大象传媒

There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.

In this last but one programme Ian moves to the 17th century when printing and changes in censorship laws ushered in a new and energetic form of comedy, the satirical cartoon. Ian is more than familiar with the giants of the so-called Golden age of Cartoon satirists, starting with William Hogarth and maturing into the 18th and 19th century with James Gilray. But with Dr Meredith Hale as guide, Ian is in the British Museum to see the work of Romayne de Hoeghe, a Dutch cartoonist whose fantastically detailed satires on the court of James II, specially commissioned to serve his master William of Orange, as he manoeuvred for position in preparation for what would become the Glorious Revolution and William and Mary's ascent to the throne. De Hoeghe was never a big name in Britain, but through the print shops and print makers of London, art historians are confident that his work had an impact on the later images and tone of Hogarth. Ian gets to see the very best copies of the work of both men side by side.

Producer: Tom Alban