Post by John Green on Feb 15, 2021 0:25:29 GMT
To counter the Covid-19 gloom, the corporation is to air new comedies across radio and TV including a live standup show every night for a week on BBC2 featuring established names such as Jo Brand and Jason Manford alongside up and coming comedians.
The BBC’s comedy controller, Shane Allen, said the idea for the festival was born in December as a way to boost people’s mental health. “We need comedy to help pull us out of this. It’s the British sense of humour that gets us through the darkest times in life.”
The festival will include TV premieres of the tour shows of big names including Bill Bailey’s Limboland, Stephen Merchant’s Hello Ladies, Izzard’s Force Majeure and Cleese’s Live at the Acropolis, as well as pilots from new comedians on Radio 2 and Radio 4.
As well as TV specials dedicated to classic comedians, including one presented by Lenny Henry on Tommy Cooper to mark Cooper’s centenary and another hosted by John Thomson on Caroline Aherne, the festival will feature unseen footage of the late Dave Allen in a show celebrating 50 years since his first BBC appearance.
There will be Radio 4 standup shows from Eleanor Tiernan, Anna Morris, Stephen Buchanan, Patrick Kielty and Jacob Hawley. Radio 2 will air comedy pilots from The Delightful Sausage duo Christopher Cantrill and Amy Gledhill, Tommy Tiernan, the Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean and a series about imperial India called The Empire, written by Anuvab Pal and starring Stephen Fry. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/feb/15/bbc-aims-to-lift-the-covid-blues-with-festival-of-comedy
The BBC’s comedy controller, Shane Allen, said the idea for the festival was born in December as a way to boost people’s mental health. “We need comedy to help pull us out of this. It’s the British sense of humour that gets us through the darkest times in life.”
The festival will include TV premieres of the tour shows of big names including Bill Bailey’s Limboland, Stephen Merchant’s Hello Ladies, Izzard’s Force Majeure and Cleese’s Live at the Acropolis, as well as pilots from new comedians on Radio 2 and Radio 4.
As well as TV specials dedicated to classic comedians, including one presented by Lenny Henry on Tommy Cooper to mark Cooper’s centenary and another hosted by John Thomson on Caroline Aherne, the festival will feature unseen footage of the late Dave Allen in a show celebrating 50 years since his first BBC appearance.
There will be Radio 4 standup shows from Eleanor Tiernan, Anna Morris, Stephen Buchanan, Patrick Kielty and Jacob Hawley. Radio 2 will air comedy pilots from The Delightful Sausage duo Christopher Cantrill and Amy Gledhill, Tommy Tiernan, the Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean and a series about imperial India called The Empire, written by Anuvab Pal and starring Stephen Fry. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/feb/15/bbc-aims-to-lift-the-covid-blues-with-festival-of-comedy