LONDON — When news of Queen Elizabeth's death was announced, an elaborate plan for national mourning kicked into place. Pop radio stations played sadder, slower tunes. Newscasters changed into all-black outfits.
Suddenly, comedy didn't seem to fit the national mood. The BBC dropped scheduled comedic programming in favor of somber specials memorializing the queen. And throughout the country, venues canceled planned comedy nights — often to the chagrin of working comedians who rely on gig money to pay their bills.
In times of national crisis, comedians can play an important role. They did in the U.S. after Sept. 11, and they did in London as well during the mass atrocities of World War II. Of course, those were mass casualty tragedies — far different from the orderly funeral rites proceeding in London lately. But the nationwide "period of mourning" also is unique in its formalized nature — a government-issued proclamation that the nation must now honoring its late queen.
