episode two of series three of Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, which was entitled "Mr & Mrs Brian Norris' Ford Popular".
The sketch stars John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
in safari outfits and pith helmet
Pith helmet
The pith helmet is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of cork or pith...
s at the side of a lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
(Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in the western suburbs of London. The lock is on the southern Surrey side of the river....
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
). Both are facing each other and light-hearted music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
plays while Palin dances towards Cleese, lightly slapping him in the face with two small pilchards
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
, and returning to his starting spot. After Palin does this four times, he returns to his starting spot and stands still. In traditional British folk dancing, of which this is reminiscent, one would now expect the other dancer to repeat these steps. Instead, the music stops, Cleese reveals his fish — a much, much larger halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
— and clobbers Palin on the head with it, knocking him into the water several feet below.
The music is "Merrymakers Dance" from "Nell Gwyn suite" by British composer Sir Edward German
Edward German
Sir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...
(1862-1936).
The sketch is about 30 seconds long, but its situational non-verbal portrayal endears it to the audience. It remains one of Michael Palin's favorite routines on the show, and he made it the centerpiece of his own choice of sketches for his Monty Python's Personal Best
Monty Python's Personal Best
Monty Python's Personal Best is a miniseries of six one-hour specials, each showcasing the contributions of a particular Monty Python member...
miniseries episode. Palin has stated that the sketch summarises concisely what Python is all about.
In popular culture
- In the Monty Python-derived BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show SpamalotSpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
written by Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, there is a song called “The Fisch Schlapping Song”, sung by pseudo-FinnishFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
people, before the historian abruptly ends the song. During the song, men and women dressed in stereotypical ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n garb slap each other with fish, very similar to the original sketch. - The SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
comedy team Angne & Svullo did their own version of the fish slapping dance in one episode of their popular TV show in the late 1980s. The sketch starts the same as the original: first Angne slaps Svullo a few times in the face with small fish, then Svullo takes out a big fish and with a single blow knocks Angne into the water, laughing hysterically. However, in their version an old lady with an umbrella then comes by and starts hitting Svullo with her umbrella until he too falls into the water. - In an interview, George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's son, Dhani HarrisonDhani HarrisonDhani Harrison is an English musician and the son of George Harrison of The Beatles and Olivia Harrison. Harrison debuted as a professional musician when completing his father's final album Brainwashed after George Harrison's death in November 2001...
, said that the Fish-Slapping Dance was one of his father's favourite Monty Python sketches. - The AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n satiricalSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
TV show The Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
did a “British comedy sketch” that mainly parodied Monty Python. At one point, someone is slapped with a fish. - In the VeggieTalesVeggieTalesVeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
movie, Jonah: A VeggieTales MovieJonah: A VeggieTales MovieJonah: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2002 American computer-animated film based on VeggieTales, produced by Big Idea Productions, Lions Gate Films and FHE Pictures. It is the first feature-length film in the VeggieTales series....
about the life of the prophet JonahJonahJonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
, one of the “sins” of the Ninevites is that they slap people with fish. The commentary track to the DVD confirms the inspiration for this to be the Monty Python sketch.