26 October, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I saw their West End show at the Drury Lane Theatre on Friday night.   Apparently, after the show ends its run in November, French and Saunders as a comedy duo will end as well.  Say it ain’t so!  This is billed as their farewell, though I have my doubts about that.  Celebrity farewells are usually short-lived.

For those Americans who don’t know who French and Saunders are, Jennifer Saunders played Edina in Absolutely Fabulous (she was also in a memorable episode of Friends); Dawn French starred in The Vicar of Dibley.  These are two of my favorite sitcoms.  As a pair, French and Saunders have been doing sketch comedy together for 30 years.

The live show was a bit uneven — hysterically funny at times, a bit unfunny at other times.  But just seeing them in person was a treat and the two-hour show flew by.  Dawn French is clearly more comfortable performing in front of a live audience and did a lot of ad-libbing.  I hope that French and Saunders continue to perform long into the future, even if it’s not as a team.  Given how male-dominated comedy is as a medium, their contributions have been so important.

Link:

Who can fill French and Saunders’ shoes?

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