Animals
Animals is the debut solo stand-up comedy show by Ricky Gervais, released on VHS and DVD on 17 November 2003. It was filmed at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London.
Tour
The show ran for a two week residency at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. The entrance music was the song "Animal Nitrate" by British fops Suede, who Gervais assisted in their pre-record contract days. Gervais promoted Animals extensively in the media, prompting negative comments about the show from Newsnight Review and Ian Hislop, who claimed that the, "…lines weren't clever enough". Despite said criticism the DVD "sold well" according to Gervais, speaking on his Xfm radio show. The show was a resounding success, and ended with Gervais calling Hislop a "little ugly pug-faced cunt."
Themes
A short film plays at the start of the set featuring footage of African lions mating with an added commentary by Gervais in a documentary style, much like an Attenborough film. This fits with the tagline of the tour: “Life on Earth: the bits David Attenborough left out.”
The show centered on the topic of animals and nature, with jokes involving elephants and daddy long legs as well as Gervais examining well known fables and nursery rhymes like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “Humpty Dumpty.” A highlight of the set involves Gervais, a known atheist, reading from the Bible and dissecting its perceived truths.
Quotes
- Ricky Gervais: Are there eggs readin that? Goin phwoargh am glad I didn't do that.
- Ricky Gervais: I only know that he's an egg from pictorial evidence and he's clearly an egg...an egg thing...an egg with eyes and trousers. But that isn't mentioned in the whole thing. That'd be the FIRST thing I'd mention! I'd say 'Once right, there was an egg that could climb walls!’
- Ricky Gervais: If your surname is Dumpty....DON'T CALL YOUR FIRST BORN HUMPTY! He's already an egg!
- Ricky Gervais: Hows the baby?
It's an egg… just an egg.
O what you gonna call it?
Humpty Dumpty.
Well don't make it worse… that is a windup that. Just call him Johnny. Stick a balaclava over him. The worst he'll get is fatty Johnny. Humpty Dumpty the egg?! He's gonna get the piss ripped outta him…
Probably jumped off the wall!
From Xfm
Some of the material from "Animals" can originally be heard during Gervais’ Xfm radio shows. This is pointed out on the shows by Stephen Merchant on 22 November 2003 when he says, "You probably heard most the stand-up observations on this show."
- 15 December 2001 - The Falkland War (also used in Meet Ricky Gervais)
- 15 December 2001 - Humpty Dumpty
- 12 January 2002 - Man weighing 70 stone