Class sketch
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John Law
| Class sketch | |
|---|---|
 Cleese, Barker, and Corbett in the sketch as broadcast in April 1966 | |
| Written by | Marty Feldman John Law |
| Directed by | James Gilbert |
| Date premiered | April 7, 1966 |
| Original language | British English |
| Series | The Frost Report |
| Subject | Social class |
| Genre | Observational comedy |
The Class sketch is a comedy sketch first broadcast in an episode of David Frost's satirical comedy programme The Frost Report on 7 April 1966.[1][2] It has been described as a "genuinely timeless sketch, ingeniously satirising the British class system"[3] and in 2005 was voted number 40 in Channel Four's "Britain's 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches".[4][5] It was written by Marty Feldman and John Law,[6] directed by Jame Gilbert[7] and features John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett.
Cleese, tall and patrician in appearance and demeanor, represents the upper class; Barker, of average height, the middle class, and Corbett, short in stature, the working class. Their dress also shows class distinction: Cleese in a slim-cut suit and bowler hat, Barker in loose-cut suit and homburg hat, and Corbett in a workman's jacket, scarf, and flat cap. Each in turn describes their social advantages and disadvantages, and contrasts them with their neighbours, an effect emphasised by the actors' relative heights as they look downwards or upwards to each other:
Barker: "I look up to him [Cleese] because he is upper class, but I look down on him [Corbett] because he is lower class." Corbett: "I know my place."[6]
It is this situation that gives Corbett the pay-off line; as the others describe their advantages in the form of "I get ... (e.g. a sense of superiority)", his character finally looks up at the others and says "I get a pain in the back of my neck."[8]
