19c British origins of musical comedy

Ned Sherrin presents a programme about the origins of musical comedies, that very British genre of musical theatre which first took London by storm in the late-19th century with shows such as The Gaiety Girl, The Shop Girl and The Dollar Princess. Created, if that's the right word, by the enterprising George Edwardes, manager of the Gaiety Theatre, the musical comedy genre was characterised by simple romantic plots, set in the modern era, punctuated by songs which became classics of their day, such as Moonstruck, Private Tommy Atkins, and A Little Piece of String.