Mathew Horne

No school comedy would be complete without an excruciating sex education class and Jack Whitehall doesn't disappoint. As hapless history teacher Mr Wickers he wriggles and squirms and clearly yearns to crawl under a desk away from the pitying gaze of his worldly-wise pupils. The only person more immature is the head (Mathew Horne in a hilariously hideous wig) who befuddles his staff and enrages parents with his senseless slang. There hasn't been a sitcom this masterfully puerile since The Inbetweeners.

More school-based humour as comedian Jack Whitehall stars as a hapless teacher straight out of training college in this infectious new comedy. Alfie (Whitehall) seems to have more in common with his pupils - who treat him with both affection and derision - than his fellow teachers. With a fierce deputy headmistress (Michelle Gomez) forever looking for an excuse to fire Alfie, it's just as well that the bonkers headmaster (Mathew Horne) is more tolerant. Alfie's chief quest, however, is to go on a date with the biology teacher (Sarah Solemani).

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Steve Coogan is currently showcasing his inner pain to great comic/dramatic effect in BBC2's The Trip, playing himself. In the first of this double bill of one-act plays he does the same as a Russian character created 125 years ago: a man who's supposed to be lecturing on The Dangers of Tobacco but is so consumed with animosity towards his mean and controlling wife, he talks only of her. The script unravels the speaker skilfully (he's good, Chekhov) but to come alive it needs a performer who can put all his bruised heart into it: Coogan makes the crescendo of bitterness and disappointment scarily real. The Proposal, a fast, talky farce, approaches the same theme from another angle, and has another bravura performance: Mathew Horne as a nervous suitor asking for the hand of his neighbour, Sheridan Smith. They're long-term friends, but the years have caused a build-up of tiny resentments more suited to a marriage.

A double bill of Chekhov: in The Dangers Of Tobacco, Steve Coogan plays Nyukhin, a husband who should be delivering a lecture of the harmful nature of tobacco (even though he smokes). However, he keeps slipping off topic, telling the woes of his life, his regrets, yearnings and the misery inflicted by his domineering wife. In The Proposal, Mathew Horne is a nervous hypochondriac who has come to ask his neighbour's hand in marriage. However, he becomes embroiled in a petty squabble with the neighbour (Sheridan Smith) and her father (Philip Jackson) which threatens his life.

Steve Coogan is currently drawing plaudits for his role opposite Rob Brydon in the wonderfully enjoyable The Trip, but here he turns his sizeable comic talents to this double bill of Chekhov plays. In the first instalment, The Dangers Of Tobacco, Coogan is at his bitter best in a role as tragic as it is comic. There's a distinct change of place as Mathew Horne takes centre stage for the night's second play, The Proposal, which is a fast-paced farce that serves up smiles by the bucket load. Both are simply superb and offer the ideal solution to stave off the Sunday blues.