Neil Archer

'Britishness' - what to do when parody becomes real

The events of 2016 point towards political isolationism and more tightly prescribed notions of national identity, with significant repercussions for British comedy. How do we reconcile, for example, the divergent comedic impulses to leave or remain?

Neil Archer, The Conversation, 4th January 2017

Brexit, comedy and 'Britishness'

If as it is said comedy is tragedy plus the benefit of time, sometimes time allows things to come full circle. When in 1999 Edward and Tubbs, characters from the BBC's The League of Gentlemen, declared their Royston Vasey village store "a local shop for local people" I laughed.

Neil Archer, The Conversation, 4th January 2017