It's a fair observation that funny doesn't seem to have been essential for success this week (despite the fact that Richard has more of the comedian about him than any other Shakespeare villain). On the other hand, four of the winners are blank verse speeches buttoned with rhyming couplets (with a triple rhyme in Brian Murdoch's case), and Alan Millard grabs the fiver with a rhyming finish that's the most overtly comical bit in any of the six speeches -- there's the odd chuckle elsewhere, but that's the only real laugh -- so we can't say that humor was entirely unwelcome.
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