The Oxford Revue

The Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term in the pubs and theatres around Oxford, as well as touring to cities in the UK and performing a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year.

History[]

The founding of the Revue in around 1952/3 is shrouded in mystery. The most accurate account of it to date is probably that of Michael Palin, former Revue Director, who describes how his brother-in-law and 'another mad gentleman' started the , as a source of funding for Edinburgh shows, in the early 1950s. From this, he "helped found an offshoot group, the Oxford Revue Group, to take a revue up to the Edinburgh Fringe".^[1]

Former members include:

• Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Recent activities[]

During the academic year 2009–10, the Oxford Revue performed regular 'Write Off's at the Wheatsheaf pub, airing new sketches in front of an intimate audience. In February 2010, the Revue ran for a week at the , Oxford, in their Brighton-themed show "The Oxford Revue Goes To Blighty". The show was rated 5 stars by The Oxford Theatre Review.^[4] The following term, the Oxford Revue invited the and the Cambridge Footlights for the trio's annual show, "The Oxford Revue and Friends" at the Oxford Playhouse. The show sold out all 600 seats and was well received.^[5] Aside from the shows at the Wheatsheaf, Burton-Taylor Studio and Oxford Playhouse, the Revue regularly performed at various college charity nights and balls, including the ball at the Oxford Union. They also travelled to Cambridge and Durham University to perform in large-scale shows and debates at the Cambridge Union.

In August 2010, the Revue took the show, "The Oxford Revue is Going Places", to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, under the presidency of Ollie Mann and the direction of Rory O'Keeffe. The poster was designed by photographer Adam Levy.^[6] They performed at the Underbelly venue and sold well, receiving 4 stars from Broadway Baby.^[7]

The Oxford Revue has since updated its website (www.oxfordrevue.org) and continue to perform twice-termly 'Audrey' comedy nights in the Wheatsheaf pub. The annual collaborative show with the Durham Revue and Cambridge Footlights 'Funny Friends' continues to take place in the Oxford Playhouse.

Logo[]

The current logo of the Oxford Revue is a pig in a hat named Admiral Philip, drawn by Revue member Nick Davies in 2013.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

• Oxford Revue website
• University of Oxford Drama
• [3]