![]() In a nutshell, the play centres around two sets of identical twins who have been separated at birth, and the chaos which ensues when they coincidently reencounter each other. The humour is grounded as much in slapstick comedy as it is in its word play. Its humour is so universal in its appeal because of its lack of pretentiousness. This year they will be touring The Comedy of Errors.Īs one of Shakespeare’s shortest and most farcical comedies, the humour arises out the age old case of mistaken identity. Annually, they pick a production which they first perform in Durham, and then gradually move further and further south to perform in a variety of different venues. Isabelle Culkin talks to the cast and director of Castle Theatre Company’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’.Ĭastle Theatre Company’s summer tour is one of their favourite traditions. The Renaissance produced the athletic zanies of the commedia dell’arte and even rougher clowns, such as the hunchbacked, hook-nosed, wife-beating Pulcinella, who survived into the 20th century as the Punch of children’s puppet shows.Carrie Gaunt (Emilia), Ellie Gauge (Director) and Kate Barton (Producer) ![]() The rough-and-tumble of slapstick has been a part of low comedy and farce since ancient times, having been a prominent feature of Greek and Roman mime and pantomime, in which bald-pated, heavily padded clowns exchanged quips and beatings to the delight of the audience. The slapstick seems to have first come into use in the 16th century, when Harlequin, one of the principal characters of the Italian commedia dell’arte, used it on the posteriors of his comic victims. A slapstick was originally a harmless paddle composed of two pieces of wood that slapped together to produce a resounding whack when the paddle struck someone. Outrageous make-believe violence has always been a key attraction of slapstick comedy, and, fittingly, the form took its name from one of its favourite weapons. The slapstick comic, more than a mere funnyman or buffoon, must often be an acrobat, a stunt performer, and something of a magician-a master of uninhibited action and perfect timing. ![]() Slapstick, a type of physical comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, usually violent action. Watch Larry Fine, Moe Howard, and Shemp Howard as the Three Stooges from the film “Sing a Song of Six Pants,” 1947 See all videos for this article
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