Getting the Joke

''This is the kind of book that troubles grey-suited committees of academic peers. It''s too enjoyable. But that, given its subject, is just what it ought to be, and it treats that subject seriously . . . There isn''t a “dull” page anywhere in the book.'' – Professor Peter Thomson, Studies in Theatre and Performance

Comedy is changing: stand-up comedians routinely sell out stadia, their audience-f...