Private Eye 's Ian Hislop and writing partner Nick Newman once again reunite after their hit The Wipers Times successfully transferred from TV to stage. This time they take their own Radio 4 play, Trial by Laughter , and transfer it into a remarkably slick stage play. William Hone was, conveniently, the Ian Hislop of 1817, a satirist charged with libel (and a little added blasphemy), and charged and subjected to three trials in three days. His story told here in a witty, but occasionally slightly heavy way is the cornerstone for a lot of the now free press we see in this country. Not that this has stopped Mr Hislop himself from finding himself in the dock countless times of course. Trial By Laughter is a curious piece which has more successful moments than failures. It does take a while to get going, despite an opening scene featuring the brilliant Jeremy Lloyd as Prince Regent, a living and breathing caricature on stage himself, portly and looking every bit the drawn work ...