School of Comedy

School of Comedy is 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]

School of Comedy
The title card used for the show.
GenreComedy
Created byLaura Lawson
Directed byAlex Hardcastle
StarringVarious Actors/Actresses
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producerAndy Harries
ProducerLaura Lawson
EditorSteve Andrews
Running time30 minutes
Production companyLeft Bank Pictures
Release
Original networkE4 (series)
Original release1 October 2009 (2009-10-01) –
18 October 2010 (2010-10-18)
External links
Website

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 went on to start a YouTube channel named "JacksGap", which had over 4 million subscribers and made Harries both well-known and popular on the internet. Wernham has gone on to play parts in Bad Education, Some Girls and The 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

References
  1. "Interview with Laura Lawson". E4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
  2. "Interview with Laura Lawson, Will Poulter & Beth Rylance"
  3. "Channel 4's Series 1, Episode 1 Summary". Channel 4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
  4. "Channel 4's Series 2, Episode 6 Summary". Channel 4 Website. Retrieved on 16 June 2013.
  5. http://unitedagents.co.uk/beth-rylance
  6. School of Comedy - Production Details, British Comedy Guide. (2008)
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