Trial By Laughter
- Radio comedy drama
- BBC Radio 4
- 2016
- 1 episode
Real-life comedy drama about William Hone, a satirist and early champion of freedom of speech. Stars Robert Wilfort, Arthur Bostrom, Conrad Nelson, Jonathan Keeble, David Benson and more.
Key details
- Genre
- Comedy Drama
- Broadcast
- 2016
- Channels
- BBC Radio 4
- Episodes
- 1
- Stars
- Robert Wilfort, Arthur Bostrom, Conrad Nelson, Jonathan Keeble, David Benson, Malcolm Raeburn, Melissa Sinden, Fiona Clarke and Graeme Hawley
- Writers
- Ian Hislop and Nick Newman
- Director
- Gary Brown
- Producer
- Gary Brown
- Companies
William Hone is the forgotten hero of free speech in Britain. He was a bookseller, publisher and satirist. In 1817, he stood trial for 'impious blasphemy and seditious libel'. His crime was to be funny. Worse than that he was funny by parodying religious texts. And worst of all, he was funny about the despotic government and the libidinous monarchy. A comedy drama based on the real trial transcripts.
Additional details
- Production
- Studio
Broadcast details
- First broadcast
- Saturday 27th February 2016 at 2:30pm on BBC Radio 4
- Episode length
- 1 hour
- All previous repeats
-
- Monday 24th February 2020 at 4:00am on Radio 4 Extra
- Sunday 23rd February 2020 at 4:00pm on Radio 4 Extra
- Saturday 16th September 2017 at 2:30pm on Radio 4