Big Bad Mouse

Big Bad Mouse
Original 1967 London programme cover
Written by	Phillip King and Falkland L. Carey
Characters	Mr Price-Hargreaves (boss) Mr Bloome (assistant) Miss Spencer (secretary) Lady Chesapeake (company owner) + minor supporting cast of police detective, female victim and another secretary
Date premiered	1964
Original language	English
Genre	Farce
Setting	The offices of Chunkibix Ltd

Big Bad Mouse is a frequently revived 1960s British stage play and theatrical comedic farce that, although not specifically written for them, became famous as a loose vehicle for the many talents of the British comedy actors Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes and has constantly seen various revivals with other stars right up to 2008.

Written jointly by Phillip King and Falkland Cary, from 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.

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 female 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.