In the land of Britain, where the fog rolls in and the tea flows free, a rich tradition of comedy has been brewing for centuries. From the Middle-Ages when jesters and minstrels entertained in the streets to the present day, British comedy has evolved, adapted, and innovated, but that is now changing.

Shakespeare, the great bard himself, laid the foundation for British comedy with his witty plays, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. His clever use of language, puns, and slapstick humor paved the way for generations of comedians to come.

If you've ever scrolled through the comments of a funny video on YouTube, you've probably come across comments like this: "British humor is truly unparalleled" or "Nobody does humor like the British" and "I wish American comedy was that good" and so on.

Undoubtedly, it is true that British humour is rich in both observation and expression and from Monty Python to The Office, there's no denying it has influenced comedians and writers throughout the world. But why is our brand of humour so universally popular? Let's touch briefly on the history of British comedy.


British comedy didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere. In fact, British humor can be traced back to the Middle-Ages, when clowns and minstrels performed on the streets for money. Yet if we look at live theater, British comedy really took shape during Shakespeare's time. Good old Will was more than just a tragedy. His comedies are full of puns, slapstick, and witty jokes that still make us laugh today and it’s still possible to use the same blank verse type of Shakespeare’s writings to add humour in a contemporary era.
 
Shall we, as Englishmen must, across this blog travel as news and truth together thrive;
Yet not to spake of evil or bad fortune, not to give salutation to my Birth right blood;
Do thy office Muse, for none other shalt teach thee how;
Best is but best, for none other than the Satirical Squirrel.


As the 18th and 19th centuries approached, comedy became a staple of British theater with famous playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw with Pygmalion, or Oscar Wilde producing works such as The Importance of Being Earnest. Consider the passage from Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

"It just seems heartless to me how you can sit there and calmly eat a muffin when we're in such a terrible situation."

Although written in 1895, lines like this could easily fit into modern comedy sitcoms, stand-up comedy, or the recently released US film review of BS Godfather and the amazing adventures of Rupert the Covid Bear, using the same play on words.


We can't talk about the history of British comedy without mentioning the music hall era. Variety shows were popular in Victorian England. The music hall era peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and featured a combination of comedy skits, singing, specialized acts such as juggling, animal acts, and even drag artists. Prominent examples of music hall stars include comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Both men trained in music halls before becoming international film stars.


Satire and mockery have always been powerful tools for comedians and the British wasted no time in using mockery and political comedy to comment on political and social issues of the day. In the 1960s, the TV show That Was the Week That Was aired, in which comedians made fun of politicians and the general establishment. This was later followed by shows such as the three-season political comedy Yes, Minister with Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Meanwhile, the 1980s saw the premiere of the iconic TV series Spitting Image, which ran for more than a decade until 1996, just before the election of Labor and Tony Blair. The show was then revived in 2020 to tackle post-Brexit absurdities and ran only until December 2021 unable to adapt using the original formula in an age of political correctness.  


Fast forward to the mid-to-late 20th century, and the invention of television changed the face of British comedy. In the 1950s and into the 60s, sitcoms such as The Situation's comedy Hancock's Half Hour and the family sitcom Steptoe and Son were notable for their credibility and for British television at the time. It gained popularity due to its clear contrast with the post-war dark side.

Moving on, the 1970s saw the release of the now iconic film Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ultimately redefined and changed the face of comedy. These shows were followed by classics from the 1980’s and 1990’s such as Blackadder, Fawlty Towers and Mr. Bean, each of which combined situational comedy using the absurd.

In the early 2000s The Office with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant aired to near-universal acclaim. The comedy, set in the Berkshires' commercial district, reflected the boring, ultra-bureaucratic office culture of the time, and was well-received by audiences around the world. As of 2023, The Office is the most adapted TV show of all time, with 13 different reruns around the world, whilst its US equivalent of Friends and use of canned laughter has largely faded into obscurity. The difference being that The Office catered to a universal audience while Friends was designed to cater for the US.  


Let's return to the present. British comedy remains popular, influential and increasingly diverse, but only to those brought up in an era of political correctness. With bland throwaway series like Peep Show, This Country, and The Inbetweeners, British comic writers are afraid to challenge the political norm which is what made earlier comedy great. Gone are the Bernard Manning’s and Benny Hill’s, replaced by politically correct comedians such as Sarah Millican and Russell Howard and their efforts to inject humour into politically approved subjects to avoid accusations of offending minorities, racism, or breaking hate speech laws. Comedy was always about offending someone (blacks, immigrants, gays, women, mother in law’s …), but not to be taken seriously.  

Online, the British Private Eye and American The Onion are shadows of their former selves and arguably because they have had to conform to the same politically correct laws. Equally, the content of both NewsThump and NewsBiscuit once both very popular comedy websites, are now abysmal and it’s a question of how long they will last. As an aside, this website under the pseudonym of the Satirical Squirrel uses stituational comedy to present original news satire with English humour.

British comedy then and its stable mate satire is a reflection of the values of the era which produced it, with obvious notable exceptions that remain timeless.

The 1970’s Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club TV series of satire based on the Unions and Northern working men’s clubs.
The early 1980’s series Only Fools and Horses and Del boy.
The TV sitcom in the 1990’s One foot in the grave and Victor Meldrew’s iconic punch line, ''I don’t believe it!''

The present generation would be unable to relate to the central characters, or to something which no longer exists.  

Unsurprisingly therefore and according to The Telegraph (9 February 2021), "… the amount of original comedy on BBC channels has dropped by more than 40 per cent over the last decade", while Ofcom (2023) has labelled scripted comedy to be an "at risk" genre for the fifth year running.  

All that’s left (until that is banned?) is political satire and the blog of John V Asia Teacher takes full advantage of that.

The humorous political satire by the amazing Satirical Squirrel on the John V Asia Teacher Blog offers a refreshing and entertaining take on original political events, providing a much-needed respite from the fake seriousness of mainstream news. The witty observations and clever wordplay will have you laughing out loud while also making you think critically about the issues being tackled. By skewering politicians with humour, the content provides a unique way to engage with politics making complex topics more accessible and enjoyable to read about.

Further reading
Wikipedia | satire
The art of satire