Dinner For One - images from Edinburgh Festival 2010 - Hill St Theatre
"The same procedure as last year Miss Sophie?
The same procedure as every year James"
Dinner for One is a wonderful reworking of a vintage music hall sketch, it was originally written for the stage in 1920 and performed for years by Freddie Frinton until In 1963 the German television station NDR recorded a performance of the piece in its original English language starring Freddie Frinton and May Warden. According to the Guinness Book of Records this short comedy gem went on to become the most frequently repeated TV programme ever.
The scenario – It is Miss Sophie’s 90th birthday and she's holding a dinner party with her closest friends. Unfortunately her closest friends are all dead. Step forward faithful butler James who, acting out all the guests’ roles, gamely steers the evening through four drink-fuelled courses to its touching conclusion
This is a stage version of a legendary piece of television – our tribute to a comedy classic.
Dinner for One was written for the theatre in the 1920s and a comedy phenomenon was born in 1963 when the German TV station NDR recorded a performance of the piece in its original English language starring music hall comedy legend Freddie Frinton. Although for decades a cult classic across Europe and in Germany, where it’s watched by millions every New Years Eve, it is virtually unknown in Britain, its birthplace. Produced for lovers of the original TV version and for new audiences alike, this show hasn’t been performed in the UK since Freddie Frinton and May Warden performed it at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool where it ran for 18 years from 1945 to 1963.
"You've recreated a wonderful memory of a bygone era"
Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies
This is a stage version of a legendary piece of television – our tribute to a comedy classic.
Dinner for One was written for the theatre in the 1920s and a comedy phenomenon was born in 1963 when the German TV station NDR recorded a performance of the piece in its original English language starring music hall comedy legend Freddie Frinton. Although for decades a cult classic across Europe and in Germany, where it’s watched by millions every New Years Eve, it is virtually unknown in Britain, its birthplace. Produced for lovers of the original TV version and for new audiences alike, this show hasn’t been performed in the UK since Freddie Frinton and May Warden performed it at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool where it ran for 18 years from 1945 to 1963.
"You've recreated a wonderful memory of a bygone era"
Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies
