The Verb

Comedy writing in difficult times: Experiments in Living


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This week Ian McMillan and guests are turning to humour to help us get through difficult times. If 'comedy equals tragedy plus time' - how much time do we need to make something funny? Or is it more dangerous to leave a topic too long, and risk your audience moving on? Because in comedy, timing is everything...

Joining Ian are Ben Schott, the author of two novels set in the Jeeves and Wooster universe on why so many people have turned to P.G Wodehouse during lockdown, comedian Grainne Maguire on the challenges of performing to masked audiences and how comedy will adapt to socially distanced audiences, Kate Fox has written us a brand new poem on why she's found it difficult to be funny recently, and Dr Matt Winning explains how he makes climate change funny - and why humour might be the key to making people care about the planet.

Presenter: Ian McMillan

Producer: Cecile Wright

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The VerbBy BBC Radio 4

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