A National Joke

Popular comedy and English cultural identities

Andy Medhurst

First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business 2007 Andy Medhurst All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Medhurst, Andy. A national joke: popular comedy and English cultural identities/Andy Medhurst. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Comedy lmsGreat BritainHistory and criticism. 2. Television comediesGreat BritainHistory and criticism. 3. English wit and humorHistory and criticism. 4. National characteristics, English. I. Title. PN1995.9.C55M44 2007 791.43 6170941dc22 2007011485

ISBN 0-203-02256-4 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 10: 0-415-16877-5 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0-415-16878-3 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-16877-9 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-16878-6 (pbk)

Contents

List of gures Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 Concerning comedy 3 Notions of nation 4 Englishnesses 5 Music hall: Contours and legacies 6 Our gracious queens: English comedys effeminate tradition 7 Lads in love: Gender and togetherness in the male double act 8 Thirty nibbles at the same cherry: Why the Carry Ons carry on 9 Bermuda my arse: Class, culture and The Royle Family 10 Anatomising England: Alan Bennett, Mike Leigh, Victoria Wood

ix x 1 9 26 39 63

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Contents

11 Togetherness through offensiveness: The importance of Roy Chubby Brown 12 Conclusion: A national sense of humour? Bibliography Index

187 204 210 226