Mark Searby - Rik Mayall: Comedy Genius

Mark Searby

Rik Mayall: Comedy Genius by Mark Searby

Copyright 2020 Mark Searby

All rights reserved. No portion of this book maybe reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.For permissions contact: www.marksearby.com/contact/

ISBN: 978-0-9957931-3-2

First Edition

Ebook formatting by ebooklaunch.com

also by the author:

For my mum

Contents

The Oxford Englishdictionary defines the word Genius as:

1. Exceptional intellectual or creative power orother natural ability.
she was a teacher of genius

2. An exceptionally intelligent person or one withexceptional skill in a particular area of activity.
a mathematical genius

Arguably, Rik Mayall embodied both strands ofthis definition. He had a natural ability for comedy, whether onthe stage, on TV or on film. But most importantly, he knew whatmade great, and edgy, comedy. He was a master practitioner. Hiscomedic intellect was greater than 99% of his contemporaries. Hewas a comedy genius.

Mayall was such a household name that almosteverybody has their own unique memory of him. Whether it be theanarchy of The Dangerous Brothers, The Young Ones orBottom. Or the politically satirical characters of KevinTurvey or Alan BStard. Some may even remember Mayall best for hismore serious work in the likes of The Bill, JonathanCreek or Rik Mayall presents There was humour in someof the episodes but it was greatly toned down in favour of Mayallshowing a more dramatic side to his acting. Comedy was his breadand butter though. Whether on-screen or behind the microphoneMayall revelled in comedic energy. Listening to his voice work onaudiobooks where you can feel the sweat pouring down his face as hegoes full-tilt radical while reading some of the dialogue. Mayallin the vocal booth and Mayall in-front of the camera was one andthe same. He always gave his all.

His crude, lewd anarchy was exactly whatyoungsters, and adults, revelled in. When he was on TV you neverknew what he would do next. His crazy energy wouldnt have workedin mainstream light entertainment. Mayall was dangerous and edgyand raw. The occasional instances in which he appeared on a chatshows were awkward because he had to present himself as RichardMayall, and that simply wasnt him when cameras were rolling. Hisco-star from The Young Ones, Alexei Sayle, told me: Hedidnt do chat shows. He couldnt do chat shows. He couldnt givegood interviews. Rik couldnt be serious. One such occasion sawMayall and his comedy partner Ade Edmondson appear on a livephone-in segment on the kids TV show Going Live to promotetheir forthcoming Bottom tour. They struggled to suppresstheir anarchic sides even when taking phone calls from kids athome; double entendres were uttered. The pair were unsuited to beon pre-watershed TV, it felt wrong. Mayall and Edmondson were attheir best when smashing each other in the face with a frying panor the refrigerator door or dropping a TV on their heads. It wascartoon violence performed by real humans; a real-life Tom andJerry.

Mayall was rarely photographed or interviewedaway from his work. He chose to keep his personal and professionallives very separate. His personal life only featured in theheadlines on very specific occasions such as the aftermath of hishorrific quad bike accident. It was the one time we saw behind DR. THE RIK FUCKING MAYALL persona andactually saw Richard Michael Mayall. This was a trying time for hislegions of fans and must have been almost unbearable for hisfamily, as it did, at one stage, look like we might lose thepeoples poet. Thankfully he recovered and the accident onlyfuelled his anarchic nature as he would for the rest of his life goaround declaring he was better than Christ as he had died for alonger period of time than the son of God before being resurrected.Typical Mayall.

So, this is it, a commentary on the works of RikMayall. He had such a wide and varied career (even though he waspredominately known for his comedy roles) that it was difficult touncover absolutely everything he did. Hopefully Ivecovered/uncovered as much as is currently possible and maybe you,lovely reader, will discover a new piece of work via this book youwere not aware of. If you want to complain about something missinghowever, then in the words of Richard Richard Fick urf you sad,pathtic winker.

(When Richard became Rik)

Matching Tye is a quaint village in the wilds ofEssex. It is the type of picturesque location that reminds you ofthe beauty in the English Countryside. It is a quiet and peacefulplace where life moves at a slower pace. Yet it was the birth placeof a human ball of energy, a person so electric he could fry theentire British power grid.

Richard Michael Mayall was born on 7 March 1958to John and Gillian who were both drama teachers. He was theMayalls second child after Michael (sisters Libby and Kate wouldarrive later). Richard was a tantrum thrower from an early age. Hewould wail loud and long as his parents tried to placate him.

The Mayalls continued to live in Matching Tyeuntil Richard was three and then moved Droitwich Spa inWorcestershire. John and Gillian continued to teach drama, and Johnwould regularly put on plays for the local community at the NorburyTheatre. One of those plays, Bertolt Brechts The Good Woman ofSetzuan, featured Richard. His performance as a little peasantboy amounted to him climbing into a dustbin and eating chocolatestowed inside. Whilst appearing in his parents plays, Richardstarted to gain confidence, and a cheeky streak. When he attendedRashwood County Primary School, Richard was included in theschools Christmas Carol service. However, a teacher told himbeforehand: Dont sing I want all the children to sing but notyou because youve got a horrible voice. So just move your mouth tolook like youre singing. Richard did exactly as he was told hedidnt sing. But he did mouth the words in an overly dramatic andcomedic way that started to draw laughs from the adults in theaudience. He then proceeded to waggle his bum around as well. Howlsof laughter came from the mums and dads in the audience, howeverthe teacher who had previously told Richard not to sing wasntlaughing. Mid way through the concert Richard was pulled off stageby the teacher and told to stand in the corner of the room aspunishment. This backfired spectacularly for the teacher as Richardcontinued to mime along with the words and waggle his bottom. Theaudience were more focussed on the little boy in the corner thanthe group of children on stage.

Richard wanted to be a trouble-causer but wastoo afraid, so he would seek out the kids who had already beenlabelled as troublemakers and suggest naughty things for them todo. For all his acting out in school, at home Richard was in a safemiddle-class environment where his parents were, in his words,beatnik. John continued to put on plays and included Richard inhis production of Waiting For Godot as the BoyMessenger.

By the time Richard was eligible to attendsecondary school he had won a day-scholarship to attend theprestigious Kings School in Worcester. During his seven years atthe school Richard was thoroughly sociable, well-liked and aninfluential member of his year his housemaster John Turner toldthe Worcester Observer. He studied History, Geography andEnglish at A Level. Peter Diamond was Richards English teacher whofound him to be a pleasant boy who happened to be very funny: Idlove to tell you that Rik was a riot in class, but it was a markedtrait of his character that he was a conformist. Richards love ofacting grew dramatically while at Kings School and he featured inmany school productions including