The most up-to-date study of the Hollywood romantic comedy film, from the development of sound to the twenty-first century, this book examines the history and conventions of the genre and surveys the controversies arising from the critical responses to these films.
A popular crowd-pleaser in the late 16th and mid-17th century, the dramatic jig was a short, comic, bawdy musical-drama which included elements of dance, slapstick and disguise.
This must-have third revised and newly expanded edition of the only single reference source for information about state symbols features over 300 information updates plus three new chapters, updated license plate illustrations, and a newly formatted design for ease of use.
Drawing together scholars with a wide range of expertise across the early modern period, this volume explores the rich field of early modern comedy in all its variety.
Drawing together contributions from scholars in a range of fields within 19th- and 20th-century cultural, literary, and theater studies, this volume provides a thorough and varied overview of the many forms comedy took in the 19th century.
This edited collection explores the representations of identity in comedy and interrogates the ways in which "e;humorous"e; constructions of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, class and disability raise serious issues about privilege, agency and oppression in popular culture.
This book takes a journey into the new and exciting created by a the wave of Indian comedians today, described affectionately here as the New Indian Nuttahs, and looks at what these tell us about identity, "e;Indianness"e;, censorship, feminism, diaspora and millennial India.
In this funny, irreverent, unique, eccentric memoir, magician Steve Spill reveals how he managed to survive decades inside a rarely profitable, sometimes maddening, but often deliciously rewarding offbeat showbiz professionmagic!
'A hilarious and original voice' Josh Widdicombe'Delightfully smart and impossibly charming' Dolly Alderton'His writing is as unpredictable and brilliant as he is' Sophie Duker'I've got nothing but love for Mr Ivo Graham' Frankie BoyleYardsticks For Failure is the story of the most frantic two years of Ivo Graham's already quite frantic life, 2022-2024, two years of tasks and tears and everything in between.
A selection of the world's most incredible things according to award-winning writer, comedian, artist and podcaster Rob AutonI Strongly Believe In Incredible Things is a book of poetic prose, musings, short stories and biro drawings detailing a selection of the Earth's incredible things by award-winning writer, comedian, artist and podcaster Rob Auton.
A revelatory account of the magus - the learned magician - and his place in the world of Renaissance EuropeAt the heart of the extraordinary ferment of the High Renaissance stood a distinctive, strange and beguiling figure: the magus.
'The inimitable Quentin Letts dares to say in a new book what we've all been secretly thinking' Mail on Sunday'Fuming and chuckling by turns' Daily Telegraph'Underneath the jocularity of Letts's style is a lot of real anger' Roger Lewis, The TimesHands, face, space.
Often viewed as theologically conservative, many theatrical works of late medieval and early Tudor England nevertheless exploited the performative nature of drama to flirt with unsanctioned expressions of desire, allowing queer identities and themes to emerge.
Situation Comedy, Character, and Psychoanalysis puts the sitcom character on the analyst's couch and closely examines the characters of Basil Fawlty, Lucy Ricardo and Kim from Australia's Kath & Kim, in order to reveal the essential elements that must exist in a sitcom before even the first joke is written.
Alternative Comedy Now and Then: Critical Perspectives is the first academic collection focusing on the history and legacy of the alternative comedy movement in Britain that began in 1979 and continues to influence contemporary stand-up comedy.
This edited book brings together scholarly chapters on linguistic aspects of humour in literary and non-literary domains and contexts in different parts of the world.
Notes for Violists: A Guide to the Repertoire offers historical and analytical information about thirty-five of the best-known pieces for the instrument, making it an essential resource for professional, amateur, and student violists alike.
Examining humor in depictions of the Civil War from the war years to the present, this review covers a wide range of literature, film and television in historical context.
A seriously funny look at the roots of American EntertainmentWhen Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin were born, variety entertainment had been going on for decades in America, and like Harry Houdini, Milton Berle, Mae West, and countless others, these performers got their start on the vaudeville stage.