Over 2000 individual hire outfits, around 60 theme-related costume areas, plus background information on a 250 page website updated regularly,
yet we'll try to get you where you want to be within four page/screens.
Appointments can be made:
Monday - Friday: 10am - 8pm; Saturday: 10am - 6pm; Closed Sundays
‘Comedy’ is rather a broad theme area - Are we talking comedians? Comedy films? Comedy theatre, such as Pantomime? People looking funny through costume & make-up? Obviously there's more to comedy than just putting on a costume or adopting a mannerism or catchphrase, but the following may be useful suggestions:
Comedians
Some comedians can raise a laugh just by their presence - Tommy Cooper was one (another was Eric Morecambe). Others use a distinctive look (Harry Hill) or a catchphrases and routines - Max Wall was doing a 'silly walk' long before John Cleese and Monty Python. The trick here is to get the required likeness, and this can be helped with the new range of celebrity cardboard masks
Charlie Chaplin- Pioneer of Silent Sreen comedy
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Groucho Marx- Master of the one-liners from the Marx Brothers comedy films
Buddy the Elf- Seasonal comedy favourite
Austen Powers- Man of Mystery and star of a series of James-Bond-style spoofs
The Mask- The film that launched Jim Carrey on the world
Comedy Films - A small selection of characters (see also Movies)
Betty Boop- Cartoon character-cum-sex symbol of the 1930s whose misadventures were rather racy (for the time).
Carry On Films
A series of slightly saucy films featuring an array of (mostly) British Comedy talent
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Carry On Cleo
Carry On Cowboy
Carry On Don't Lose Your Head
Carry On Nurse
Carry On Screaming
Sitcoms
(Situation Comedies)
Sitcoms can be set in time periods (a single one such as Roman Ancient Times (Up Pompeii, Plebs), 1930s (’Allo, Allo) or 1950s (Hi De Hi), a variety, as in Black Adder - Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and World War I. or two at the same time Goodnight Sweetheart.
Some may be set in a particular environment, such as Home (My Family, Butterflies), The Office (The Office) or Deep Space (Red Dwarf). Others may centre on a group of characters, such Only Fools & Horses or Ab Fab, with Edina and Patsy as fashionistas at play.
Sitcom Cartoon Characters
The Flintstones was the first sitcom cartoon. Nowadays shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy offer modern-day cartoon comedy. The only complication is that by their cartoon nature, costumes usually feature full-face overhead masks. See also Cartoons & Animation
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Comedy Theatre
Aside from Farce, a genre featuring mishaps, misunderstandings and, occasionally, people running around in underwear or losing clothes, the other major form of comedy theatre is Pantomime. This uniquely British seasonal entertainment involves telling a well-known fairy tale with the help of cross-dressing characters, slapstick routines and outbreaks on song and dance. Panto Dames (no longer just for males (?)), Brokers’ Men and sundry characters special to individual stories all contribute to the fun (Oh yes they do!). Use this link for more on Pantomime characters
Clowns
Self-explanatory artisans of comedy
albeit with a limited appeal to some.
Other Clown outfits can found on the Circus & Showman page
'Wobblies'
The comedian Russ Abbott's comedy TV programmes featured 'wobbly' characters, notably Fatman and Blunderwoman, and hooped costume look is comical in many contexts. In these Politically Correct days, some are concerned with the overtones of 'body-shaming such costumes may represent but most take them in the intended spirit of fun
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