Blackadder 'could return as a stage show'
So says co-creator Ben Elton
Blackadder could return as a theatre show, co-writer Ben Elton says.
The comic says the historical sitcom – which ran on BBC One for four series from 1983 to 1989 – could follow the likes of Fawlty Towers and Only Fools And Horses on to the West End stage.
Elton previously created a theatrical version of Upstart Crow, and says he’d be up for doing the same with his most famous comedy – if co-writer Richard Curtis agreed.
He told The Sun: ‘A Blackadder play, if Richard was keen on it, I’d be interested. Not an adaptation of episodes, it would be an original play.
‘When I wrote Upstart Crow I did three series and three Christmas specials for TV, which was a load of writing, but I’m proud of the fact I then did an original play. If we were to do that with Adder it would be the same.’
A stage show would not necessarily have to star the original cast of Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and others.
Elton, 64, said: ‘If they want to be in it, that’s up to them. But with Blackadder, there’s four figures who have a say in it: Me, Richard, Rowan and John Lloyd, who was the producer.
‘So if anything happens, it’s down to us. Who knows if we could ever make it happen?’
Blackadder has previously been revived for Comic Relief skits and a special that was shown in the Millennium Dome – and for last Red Nose Day Robinson revived his Baldrick character to read a story.
Elton said today: ‘There were a couple of efforts to do a bit of Adder, with mixed results, and I’m very clear in my mind we do not want to fuck up something as loved as Blackadder by going back to it.’
The comic is hitting the road this autumn for a stand-up tour entitled Authentic Stupidity. Ben Elton tour dates.
Published: 30 Apr 2024
