Big Bad Mouse is a British stage play and theatrical comedic farce by Phillip King and Falkland L. Carey. Although not specifically written for Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes, it became a vehicle for the British comedy actors and has been revived many times with other stars right up to 2008.
Based on an original idea by Ivan Butler, Big Bad Mouse was first staged in 1964 but did not become a box office hit until Edwards and Sykes took over the lead roles and toured the show across the UK in 1966 and 1967. It was also a top attraction in London's West End for three years between 1967 and 1970. The anarchic pair brought their own talents to play and twisted the plot and dialogue out of all recognition.
No two shows were identical and it became an increasingly fluid experience, including audience participation and regular breaking of the 'fourth wall' between the stage and the audience. The role of the supporting cast quickly became one of trying to keep straight faces while steering the show on track and somewhere close to the original script, while the show's two stars generally played the fool.
Plot
The action takes place in the sleepy factory office of the fictitious Chunkibix Ltd. The office is run by the domineering and pompous Mr Price-Hargreaves whose assistant, the shy and downtrodden Mr Bloome, is under his thumb and generally treated badly.
That is until a flasher and stalker chases a young woman across Wandsworth Common (changed to a prominent local park when the show toured) and Bloome is accused of being the flasher by the victim and a police detective. Surprisingly the female workers in the office, to whom Bloome had previously been all but invisible, suddenly find him sexually interesting and almost a hero figure.
Their flirtatious attentions have the effect of bolstering Bloome's ego and he quickly grows in confidence and stature, finally answering back to Price-Hargreaves and even suggesting revolutionary improvements that greatly increase sales thus drawing the attention of Chunkibix company owner, Lady Chesapeake.
So satisfying is Bloome's transformation and newly found confidence that when the young victim discovers she had made a mistake, in identifying him incorrectly as her assailant, Bloome becomes increasingly desperate to keep her quiet.
1960s original tour
Edwards and Sykes knew each other well through several previous collaborations, including just completing the film The Plank, and were instantly comfortable with the format. With a fluid mixture of clever dialogue, quick fire jokes, sight gags, witty repartee backwards and forwards with the audience and even slapstick routines the pair ripped the original script to shreds. The rest of the cast struggled manfully to keep the play on track and constantly suffered light heartedly at the hands of the two main stars.
Jimmy Edwards played Price-Hargreaves in his trademark blustery harumphing way, that was easily recognised from his role as the headmaster in Whack-O!. Sykes played Bloome, the eponymous mouse of the show's title. Throughout the show the one ability that marked the boss's dominance in the office was his practised skill in picking up his phone handset by chopping with his hand, causing the handset to leap off the cradle into his waiting hand. Bloome, trying to emulate this, would always fail with the trick, either hurting his hand or sending the handset spinning into a waste paper basket. Only when he has gained confidence after being accused does he succeed, grinning widely at the audience.
At one point, during what is supposed to be a serious solo scene by Sykes, Edwards could be seen by the audience in his shirtsleeves and braces relaxing in the wings on an armchair. He is smoking a cigarette, flicking over pages of the play's script and making occasional wry faces at Sykes's performance, while Sykes feigns puzzlement at the audience's laughter. During the mid-play interval the cast joined the audience in the bar, remaining in character and performing several hilarious set piece conversations in between chatting with theatre goers.