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Infilm,television,theatre, andradio, British comedy has produced some of the most renowned characters in the world. In it,satire is one of the features ofBritish humour.Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively hosted on theBBC.
"[Pulcinella] went down particularly well withRestoration British audiences, fun-starved after years ofPuritanism. 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."
Britishcomedy history is measured in centuries.Shakespeare incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies, such as in his playThe 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 inCovent Garden, London.[1] The various episodes of Punch and Judy are dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch.[2]
Satire has been a major feature of comedy in theBritish Isles for centuries. The pictorial satire ofWilliam Hogarth was a precursor to the development ofpolitical cartoons in 18th-century Britain[3] The medium developed under the direction ofJames Gillray from London, who has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.[4]
In early 19th-century Britain,pantomime acquired its present form, which includesslapstick comedy and featured the first mainstream clown,Joseph Grimaldi, while comedy routines also featured heavily in Britishmusic hall theatre which became popular in the 1850s.[5][6] British comedians who honed their skills at pantomime and music hall sketches includeCharlie Chaplin,Stan Laurel,George Formby, andDan Leno.[7][8] The music hall comedian and theatre impresarioFred 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".[7]
Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively the preserve of theBBC. In the 1940s and 1950s,variety dominated the schedules, and popular series includedIt's That Man Again andMuch Binding in the Marsh. In the 1950s, the BBC was runningHancock's Half Hour starringTony Hancock.Hancock's Half Hour was later transferred to television.
One of the notable radio shows was thedouble entendre-ladenRound the Horne (1965–1968), a sequel to the earlier seriesBeyond Our Ken, which ran from 1959 to 1964.
Later radio shows made use of the panel game format, including the long-runningJust a Minute (1967–),I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–), andThe News Quiz (1977–), which often broadcast a dozen of so episodes a year.
Following the success ofHancock's Half Hour andSteptoe and Son,sitcoms became a part of some television schedules. TheBBC has generally been dominant intelevision comedy, but the commercial stations have also had some successes. Other formats have also been popular, such as withsketch shows,stand-up comedy,impressionists, andpuppet shows.
Notablesatirical comedies are the 1960s seriesThat Was The Week That Was, the 1980s seriesNot the Nine O'Clock News, andITV's puppet showSpitting Image. The show of the 1980s and early 1990s,Spitting Image, was a satire of politics, entertainment, sport, andBritish culture of the era, and at its peak, it was watched by 15 million people.[9] British satire has also gone over intoquiz shows; popular examples include the news quizHave I Got News for You,8 out of 10 cats, andShooting Stars.
In the 1980s,alternative comedy was spearheaded byBen Elton andThe Comic Strip group, which includedAlexei Sayle,Rik Mayall, andFrench and Saunders. The 1990s and 2000s also have those that have usedediting,surreal humour, and cultural references to great effect.
