If you ask any German, “The Same Procedure as Last Year?” chances are he will shoot back, “The Same Procedure as Every Year, James.” The reason is that half of all Germans have watched the 18-minute black-and-white British comedy, Dinner for One before. Even if they don’t speak any English, they probably have watched the skit in English (no subtitles or dubbing) once a year for years because it is a beloved German New Year’s Eve tradition. While Americans watch the clock wind down and break into Auld Lang Syne to ring in the New Year, Germans turn on the TV and watch Dinner for One.
History of Dinner for One
The Englishman, Lauri Wylie, wrote the comedy for theatre in the 1920s. Forty years later, in 1962, British actors Freddie Frinton and May Warden performed the farce in Blackpool, England. Frinton played the butler and Warden the elderly aristocrat. German entertainer, Peter Frankenfeld, hired the pair on the spot for a live performance on his show at the Theater am Besenbinderhof in Hamburg, Germany. The following year, the German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk recorded Frinton and Warden in a single take. They felt that the pair’s performance transcended all language barriers, not requiring translation. The network simply had a narrator give a brief introduction in German to set the scene. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the skit became the most frequently aired television program ever.
Story line
Miss Sophie celebrates her 90th birthday by hosting a dinner party for her friends Sir Toby, Admiral von Schneider, Mr. Pommeroy and Mr. Winterbottom. Unfortunately her guests have died years ago. But the dinner party must go on and follow the same procedure as every year. James, the butler, now has to take the places of Miss Sophie’s four long-dead friends. He not only has to serve the appropriate drinks along with each course, but he also has to impersonate each guest and empty that guest’s glass. With four dinner guests and four courses he has to down sixteen drinks. Slowly, James’ refined demeanor begins to slip. He looses his coordination and slurs his speech while Miss Sophie remains oblivious. With each course James asks,
“The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?” and Miss Sophie always replies,
“The same procedure as every year, James!”
New Year’s Eve Tradition
Although Dinner for One has been a standing New Year’s Eve tradition in Germany since 1972, it is virtually unknown in most English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada and even Great Britain. Instead the performance is aired in many European countries, Australia and South Africa. If you haven’t seen this comedy, you have missed a gem. I watch Dinner for One once a year and never fail to find it hilarious. Click here to see Freddie Frinton and May Warden in action: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1v4BYV-YvA.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
