Photograph: Everett Collection/AlamyĬhange was clearly afoot. “‘We’re not The Office,’ Iannucci tells Partridge fans”, ran one Guardian headline on a story that saw him explain that Partridge was “in the tradition of an old-fashioned sitcom”. Soon after, that show’s co-creator Armando Iannucci found himself forced to defend it from fans unhappy about its raucous laughter track, which they claimed obscured jokes and steamrollered all subtlety.
FUNNY SCENES FROM THE OFFICE SCRIPT SERIES
The Office’s second series aired just before the return of the similarly well-loved I’m Alan Partridge. The Royle Family – which had fought off executives’ demands for a studio audience a few years prior – paved the way, but it was Gervais and co’s agonising onslaught of dead air that seemed to really turn the tide. And its most tangible legacy is similarly radical: it killed off the laughter track.
“We thought: ‘Oh, we could do something like this.’”įrom its DIY attitude to its rejection of comedy’s prevailing winds, The Office did resemble punk – albeit in a very grey, Slough-centric, BBC-abetted way.
“Ricky being someone that wasn’t trained and having this more punk attitude, that was an inspiration for us,” says Allan Mustafa, who plays MC Grindah in People Just Do Nothing. It was a good starting point from which to upend conventions, the first one being who was allowed to make sitcoms in the first place. “I was very inexperienced, Stephen and Ricky had never written anything before, so at the centre of the show were three people who, in terms of track record, had no right to be there.” We regret that we are unable to provide specific scene suggestions, as our time and staff are limited, and we feel that it's always best for you to read through our selections and find the piece that best fits you.“We didn’t even really know the rules we were rebelling against,” says Ash Atalla, the show’s producer, who has since brought to life a raft of brilliant post-Office sitcoms, from People Just Do Nothing (a mockumentary about a crew of deeply misguided performers) to Stath Lets Flats (a lo-fi cringe-comedy revolving around a needy, socially inept man at work). This allows them to create more great plays! Students, please tell your teachers or directors about YouthPLAYS! Teachers and directors, please consider our plays for production! Remember, our authors make their income from the licensing of their work for production and the payment of royalties. We promise not to email you too often, and never to share your email.ĥ. By using one of our scenes, you grant us permission to add you to the YouthPLAYS email list. If you'd like to read the entire play from which the scene comes, click on the order link on each scene's page to purchase a perusal copy!Ĥ. Please make sure that you whitelist emails from the domain, or our email may get stuck in your spam filter!ģ. Once you find a scene (or scenes) that suits your needs, fill out the Request a Scene form.Ģ. We will do our best to confirm permission within 2 business days, but give yourself time to hear back. To use them in other public showcase/performance situations, please note that on your application (expect to purchase a copy of the script for each participant, and potentially pay a small royalty per performance).ġ. To use them in Thespian adjudicated Individual Events and similar competitions/festivals, purchase one copy (digital or printed) for each participant of the play from which they come. If necessary, print this paragraph as proof of permission to perform.
FUNNY SCENES FROM THE OFFICE SCRIPT FREE
These scenes are free for classroom and audition use. Look for more scenes to be added regularly! Welcome to the YouthPLAYS scenes page! All of these scenes are taken from our published plays and can be sorted by cast size and then genre.