EI's Alastair Benn sits down with Orlando Gibbs to discuss what the Romans found funny, what we might find not so funny about ancient humour, and whether there is something universal about the comedic genre.

READING LIST

No Laughing Matter? What the Romans Found Funny | Antigone

Plautus punching up: a different class of comedy | Engelsberg Ideas

Mary Beard, Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (University of California Press, 2014)

Lionel Abel, Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form (New York, Hill and Wang, 1963)

Engelsberg Ideas is funded by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. EI Talks... is hosted by Paul Lay and Alastair Benn. The sound engineer is Gareth Jones.

Image: Michael Palin in Monty Python's Life of Brian. Credit: LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo