Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes

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Ian Hislop goes in search of the earliest examples of British comedy staples.

With the help of contemporary comedians, scholars and an appetite for enduring humour, Ian Hislop tracks down the earliest examples of enduring British comedy tropes and jokes.

There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval.  We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres.  We love a good parody but when did that become a thing?  Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.  
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Jo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.

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Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes: The Drunk and the Bullion Stone

The Drunk and the Bullion Stone

BBC Radio 4 - Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes, The Drunk and the Bullion Stone

Part three of Ian Hislop's comedy quest leads him back to the Picts laughing at drunks.

There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.

The subject of drink and drunkenness is always a contentious one, but however puritanical or sensitive the age, the figure of a drunk, from Joanna Lumley's riotous Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous to Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff has been a regular feature of comedy.  And as it turns out, you can go back further still to find the depiction of a comic drunk.  Ian's in Scotland to see The Bullion Stone, a 10th century Pictish carving now on display in the National Museum of Scotland. 

Producer:  Tom Alban

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