School of Comedy
| School of Comedy | |
|---|---|
 The title card used for the show. | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Laura Lawson |
| Directed by | Alex Hardcastle |
| Starring | Various Actors/Actresses |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Andy Harries |
| Producer | Laura Lawson |
| Editor | Steve Andrews |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Left Bank Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | E4 (series) |
| Release | 1 October 2009 – 18 October 2010 |
School of Comedy was a British character-based comedy sketch show which was turned into a television show after a successful run of review shows at the Edinburgh festival.[1]
The cast was entirely made up from members of the after school drama club of The Harrodian School in London, run by teacher Laura Lawson.[2]
The show comprised sketches involving a very diverse group of characters; from a lesbian couple in 1940s war-time Britain, to a pair of South-African security guards. The show is unique from other comedy sketch shows because even though the show's content is mature enough to need to be shown after the watershed, the roles were all played by school aged performers.
The show ran for two series' on E4 from 1 October 2009 [3] to 18 October 2010.[4]
The show has been credited with starting the careers of Will Poulter, Charlie Wernham and Jack Harries. Poulter has gone on to star in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and We're the Millers, while Harries has gone on to start a YouTube channel named "JacksGap", which currently has over 4 million subscribers and has made Harries both well-known and popular on the internet. Wernham has gone on to play parts in Bad Education, Some Girls, Inbetweeners and currently plays Robbie Roscoe in Hollyoaks. Beth Rylance has since had a lead role in The Ministry of Curious Stuff and has had various guest and advertising roles.[5]
Cast / Character(s)
| Actor/Actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Will Poulter | Bota Saffas - One of two South-African security guards. Geoff - A 1970s copper. Leonard Lizard - A greedy, closeted 1980s businessman who founded Lizard Corporation. Parody of Gordon Gekko. Mr Mills - A blunt and 'non-PC' school teacher. Pongo - A 1940s homosexual navy officer whose wife is a lesbian. Terry - A 'typical white van man' (a British stereotype of a handyman). And smaller non-recurring parts |
| Jack Harries | Marv - A hot-shot Hollywood movie producer. Marcus - An employee of Lizard Corporation, and the object of Leonard's affection. And smaller non-recurring parts |
| Beth Rylance | Angharad - A rude blind lady who despises her husband. Karel - An Eastern-European immigrant working for a rich British family. Margot - A 1940s lesbian. Vota Saffas - One of two South-African security guards. And smaller non-recurring parts |
- Africa Nile[6]
- Lilly Lucia Ainsworth[6]
- Ella Ainsworth[6]
- Grace Vance[6]
- Max Langdale Brown[6]
- Joe Taylor[6]
- Hector McCormick[6]
- Charlie Wernham[6]
- Evie Henderson[6]
- Arthur Sturridge[6]
- Olivia Archer-Deakin[6]
- Lacey-Ann Walsh[6]
- Finn Harries
References
- ^ "Interview with Laura Lawson". E4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Interview with Laura Lawson, Will Poulter & Beth Rylance"
- ^ "Channel 4's Series 1, Episode 1 Summary". Channel 4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Channel 4's Series 2, Episode 6 Summary". Channel 4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
- ^ http://unitedagents.co.uk/beth-rylance
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l School Of Comedy - Production Details, British Comedy Guide. (2008)
External links
- School of Comedy at E4.com
- School of Comedy The actual 'School of Comedy' in London
- School of Comedy at British Comedy Guide
- School of Comedy stage clip from Comedy Shuffle on BBC YouTube channel
- Matthewman, Scott (25 August 2010). "School of Comedy: The Stage Podcast #72". The Stage Online. Retrieved on 26 August 2010.