SNL UK has been trending in Nigerian media and film after recreating the beloved musical ‘Wicked’ for the Y2K Nollywood film scene.
The “Wicked: LGBTQ” skit, spearheaded by Cynthia Erivo and Ayoade Bamgboye, led us down a rabbit hole of other great SNL UK skits, and in this article, we share some of our favourites.
- The Nollywood Wicked Recreation
The SNL UK musical parody of Wicked, set in Nigeria, features Glinda (Cynthia Erivo) and Elphaba, a wizard, played by Ayoade Bamgboye.
The plot follows witches-in-training (Glinda) and Elphaba as they travel to the “emerald, white, and emerald city” to see the Wizard, whom they believe is a wealthy sugar daddy. Instead of asking for the expected magical powers, Glinda asks for a Birkin bag, while Elphaba begs the Wizard for a “skinny BBL that defies gravity.”
The skit is a lighthearted comedy that captures the beloved aspects of Nollywood in its Y2K era. It tugs at nostalgia while using modern elements to paint a picture.
- The British Pork Advert
This SNL UK skit is a bizarre, nostalgic, eclectic, and insane comedic recreation of a real-life mid-1980s British pork commercial, featuring Aimee Lou Wood and George Fouracres.
- The Attenborough Dinner Party
This skit is considered one of the most iconic in SNL UK history. In this viral premiere cold open, George Fouracres’s version of David Attenborough makes use of ‘Jurassic Park’ technology to resurrect historic figures like Princess Diana, played by Jack Shep, and Agatha Christie, played by Tina Fey, for a glamorous dinner party that immediately derails over appetisers math.
- The Great Big Crab Man/Racial Bias Parody
This episode of SNL sharply skewers the hit reality show The Traitors, blending frantic roundtable accusations with surreal crustacean elements and spot-on Claudia Winkleman/guest-star impressions (featuring Riz Ahmed). While it was an important conversation, the skit’s satire made it one of the show’s most iconic and unhinged sketches.
- Mastermind
This Jack Whitehall episode of SNL UK is a hall-of-fame episode. The episode follows a spin on the classic UK game show Mastermind. A contestant’s chosen specialised subject is “Things my mum has told me about people I’ve never met and have no connection to.” The skit aimed to capture the highly specific, sarcastic, and trivial nature of British gossip, and it hit the mark.
