Review of Peter Cook & Co.

Peter Cook, Yes, lots to say there, but this is a 1980 incarnation, and the show is full of other talent. Don't know how bad Cook's drinking was at this time, but he holds up really well, especially as Mr Hainault in the plumber sketch with Beryl Reid and Paula Wilcox, which has to be the absolute highlight. There is some filler, and weirdly, the sketches featuring a pre-Blackadder Rowan Atkinson are some of the weakest (This is just my opinion). As a historical record of other acts, it's great to see Reid hamming it up so splendidly, dressed as a bee and demanding marijuana. The Hainault's toilet is blocked, and the plumber (Reid as Mzz Elke Starr-Borgling), arrives to repeatedly distract and bamboozle them with comic gems: In trying to determine who was responsible for the blockage, Mzz Starr-Borgling suggests 'assailant unknown'. I admit I wept with laughter at this sketch, but this is only my opinion.