A collective “oof” emanates from the audience when Charlie Higson reminds us it is 30 years since The Fast Show began. But many of its characters and catchphrases have weathered those three decades: “Scorchio!” from surreal TV parody Chanel 9, and “Suit you, sir!” the refrain of Paul Whitehouse and Mark Williams’ smutty tailors are still quoted with impressive regularity.
The BBC sketch show, which ran from 1994 to 1997, was created by university buddies Higson and Whitehouse, joined by Williams, Arabella Weir, John Thomson, Simon Day, and Caroline Aherne, and they drew in an even wider galaxy of comedy contemporaries, including Vic and Bob, as writers, creating a fast-paced programme packed with original characters.
An Evening With The Fast Show is on firm footing as far as reunions go: a 30th anniversary is a notable milestone. But it’s not the first time the cast have reunited. There was 2002’s Farewell Tour, a 2011 mini-series, and 2020’s TV special The Fast Show: Just a Load of Blooming Catchphrases, featuring the cast doing talking heads in character.
This tour combines conversation about the history of the show and the careers of its stars with a selection of big-hitter sketches. Some are from the show’s first series, some from that 2020 TV special, while others are given contemporary twists – Thomson’s “nouveau football fan” brings up this week’s England kit controversy, and Higson’s innuendo-prone car dealer Swiss Toni references Andrew Tate.
The tour programme declares that The Fast Show has aged better than many other sketch shows. This feels fair. Certainly it hasn’t had any episodes shelved, like more questionable successors such as Little Britain. Instead, its astute character studies and willingness to embrace pathos have stood the test of time.
There’s a little of that astuteness and pathos on stage: Higson and Whitehouse recreate groundskeeper/master duo Ted and Ralph’s first sketch, while a video tribute to the missing Aherne is followed by Thomson as a lone Roy, silent without his Renee. It’s a poignant moment, albeit one taken straight from the last TV special. Mostly we get the classics – big dollops of nostalgia for long-time fans.
Higson steers the show between sketch and reminiscence. Some of the chat sections are a little stilted, perhaps as a symptom of the need to recreate them every night. Thomson is the most electric speaker, whipping out impressions and stories that feel organic. Quips that crack up the cast stand out: Day comparing the man who inspired his “competitive dad” character to “Steve Coogan after too many Tia Marias”; or Whitehouse crediting the writers behind Ted and Ralph, Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews, “… or as we now call them: Arthur.”
There are compelling snippets from Weir about the sexism of 90s comedy and the Fast Show characters who reflected it, and mention of cast members embracing sobriety. Yet most anecdotes tread the ground of previous reunions and interviews.
Still, it’s warming to be reminded what a big deal this show was for its cast, creators and fans. This nostalgia-soaked, catchphrase-filled walk down memory lane, while devoid of innovation, is a well-earned victory lap for the team behind a slice of comedy history.
• At Sheffield City Hall, 25 March, then touring to 14 April
