doczero --
The well-known monologue that contains the sentence "my brother Esau
is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man," was delivered by Alan Bennett
in "Beyond the Fringe," which began as a four-man revue in 1960 at the
Edinburgh Festival. It then moved to a small London theater, became a
huge hit, and opened on Broadway in October 1962. The monologue is
called "Take a Pew," and it is hilarious, as is the rest of the show.
The following is a link to the Tower Records web page where you can
purchase a 3-CD compilation that includes a complete Fortune Theater,
London, performance of "Beyond the Fringe," along with highlights of
the Broadway version recorded in 1962-64:
TowerRecords: Beyond the Fringe
http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1543123&cc=USD
Single-CD "highlights" versions of the show have also been released,
but some may be out of print, and some may not include "Take a Pew."
The version I own is a highlights compilation released in 1993 on the
Angel label, which does include the Bennett monologue.
When I read your question, I immediately played my recording of "Take
a Pew," and confirmed that the sentence, "my brother Esau is a hairy
man, but I am a smooth man," is spoken both at the beginning and at
the end of the monologue.
A transcript of what purports to be the complete monologue can be
found here (halfway down the page):
Additional Sketch (3): The Sermon (Or: "Take a Pew")
http://www.wepsite.de/conversation.htm
Here, from one who knows, is a comment on the Bennett "sermon" by The
Very Reverend Colin Slee, Dean, Southwark Cathedral, in which he
refers to:
"… that great sermon about Jacob and Esau memorised by many of my
generation … from "Beyond the Fringe" -- 'My brother Esau is a hairy
man but I am a smooth man' -- a sermon so perfectly crafted that it
has the sort of treasured place in English literature that few
preachers can ever aspire to reach. For those of you who have never
heard it, I commend it to you as far more exciting than anything you
are likely to hear this afternoon."
GKT Gazette: Looking Glass
http://www.gktgazette.com/2002/oct/lookingglass.asp
Finally, a recent review in The Weekly Standard of two recent books on
British satire includes the following reference to "Take a Pew,"
along with an extended discussion of "Beyond the Fringe:"
"Much of 'Beyond the Fringe' remains funny today. In the monologue
"Take a Pew," for instance, Alan Bennett assumes the part of a fatuous
cleric sermonizing dubiously on that most uplifting of Biblical
verses: "My Brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man."
The Weekly Standard: Fawlty Humor
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/680sqgvw.asp
Google Search Terms:
"esau is a hairy man"
"easu is a hairy man" hoffnung
"beyond the fringe"
"beyond the fringe" esau
Printed source:
"Beyond the Fringe," Angel CD No. ZDM 0777 7 64771 2 1, liner notes by
Marc Kirkeby (1993)
If any of the above information is unclear, or if any of the links
don't work, please post a clarification request.
And remember, as Alan Bennett once sermonized: "Life is like a tin of
sardines, there's always a little bit left in the corner."
markj-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
04 Jan 2003 16:22 PST
I am sorry that you are disapointed in the answer. At the time I
prepared it, I was unaware of the your prior question (answered by
another researcher). I'm sure you can understand that the Bennett
monologue was intended and is usually perceived as a parodic sermon
"about" the biblical quotation. Indeed, it is described in one of the
sources quoted above as a monologue in which "fatuous cleric" is
"sermonizing dubiously *on* that most uplifting of Biblical verses:
"My Brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man" (emphasis
added). And, of course, the monologue, like a sermon on a topic,
begins and ends with a statement of that topic.
Finally, "Beyond the Fringe" began about 40 years ago, matching your
recollection.
markj-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
05 Jan 2003 05:55 PST
doc zero --
This is in response to the "request for answer clarification" that you
posted this morning (January 5).
You appear to be under the misapprehension that my answer to your
question is the same answer that was previously pulled at your
request. That is not the case. I had not seen your question until
after it was reposted by you (after the first answer had been pulled).
I am not the researcher who answered your question initially, and I
was not aware of that initial answer when I researched and drafted my
own.
Your misapprehension was likely caused by the fact that the previous
researcher and I, independently, apparently came up with the same
source for the monologue in question.
If you choose to seek a refund and repost your question again, I
respectfully suggest that you note in the reposted question that Alan
Bennett is not an acceptable answer. Otherwise, I believe that the
next researcher is very likely to come back with Bennett as your
answer as well, since his "Beyond the Fringe" monologue "fits the
bill" so well, and because no other possible candidate emerged from my
research.
Again, I am very disappointed that you were dissatisfied with my
answer.
mark-ja
|
