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'{{for|the theatrical equipment|Footlight}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}} {{Infobox theatre group | name = Footlights | image = File:ADC Theatre Cambridge.jpg | imagesize = | caption =The ADC Theatre is the home of the Footlights. | formed = {{Start date and age|1883}} | disbanded = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | genre = [[Theatre|Amateur theatrical club]] | location = [[Cambridge University]], [[Cambridge]], [[England]] | members = | ArtisticDirector = | notable = | homepage = <!-- {{URL|example.org}} --> }} '''Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club''', commonly referred to simply as the '''Footlights''', is an amateur theatrical club in [[Cambridge]], [[England]], founded in 1883<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://footlights.org/history |title=Footlights history |publisher=Footlights.org |accessdate=16 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922122310/http://footlights.org/history |archivedate=22 September 2013 }}</ref> and run by the students of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]. ==History== Footlights' inaugural performance took place in June 1883. For some months before the name "Footlights" was chosen, the group had performed to local audiences in the [[Cambridge]] area (once, with a cricket match included, at the "pauper lunatic asylum"). They wished to go wider than the [[Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club|University Amateur Dramatic Club]] (ADC), founded in 1855, with its membership drawn largely from [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]], and its theatre seating only 100. They were to perform every May Week at the Theatre Royal, the shows soon open to the public. A local paper commended the Club's appeal to the "general public, the many different classes of which life in Cambridge is made up".<ref name="history"/> The club grew in prominence in the 1960s as a hotbed of comedy and satire, and established a permanent home in the basement of the [[Cambridge Union]].<ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/the-cambridge-footlights-first-steps-in-comedy-1517691.html</ref> Having established a tradition of performing at the annual [[Edinburgh Fringe Festival]], the club entered the mainstream when its members formed half of ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'', the hugely popular stage revue which toured Britain and America in 1960. The 1963 revue then followed in the footsteps of ''Beyond the Fringe'', appearing in Edinburgh and London's West End, before travelling to [[New Zealand]] and the United States, where it made appearances on Broadway and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' and received a full-page review in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. The first woman to be given full membership was [[Germaine Greer]]. She joined in October 1964 on the same day as [[Clive James]] and [[Russell Davies]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nnnlc "Pete & Clive"], BBC Radio 4, 9 November 2015, from 00:06:43.</ref> There had been women before that time who had been allowed to join in, including [[Eleanor Bron]] in the late 1950s, but Greer was the first to be billed as a full member.<ref name=Wallace1999p123>{{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Christine |author-link=Christine Wallace |title=Germaine Greer: Untamed Shrew |publisher=Faber and Faber|location=London|year=1999|pages=123–124|ref=harv}}</ref> Apparently [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] was instrumental in having women admitted.<ref>Boston, Richard (3 June 1983). [https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/jun/03/cambridge-footlights-comedy-university "From the archive, 3 June 1983: Cambridge Footlights celebrate 100 years of comedy"], ''The Guardian''.</ref> She was part of the Footlights' 1965 revue ''My Girl Herbert''.<ref name=Wallace1999p123/> Over the next decade, Footlights members came to dominate British comedy, creating and starring in shows such as ''[[Not Only... But Also]]'', ''[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again]]'', ''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]'' and ''[[That Was the Week That Was]]'', forming comedy groups such as [[Monty Python]], and [[The Goodies]], and generally fuelling the [[satire boom]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hewison|first=Robert|title=Footlights! – A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy|year=1983|others=Foreword by [[Eric Idle]]|publisher=Methuen London Ltd.|isbn= 978-0-413-51150-8}}</ref><ref>''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' – 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980' – Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980.</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=The Broadway League |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3216 |title=Cambridge Circus |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |accessdate=16 September 2013}}</ref> During the 1980s, Footlights reinforced its position at the heart of British comedy. The 1981 revue, featuring [[Emma Thompson]], [[Hugh Laurie]], [[Stephen Fry]], [[Tony Slattery]], [[Penny Dwyer]] and Paul Shearer,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/150828.stm#1981Cambridgefootlights|title=Talents who sparkled in comedy's Hall of Fame|work=BBC News |date=24 August 1998 |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> won the inaugural [[Edinburgh Comedy Awards|Perrier Award]] at the [[Edinburgh Fringe Festival]] and spawned [[Fry and Laurie]], the first in a long line of popular and successful [[double act]]s formed at the club including [[Armstrong and Miller]] and [[Mitchell and Webb]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11927226|title=Why Footlights is a breeding ground for double acts|work=BBC News |date=6 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The South Bank Show: The Cambridge Footlights|url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news//dp/2009012904|publisher=University of Cambridge|date=30 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Cambridge Footlights: First steps into comedy|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/the-cambridge-footlights-first-steps-in-comedy-1517691.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=28 January 2009}}</ref> Their revue, [[The Cellar Tapes]],<ref>A 1982 televised version of the "Cellar Tapes" revue show, originally performed in 1981 - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FA9qaHKod0 Part 1/5], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XzZBPcTxlA Part 2/5], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmS1Q4QX1gc Part 3/5], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DeXDOuQUL0 Part 4/5], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEjA14Svn5s Part 5/5] - retrieved 17.3.2018</ref> at St Mary Street Hall was billed as "the annual revue: one of the strongest casts for several years, has already toured in southern England with great success."<ref name=Venables170722/> Many of its former members have gone on to win [[Academy Awards|Oscars]], [[BAFTA]]s and other awards and enjoy success in the entertainment and media industry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Emma Thompson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/70692/Emma-Thompson/biography|publisher=[[All Media Guide]] / [[Rovi]] via [[The New York Times]]|accessdate=12 October 2013}}</ref> Today, Footlights is recognised as a finishing school for many of Britain's best-known comic entertainers who have taken the ultimate shortcut to a career in comedy by dining out on the success of previous alumni and using their privilege to open doors for them. ==Activities== During term, Footlights produce the regular "[[Smoking concert|Smokers]]"—an informal mixture of [[Sketch comedy|sketches]] and stand-up—at the [[ADC Theatre]]. The club also produces the annual Pantomime (in collaboration with CUADC) and the Spring Revue, as well as staging the winning entry of the Footlights Harry Porter Prize; a competition in which any student at the university may enter a one-hour comic play. The Footlights International Tour Show takes place from June until October, and travels to Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and venues across the USA. For information about individual Footlights revues, see [[Cambridge Footlights Revue]]. ==Former members== {{main|List of former Footlights members}} This is a list of former members of Footlights who achieved notability after graduating from [[The University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]. ==Presidents== The elected leader of Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club is known as the president, who is assisted by a vice-president, treasurer, archivist and several other posts to form the committee. Notable past presidents have included the following: * [[Peter Cook]] (of ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'', ''[[Pete and Dud]]'' and ''[[Not Only... But Also]]'') * [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] (of ''[[The Goodies]]'', ''[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again]]'' and ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'') * [[Graeme Garden]] (of ''The Goodies'', ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' and ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'') * [[Eric Idle]] (of [[Monty Python]]) * [[Clive James]] (Author of [[Cultural Amnesia (book)|''Cultural Amnesia'']] and ''Unreliable Memoirs'') * [[Clive Anderson]] (of ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'') * [[Jan Ravens]] (of ''[[Dead Ringers (comedy)|Dead Ringers]]''), the first woman president * [[Hugh Laurie]] (of ''[[Fry and Laurie]]'', ''[[Jeeves and Wooster]]'' and ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'') * [[Tony Slattery]] (of ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'') * [[Sue Perkins]] (of ''[[The Great British Bake Off]]'' and ''[[Mel and Sue]]'') * [[David Mitchell (comedian)|David Mitchell]] (of ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'' and ''[[Peep Show (TV series)|Peep Show]]'') * [[Robert Thorogood]] (creator of [[BBC1]]'s ''[[Death in Paradise (TV series)|Death in Paradise]]'') * [[Richard Ayoade]] (of ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]'' and ''[[The IT Crowd]]'') * [[Simon Bird]] (of ''[[The Inbetweeners]]'' and ''[[Friday Night Dinner]]'') ===List of presidents=== {| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%;" |- valign=top | style="width:25%;"| * 1886 – F. W. Mortimer * 1887 – J. J. Withers * 1890 – [[Oscar Browning]] * 1891 – C. M. Rae * 1892 – [[Oscar Browning]] * 1894 – [[Oscar Browning]] * 1895 – [[Oscar Browning]] * 1896 – H. C. Pollitt * 1897 – H. C. Pollitt * 1898 – M. V. Leveaux * 1899 – S. W. Burgess * 1900 – O. J. Goedecker * 1901 – R. J. White * 1902 – E. K. Fordham * 1904 – G. S. Heathcote * 1905 – G.S. Heathcote * 1906 – H. Rottenburg * 1907 – H. Rottenburg * 1908 – J. S. Murray * 1909 – L. B. Tillard * 1910 – A. R. Inglis * 1911 – A. R. Inglis * 1912 – P. D. Ravenscroft * 1913 – C. A. A. Douglas Hamilton * 1914 – M. Cutherston * 1919 – B. D. Nicholson * 1920 – B. D. Nicholson * 1921 – [[Dar Lyon|M. D. Lyon]] * 1922 – [[Dar Lyon|M. D. Lyon]] | style="width:25%;"| * 1923 – F. E. Powell * 1924 – J. A. C. Barradale * 1925 – H. J. Warrender * 1926 – J. D. Houison Craufurd * 1927 – H. C. Martineau * 1928 – H. E. R. Mitchell * 1929 – J. Fell Clark * 1930 – J. C. Byrom * 1931 – R. S. Hill * 1932 – P. E. Lyon * 1933 – J. A. Coates * 1934 – [[Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin|Lord Killanin]] * 1935 – Harry Lee * 1936 – Peter Crane * 1937 – Albert E. P. Robison * 1938 – P. B. Meyer * 1939 – Sir Robert Ricketts * 1947 – D. C. Orders * 1948 – D. C. Orders * 1949 – [[Simon Phipps (bishop)|Simon Phipps]] * 1950 – Adrian Vale * 1951 – Ian Kellie * 1952 – Andrew Davidson * 1953 – Peter Firth * 1954 – [[Leslie Bricusse]] * 1955 – Brian Marber * 1956 – Tim Berington * 1957 – Allan Mitchell * 1958 – Peter Stroud * 1959 – [[Adrian Slade]] | style="width:25%;"| * 1960 – [[Peter Cook]] * 1961 – Peter Bellwood * 1962 – Robert Atkins * 1963 – [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] * 1964 – [[Graeme Garden]] * 1965 – [[Eric Idle]] * 1966 – Andrew Mayer * 1967 – [[Clive James]] * 1968 – [[Jonathan James-Moore]] * 1969 – Barry Brown * 1970 – Adrian Edwards * 1971 – Richard MacKenna * 1972 – Steve Thorn * 1973 – Robert Benton * 1974 – [[Jon Canter]] * 1975 – [[Clive Anderson]] * 1976 – Chris Keightley * 1977 – [[Jimmy Mulville]] * 1978 – [[Martin Bergman]] * 1979 – [[Robert Bathurst]] * 1980 – [[Jan Ravens]] * 1981 – [[Hugh Laurie]] * 1982 – [[Tony Slattery]] * 1983 – [[Neil Mullarkey]] * 1984 – [[Nick Hancock]] * 1985 – Kathryn Crew * 1986 – Nick Golson * 1987 – Tim Scott * 1988 – [[Peter Bradshaw]] * 1989 – Roland Kenyon | style="width:33%;"| * 1990 – [[Henry Naylor]] * 1991 – [[Sue Perkins]] * 1992 – Dan Gaster * 1993 – [[Mark Evans (comedian/writer)|Mark Evans]] * 1994 – [[Robert Thorogood]] * 1995 – Charlie Hartill * 1996 – [[David Mitchell (comedian)|David Mitchell]] * 1997 – Sarah Moule * 1998 – [[Richard Ayoade]] * 1999 – Kevin Baker * 2000 – [[Matt Green (actor)|Matt Green]] * 2001 – James Morris * 2002 – [[Ed Weeks]] * 2003 – [[Stefan Golaszewski]] * 2004 – Ed Riches * 2005 – Raph Shirley * 2006 – [[Simon Bird]] * 2007 – [[Will Sharpe]] * 2008 – Sam Sword * 2009 – Alastair Roberts * 2010 – Abi Tedder * 2011 – [[The Pin (comedy act)|Mark Fiddaman]] * 2012 – [[Phil Wang (comedian)|Phil Wang]] * 2013 – Harry Michell * 2014 – Ben Pope * 2015 – Thomas Roper Fraser * 2016 – Oliver Taylor * 2017 – Dillon Mapletoft * 2018 – Ruby Keane * 2019 – No president; committee-led * 2020 – Jade Franks |} ==See also== * [[Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society]] * [[The Oxford Revue]] ==References== {{reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=Venables170722>{{cite magazine |last=Venables |first=Ben |magazine=[[Fest Magazine|Fest]] |title=The Edinburgh Fringe, or The Great Big Comedy Takeover |url=https://www.festmag.co.uk/comedy/103800-the-edinburgh-fringe-the-great-big-comedy-takeover |date=22 July 2017 |access-date=13 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034403/https://www.festmag.co.uk/comedy/103800-the-edinburgh-fringe-the-great-big-comedy-takeover |archive-date=14 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> }} ==External links== * [http://www.cambridgefootlights.org/ Official website] * [http://www.footlightsontour.co.uk/ Official International Tour website] * [http://www.cambridgefootlights.org/#!history/p1sp8/ Past members and shows] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930124945/http://www.footlightsalumni.org/ Footlights Alumni Association] * [http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av68930 The Cambridge Footlights Review, 1982] {{University of Cambridge}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1883 establishments in England]] [[Category:Amateur theatre companies in England]] [[Category:Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge]] [[Category:Culture of the University of Cambridge]] [[Category:Lists of people associated with the University of Cambridge]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1883]] [[Category:Student theatre in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Student comedy troupes]] [[Category:Theatre in Cambridge]]'