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British comedy
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{{Short description|none}} {{multiple issues| {{more citations needed|date=July 2023}} {{essay-like|date=July 2023}} {{original research|date=July 2023}} }} In [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|film]], [[Television in the United Kingdom|television]], and [[Radio in the United Kingdom|radio]], British comedy has produced some of the most renowned characters in the world. In it, [[satire]] is one of the features of British comedy. [[Radio comedy]] in Britain has been almost exclusively hosted on the [[BBC]]. ==History== {{Quote box | width = 28% | align = right | quote = "[Pulcinella] went down particularly well with [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration British]] audiences, fun-starved after years of [[Puritanism]]. We soon changed Punch's name, transformed him from a marionette to a hand puppet, and he became, really, a spirit of Britain - a subversive maverick who defies authority, a kind of puppet equivalent to our political cartoons." | source = β[[Punch and Judy]] showman Glyn Edwards<ref name="British seaside">{{cite news|title=Punch and Judy around the world|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/7949781/Punch-and-Judy-around-the-world.html|agency=The Telegraph|date=11 June 2015}}</ref> }} British [[comedy]] history is measured in centuries. [[Shakespeare]] incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies, such as in his play ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]''. [[Punch and Judy]] made their first recorded appearance in Britain in 1662, when Samuel Pepys noted a "pretty" puppet play being performed in [[Covent Garden|Covent Garden, London]].<ref name="British seaside"/> The various episodes of Punch and Judy are dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr Punch celebrates 350 years of puppet anarchy|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17895716|agency=BBC|date=11 June 2015}}</ref> [[Satire]] has been a major feature of comedy in the [[British Isles]] for centuries. The pictorial satire of [[William Hogarth]] was a precursor to the development of [[political cartoons]] in 18th-century Britain<ref name="Press">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fwzWAAAAMAAJ|title=The Political Cartoon|first=Charles|last=Press|year=1981|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|page=34|isbn=9780838619018}}</ref> The medium developed under the direction of [[James Gillray]] from London, who has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |date=18 June 2015 |title=Satire, sewers and statesmen: why James Gillray was king of the cartoon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/21/satire-sewers-and-statesmen-james-gillray-king-of-cartoon |agency=The Guardian}}</ref> In early 19th-century Britain, [[pantomime]] acquired its present form, which includes [[slapstick]] comedy and featured the first mainstream clown, [[Joseph Grimaldi]], while comedy routines also featured heavily in British [[music hall]] theatre which became popular in the 1850s.<ref>David Christopher (2002). "British Culture: An Introduction". p. 74. Routledge,</ref><ref>Jeffrey Richards (2014). "The Golden Age of Pantomime: Slapstick, Spectacle and Subversion in Victorian England". I.B.Tauris,</ref> British comedians who honed their skills at pantomime and music hall sketches include [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Stan Laurel]], [[George Formby]], and [[Dan Leno]].<ref name="Karno"/><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/enjoy_cumbria/famous_people/stan_laurel.shtml "Enjoy Cumbria β Stan Laurel"]. BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2015</ref> The music hall comedian and theatre impresario [[Fred Karno]] developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue in the 1890s, and Chaplin and Laurel were among the young comedians who worked for him as part of "Fred Karno's Army".<ref name="Karno">McCabe, John. "Comedy World of Stan Laurel". p. 143. London: Robson Books, 2005, First edition 1975</ref> ==Theatre== {{See|Harold Pinter Theatre}} ==Film comedy== {{See|British comedy films}} ==Radio== Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively the preserve of the [[BBC]]. In the 1940s and 1950s, [[Variety show|variety]] dominated the schedules, and popular series included ''[[ITMA|It's That Man Again]]'' and ''[[Much Binding in the Marsh]]''. In the 1950s, the BBC was running ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' starring [[Tony Hancock]]. ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was later transferred to television. One of the notable radio shows was the [[double entendre]]-laden ''[[Round the Horne]]'' (1965β1968), a sequel to the earlier series ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'', which ran from 1959 to 1964. Later radio shows made use of the panel game format, including the long-running ''[[Just a Minute]]'' (1967β), ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'' (1972β), and ''[[The News Quiz]]'' (1977β), which often broadcast a dozen of so episodes a year. ==Television== Following the success of ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' and ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'', [[sitcom|sitcoms]] became a part of some television schedules. The [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] has generally been dominant in [[television comedy]], but the commercial stations have also had some successes. Other formats have also been popular, such as with [[Sketch comedy|sketch shows]], [[stand-up comedy]], [[impressionist (entertainment)|impressionists]], and [[Puppetry|puppet shows]]. Notable [[satirical]] comedies are the 1960s series ''[[That Was The Week That Was]]'', the 1980s series ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', and [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s puppet show ''[[Spitting Image]]''. The show of the 1980s and early 1990s, ''[[Spitting Image]]'', was a satire of politics, entertainment, sport, and [[British culture]] of the era, and at its peak, it was watched by 15 million people.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/arts/pictures/0,,1444231,00.html?redirection=gallery "Spitting Image"]. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2015</ref> British satire has also gone over into [[List of U.K. game shows|quiz shows]]; popular examples include the news quiz ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', ''[[8 out of 10 cats]]'', and ''[[Shooting Stars (British TV series)|Shooting Stars]]''. In the 1980s, [[alternative comedy]] was spearheaded by [[Ben Elton]] and [[The Comic Strip]] group, which included [[Alexei Sayle]], [[Rik Mayall]], and [[French and Saunders]]. The 1990s and 2000s also have those that have used [[editing]], [[surreal humour]], and cultural references to great effect. ==See also== * [[British Comedy Guide]] * [[List of British comedians]] * [[British Comedy Awards]] * [[British humour]] * [[British sitcom]] * [[List of U.K. game shows]] * [[List of BBC sitcoms]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *{{citation |last=Quirk |first=Sophie |year=2018 |title=The Politics of British Stand-up Comedy: The New Alternative |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-030-01104-8}} {{refend}} {{Comedy footer}} [[Category:British comedy| ]] [[Category:British humour]] [[Category:Culture of the United Kingdom]]
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