This article is about the 2006 benefit show organised by Eddie Izzard. For the original 1979 show directed by John Cleese, see The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979). For the entire series of Secret Policeman's Ball shows, see The Secret Policeman's Ball.
The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006 was a show staged as a benefit for human rights organization Amnesty International at London's Royal Albert Hall in October 2006. Its title was a conscious reprise of the title of the 1979 Amnesty benefit show that heralded the organization's breakthrough in public awareness and fundraising. The 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball, organised by John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker,[1] led to greater participation by comedians and rock musicians in further benefit shows for Amnesty and other social and political causes.[2] It also led to the series of benefit shows that are informally known as The Secret Policeman's Balls.
Certain high-profile performers such as Jennifer Saunders and Ian McKellen previously advertised on Amnesty's website as confirmed participants[3] did not appear in the show, but participated as voice actors in some of the animations shown throughout.
The 4-hour show was videotaped and 70 minutes of highlights were broadcast by Britain's Channel Four station on October 31, 2006. A DVD was released on 4 December with a duration of 199 minutes plus 83 minutes of extra material. Included in the 'extras' section were some of the animations from the show itself. There was also a series of "cinecasts" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 17 cinemas in major British cities.
Several reviews in the UK media considered that, with a few exceptions, the performances and material were not of the highest calibre and did not compare to the quality of the original shows from the late 1970s and early 1980s.[4][5][6] The critical comments were tempered by references to the fact that the event was held for a good cause; Chortle.co.uk wrote that "a charity gig is much like the infants’ Nativity play, successful in its own terms and not deserving of too much harsh scrutiny."
^. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
^. The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
^. Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
^. The Daily Record. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
^"The Times & The Sunday Times". Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
^Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Secret Policeman's Ball 2006 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
External linksedit
Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball site
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This article is about the 2006 benefit show organised by Eddie Izzard For the original 1979 show directed by John Cleese see The Secret Policeman s Ball 1979 For the entire series of Secret Policeman s Ball shows see The Secret Policeman s Ball The Secret Policeman s Ball 2006 was a show staged as a benefit for human rights organization Amnesty International at London s Royal Albert Hall in October 2006 Its title was a conscious reprise of the title of the 1979 Amnesty benefit show that heralded the organization s breakthrough in public awareness and fundraising The 1979 show The Secret Policeman s Ball organised by John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker 1 led to greater participation by comedians and rock musicians in further benefit shows for Amnesty and other social and political causes 2 It also led to the series of benefit shows that are informally known as The Secret Policeman s Balls The Secret Policeman s Ball 2006 DVD The 2006 show was coordinated by British comedian Eddie Izzard Internationally known performers Izzard and actor Richard E Grant were joined by locally popular comedic talents including Russell Brand Jon Culshaw Al Murray The Mighty Boosh and Omid Djalili American comedic actor Chevy Chase made a cameo appearance in one skit Music was supplied by The Zutons and The Magic Numbers Singer Natalie Imbruglia appeared in a routine alongside David Armand spoofing her hit song Torn The show also featured a series of computer generated animations highlighting global political issues including the American detention centre at Guantanamo Bay and the international arms trade Certain high profile performers such as Jennifer Saunders and Ian McKellen previously advertised on Amnesty s website as confirmed participants 3 did not appear in the show but participated as voice actors in some of the animations shown throughout The 4 hour show was videotaped and 70 minutes of highlights were broadcast by Britain s Channel Four station on October 31 2006 A DVD was released on 4 December with a duration of 199 minutes plus 83 minutes of extra material Included in the extras section were some of the animations from the show itself There was also a series of cinecasts in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 17 cinemas in major British cities Several reviews in the UK media considered that with a few exceptions the performances and material were not of the highest calibre and did not compare to the quality of the original shows from the late 1970s and early 1980s 4 5 6 The critical comments were tempered by references to the fact that the event was held for a good cause Chortle co uk wrote that a charity gig is much like the infants Nativity play successful in its own terms and not deserving of too much harsh scrutiny Contents 1 List of performers 1 1 Solo comedic performers 1 2 Performers in comedy skits 1 3 Comedy ensembles 1 4 Musical performers 1 5 Other participants 2 References 3 External linksList of performers editSolo comedic performers edit Al Murray Andrew Maxwell Dylan Moran Eddie Izzard Russell Brand Sarah Silverman Jon Culshaw Performers in comedy skits edit Ronni Ancona David Armand Jo Brand Chevy Chase Omid Djalili Julia Davis Jimmy Fallon Nitin Ganatra Richard E Grant Seth Green Shobna Gulati Rhys Ifans Natalie Imbruglia Graham Norton Jessica Stevenson Shaun Williamson Kate Isitt Comedy ensembles edit The Mighty Boosh Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding Cast of Green Wing Tamsin Greig Stephen Mangan Julian Rhind Tutt and Michelle Gomez Musical performers edit The Magic Numbers and Martha Wainwright The Zutons Natalie Imbruglia Other participants edit Jeremy Irons speaking about Amnesty References edit Movies Archives Hollywood com Archived from the original on 2 November 2007 Retrieved 3 November 2007 Culture amp Entertainment News The Irish Times Archived from the original on 23 April 2021 Retrieved 7 March 2009 Amnesty Amnesty International Archived from the original on 27 March 2008 Retrieved 26 October 2017 Entertainment News amp Celebrity Gossip The Daily Record Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 Retrieved 21 April 2019 The Times amp The Sunday Times Archived from the original on 5 May 2013 Solutions Powder Blue Internet Business Secret Policeman s Ball 2006 Chortle The UK Comedy Guide a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a first has generic name help External links editAmnesty International s Secret Policeman s Ball site Amnesty s announcement of the new show The Secret Policeman s Ball at IMDb nbsp UK news story about the new show US news story about the new show BBC News Story and audio clip Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Secret Policeman 27s Ball 2006 amp oldid 1167681095, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
