Review: Bute Revue 2014

Laughing our tailends off at the Bute Revue.


Is laughter the best medicine? Probably not, if you’re partial to a few paracetamol following an animated night out at the Lizard. However, the annual Bute Medical Society’s comedy show certainly made a convincing argument. Held at the building site (alternatively known as Venue 1) the night featured a well-organised flurry of risqué student-led comedy acts, which effortlessly kept the audience chuckling.

The head of the revue, Jenny Lindsay, spoke of the high level of work and commitment involved. Brainstorming began in early September and the script writing process was continually perfected throughout the year. Medical school staff (or those impersonating them) were also heavily involved and took part in many of the sketches. If Bute Ball was the place to ceilidh with a lecturer, the Bute Revue was the place to laugh profusely alongside them.

Pre-recorded sketches were interwoven with live on-stage acts. The opening sequence featured a highly amusing, and completely kitsch, take on The Lion King’s ‘Circle of Life’, featuring the relatable lyrics “The Circle of Fife / screws us all”… The Disney theme concluded with a rather quirky interpretive dance-cum-cover of ‘He lives in you’, with lyrics modified to include α-methyldopa… Not quite sure how they did that either, but it was rather catchy.

Highlights of the night included parodies of Game of Thrones, Forest Gump, and Mean Girls (which featured a particularly sassy cast and male lead) The audience, regardless of their field of study, cringed regularly upon hearing how many Gray’s Anatomy related sexual innuendoes could be crammed into five minutes. Personal favourites included the classic; “You’re like the library copy of Gray’s, you’ve been passed around all the medics” and “Is that an inguinal hernia, or are you just happy to see me?” Classic.

Raising over £1200, The 2014 Bute Revue was certainly a fundraising success and built upon the societies’ commitment to supporting, the charities, Chimwemwe and the Maddy Steel Charitable Trust. The entire night was well-coordinated and the effort of those involved was truly evident since the show went without a hitch. Hopefully proving that if laughter isn’t the best medicine, per se, it’s certainly a great method of raising money for charity.