We know you love a good laugh, so we’ve got something for you here. This funny sketch by Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese about an interview gone wrong (with just two people and no props involved!) will have you rolling on the floor.
As if bees weren’t fascinating enough, there’s this interview between a beekeeper and an interviewer, who, while interested in the topic of bees, keeps interrupting his quest.
The Story Behind The ”Beekeeping” Sketch
Have you ever been interviewed by a person who keeps shushing you?
Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese are two of the most well-known British comedians, and in this magnificent comedy sketch, they’re playing a beekeeping expert and a terrible television show host. The sketch was recorded live in 1981.
This video is for people of all ages.
- Incredible actors? Check.
- Intriguing interview? Check.
- A beekeeper with a sense of humor and a lot of patience? Check and check.
The Beekeeping sketch was originally written by John Cleese for the radio series “I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again”. In the radio version of the sketch, Tim Brooke-Taylor played the beekeeper and John Cleese played his interviewer.
The interviewer exploded when the beekeeper used the word “pollen”. It became obvious to the BBC team that they should have gotten someone else to interview the beekeeper, because every time someone mentioned pollen around him, John Cleese would blow up.
John Cleese is a veteran comedian and the star of the hit TV show Fawlty Towers, as well as many blockbuster films. Rowan Atkinson has been a leading comedic actor for decades, playing Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Johnny English throughout his career.
In this sketch, we see the beekeeper, played by Rowan Atkinson, trying to give a serious interview about his work with bees, while the interviewer, played by John Cleese, keeps interrupting and making jokes. Despite his frustration, the beekeeper tries to remain patient and continue with the interview, but the interviewer just can’t seem to take the topic seriously.
Throughout the sketch, we see the beekeeper trying to educate the interviewer about the importance of bees and their role in pollination, but the interviewer just can’t seem to focus, making silly jokes and interrupting with non-sequiturs. Eventually, the beekeeper loses his patience and the interview descends into chaos.
Despite the absurdity of the situation, the sketch is actually quite educational, as it touches on the important role that bees play in the ecosystem and the challenges that beekeepers face in their work. It’s a humorous take on a serious topic, and the performances by Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese are sure to have you laughing out loud. Whether you’re a fan of bees or just appreciate a good comedy sketch, this is one video that you won’t want to miss.
Beekeeping Sketch Script
In this hysterical interview, Atkinson and Cleese chat about beekeeping and share some jokes from their stand-up routines. Shh.
Atkinson: “Good Evening. Tonight, we’re taking a look, at Bee Keeping. And here to tell us all about it, we have in the studio a man who has been keeping bees for over fourty years! Mr. Reginald Prawnbough. Good evening Mr. Prawnbough.
Cleese: “Good Evening”
A: “Tell me, what first interested you in the bee World?”
C: “Well, erm, even as a child I used to..”
A: “Shh!”
<pause>
C: “I’m sorry, shouldn’t I have said that?”
A: “No of course you should. Pay no attention please, when I say “Shh!” it’s just a nervous mannerism I picked up. If I want you to keep quiet I will say “shush!”
A: “You were saying..”
<pause>
C: “Oh I see, well er, even as a child I used to wander round..”
A: “Sh!”
<pause>
C: “Oh ye-sorry, in the in the fields, erm, near my house watching bees fly from flower to flower”
A: “Sh!”
<short pause>
C: “and, er, taking note of the flowers that they visited”
A: “Shush!”
<pause>
C: “Was that wrong?”
A: “I’m so sorry, did I say “Shush”? I meant “Shh!”
A: “Do go on, it’s er, most interesting”
C: “And so I have grown to love the little er
A: “Sh”
C: “…creatures. You know, er nature really has produced a little masterpiece in the life of the bee”
A: “QUARK!”
A: “I’m so sorry I er, I’m afraid that’s a relection action to, I squawk whenever someone mentions the word “life” QUARK! You see even, even when I mention it myself. I should have told you. Please, Go on..”
C: “Oh, very well. Well, erm bees, ah as you know, are divided into”
A: “Sh”
C: “d-different, ah, catagories”
A: “ShhhhhhhhHHHHHHH!”
<pause>
C: “The queen bee, ah, and the worker bee whos life span.”
A: “QUARK!”
C: “Who’s erm,”
<pause>
C: “who’s living expectancy is only, ah one year”
A: “Sh”
C: “The work bees on the other hand have a much longer”
A: “shush”
<pause>
C: “Do you want me to stop?”
A: “Yes, you were just about to say “Life” QUARK!”
<pause for laughter>
C: “I, I wasn’t”
A: “I’m so sorry. Please, continue…”
C: “Well, as I was saying, the worker bees do have a much longer life”
A: “QUARK!”
C: <flustered> “I’m sorry, I didn’t..I didn’t mean to say life
A: “QUARK!”
C: it’s just you’ve got me rather rattled”
A: “Sh”
C: “Well this is how the bee comunity works. The”
A: “Sh”
C: “The queen bee, stays in the hive”
A: <noise with mouth> putttt
<pause for laughter>
A: puttttt
C: “Was that because I said hive?”
A: “Pardon? Sh”
C: “Well, did you make that noise? Because I said hive?”
A: “Oh no no no no. No”
C: “Well why did you make it then?”
A: “Well I was just practicing”
<pause for laughter>
C: “Practicing?”
A: “Practicing for a word you’re bound to say, very soon.”
A: “Do go on..”
<pause for laughter>
C: “While the worker bees..”
A: “sh”
<pause>
C: “..Fly from flower to flower..”
A: “sh”
<pause>
C: “..collecting..”
A: “Sh”
<long pause>
C: “..the…”
A: “Shh”
<long pause>
C: “Pollen”
A: puttttt
<pause for laughter>
C: <annoyed> “I see, ‘pollen'”
A: putttt
<pause>
C: “Pollen! Pollen! Pollen!”
A: putttt putttt putttt
<laughter>
C: “I mean this is just the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”
A: QUARK!
C: “I mean every time I say ‘Pollen’
A: putttt
C: “or hive”
A: “Shh”
C: “or, or, or ‘life'”
A: QUARK!
C: “I mean how did you ever become an interviewer?!”
A: <some action which I can’t see on tape!!>
C: “What’s going on now? Is this because I said ‘interviewer’?”
A <action>
C: “Interviewer! Interviewer! Interviewer! Interviewer!”
C: “Interviewer! Interviewer! Interviewer! Interviewer!”
A <action>
C: “Well, we certianly know a little bit more about bees.”
C: “And next, on Nationwide tonight, from bees to guitars, and it’s Mr. guitar himself, Neil, ‘Mr Guitar’ Innis….”
<applause>
<song in it>
A: “QUARK! QUARK! Shh!”
