The comedy star attended Donnington Junior School and won a scholarship to the City of Oxford High School for Boys, which is now Oxford University History Faculty building, in George Street.

BBC: Ronnie Barker

The Mr Bean star plays the title role in Quartermaine's Terms, Simon Gray's 1981 tragi-comedy about teachers at an English language school.

BBC: Rowan Atkinson wins praise for 'serious' role

Jackie Chan, who transformed himself from a Chinese film star into a Hollywood action comedy legend, trained at a Peking Opera school.

BBC: Chinese Hamlet in 'Jackie Chan style'

You'll recall from high school or college how Shakespeare frequently pushes the limits of comedy and tragedy, splicing farce into moments of calamity (the fool in King Lear, the clowns in Hamlet) and pulling back suddenly from near-fatal disaster in comedies (The Merchant of Venice, A Winter's Tale).

FORBES: Technology

In a speech to the London School of Economics, Sir Michael praised the BBC's comedy, factual and news outputs.

BBC: Sir Michael Lyons: BBC strong despite gaffes

In 2011, hundreds of New York public-school students saw adapted versions of "Hamlet" and "The Comedy of Errors" at the Park Avenue Armory.

WSJ: Britain Exports a Double Bill