![British Comedy references in The Rouse [spoilers]](https://external-preview.redd.it/QgO0tojlNGQoLMMBfMppZI0o6cWyBSKEk_hrCUX8REA.jpeg?width=320&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=d8ec2f22a0c049023bd100f410def24aec5fe859)
British Comedy references in The Rouse [spoilers]
Ok, this has been my holiday read and I can’t remember the last time that I was so overwhelmed by a novel - I bought into every word.
For anyone who’s curious, I picked out three detailed comedy references that might be very specific to UK readers
Benters - this returning oddball character is ex-Goon Michael Bentine. References to him being ‘Potty’ and ‘Sandwich Man’ refer to real TV and movies that he was in. And yes, for all his other achievements, he was Chair of ASSAP.
There’s a long discursion on “Charles Williams”, Rosicrucian Anglican Cabbalist - but much of the piece is punchlines and jokes by 1970’s black comedian Charlie Williams, who would tell racist jokes against himself.
Most crucially - given he’s the punchline to the whole book - the Spook / Slither comedian is a real person, Roy Jay, whose act you can see here:
https://youtu.be/fxWHy4f9W30?is=\_KVk9T25DHIepEfR
You can also find Bentine and Charlie Williams on YouTube.
I loved these deep dives into the culture of the 1970s and 1980s. These were lightly disguised - did I miss any more?
