In film, television, and 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 BBC.
History
"[Pulcinella] went down particularly well with 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."
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, 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 the British Isles for centuries. The pictorial satire of William Hogarth was a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th-century England.[3] The medium developed under the direction of James Gillray from London, who has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.[4]
In early 19th-century England, 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.[5][6] British comedians who honed their skills at pantomime and music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, George Formby, and Dan Leno.[7][8] The English 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".[7]
Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively the preserve of the BBC. In the 1940s and 1950s, variety dominated the schedules, and popular series included 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.
Later radio shows made use of the panel game format, including the long-running Just a Minute (1967–), I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–), and The News Quiz (1977–), which often broadcast a dozen of so episodes a year.
