Summary[]
Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity is the fourth live stage show based on the sitcom Bottom. The show recorded for VHS and DVD release was filmed in Nottingham. The island setting from the previous tour remains as the primary setting for the first act, and moves to a "play-within-a-play" format for the second act within the confines of a dome-like structure. The show's name is derived from the Arthur C. Clarke novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Plot[]
Act 1[]
Richie and Eddie are still stuck on the island. Richie is having bizarre wet dreams and Eddie is missing in action. Although distressed about Eddie's disappearance, Richie has used the alone time to design some more comfortable clothes for himself, including a sarong and a pair of pink rubber underpants. When Eddie finally reappears, he ridicules Richie over his new underwear, but is forced to assist him in removing them after Richie complains they have become stuck. After a bout of parrot resuscitation and explosion and a fight with a pig, the pair close the first act by rushing off stage to get to the bar.
Act 2[]
Act Two opens with Richie and Eddie falling from two opposing shutes into a large dome. Both are now self-aware and the story takes a play-within-a-play format and the two become Rik and Ade instead of Richie and Eddie. The show ends with a musical number about pants, with Ade playing guitar as Rik tries his best to dance.
Bloopers[]
When Rik and Ade are required to put on a pair of y-fronts each for the upcoming song, both fail to put them on in time for the introduction music to finish, requiring them to repeat the scene again.
In the parrot resuscitation scene, several things go wrong. First the fake defibrillator starts to smoke, alarming Rik who looks off to his right at the stage hands with a confused look on his face. Shortly after Rik mispronounces the word "voltage" causing both to break character and laugh. Both then play on the mistake by mispronouncing the rest of their lines on purpose for the rest of the scene.
The mechanical warthog rig that is supposed to pull Ade across the length of the stage fails to work properly, resulting in Ade getting up and kicking the prop the rest of the way across.
Trivia[]
- In act two, Rik mentions "that tosser who fell off the quad bike." This is in reference to himself, who nearly died in a quad bike accident a few years prior. Ade then makes a throwaway comment "if only I'd fixed those brakes properly..."
- Rik and Ade re-enact a scene from "Break" where Eddie assists Richie in removing some incredibly tight pants, and even repeats the warning "you might feel a slight stinging sensation," much to the amusement of Ade and the audience, as both know what's coming.
- Ade's guitar playing is very much genuine - he is a talented musician and since 2006 he has been the vocalist and guitarist in a band called The Bad Shepherds and has played all over the UK.
- Unlike the previous three live stage shows, Richie and Eddie do not die in the finale.