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That Was Satire That Was: The Satire Boom Of The 1960s by Humphrey Carpenter PDF



Forty years ago, at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival, four young men, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett, walked on to a stage and then changed the face, not merely of British comedy, but of social attitudes in this country. Beyond the Fringe was iconoclastic, fracturing the 'culture of deference' which had predominated in the 1950s. It was the forerunner of an explosion of satire which included The Establishment Club, Private Eye and the BBC's daring weekly satire show, That Was the Week that Was.



The author evokes the atmosphere of 1950s Britain and the social and political conditions which enraged and inspired the satirists, and brings vibrantly alive this amusing but also key period of British cultural life. It is based on original interviews with most of the key personalities, including Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, Richard Ingrams, Barry Humphreys, Ned Sherrin and the late John Wells. It includes sketches from Beyond the Fringe which never made it to London, and much of the hilarious material which went into That Was The Week That Was, as well as fascinating material from the BBC archives.



This book is a feast of surprises, for fans who have already heard the legends, and for those who wonder what really happened.



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