Commedia Dell’Arte definition
a type of theatre style, originating in Italy, which is characterised by masked archetypal characters, and improvs based on sketch or scenario
Slapstick
Finding humour in someone else’s pain
Farce
Form of comedy that relies on improbable, ridiculous, or exaggerated situations.
Characterised by misunderstandings, physical humour, absurdity, satire or parody, and broadly stylised characters/situations.
(important for entrances + exits as it’s fast paced)
Commedia Dell’Arte incorporates farcical elements
Satire
the use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to mock someone’s vices or stupidity (typically used in contemporary politics)
The Captain
Types of archetypes
- Bragging, boasting man
- Brags about his bravery in winning fights, but once danger actually arrives they’re the first to run
Zanni
Types of archetypes
- Often servant/jester to Captain, Doctor, or Pantalone
- Often cunning/cruel –> deceiving others (including his Captain), but is often stupid so gets caught out easily.
Pantalone
Types of archetypes
- usually shopkeeper or some business owner
- Gullible, short tempered
- Normally the butt of jokes because of his stupidity
- Often deceived by people e.g. his wife or servant
Doctor
Types of archetypes
- Lawyer, astrologer, or doctor
- Often portrayed as vain, ditzy, or proud
Punchinello
Types of archetypes
- Like the Zanni, but quieter and less obvious, but still a rascal
Political theatre
Term used to refer to 3 different things:
1. theatre that comments on political issues
2. political action/protest that has a theatrical quality to it
3. any actions taken by politicians that is intended to make a point rather than to accomplish anything substantive.
Parody
an imitation of a specific person or genre used with deliberate exaggeration for a comedic effect
Maniac character summary
- Mysterious protagonist: the kind/jester Dario Fo is famous for - takes on multiple identities
- In scene 1: describes himself as an actor; Bertozzo discovers he’s a madman with a knack for impersonations (psychiatrists, surgeons, army captains etc).
- Later, Maniac convinces policemen he’s Magistrate Malipiero from High Court, Captain Piccini from the forensics department in Rome, and even Bertozzo himself.
- Outsmarts the police; reveals their lies, moral weaknesses + lack of imagination all while mocking them sophisticatedly in a way they don’t understand (but the audience does).
- It becomes clear he is not a maniac, he’s an activist impersonating a maniac to uncover the truth about the Piazza Fontana bombing and to avenge Guiseppe Pinelli’s death.
- Fo uses the Maniac’s various acts and impersonations not only for comic relief, plot twists, and dramatic irony, but also to highlight the theater’s unique ability to expose the truth about state power, bureaucracy, and capitalism.
Second Constable character summary
- Low-ranking officer who takes over for the First Constable in the second and third scenes
- Assistant to Pissani, Superintendent + Maniac (in his disguises as Magistrate Malipiero + Captain Piccini
- Same actor as First Constable but with a ridiculous moustache - Fo makes severel jokes about
Inspector Bertozzo character summary
- Policeman who interrogates the Maniac
- Initially he seems like a responsible, competent detective, but as the Maniac manipulates and taunts him, we discover he’s cruel, unimaginative and willing to do anything to get ahead.
- He’s a bomb inspector –> shows Feletti a replica of the bomb actually used at the Piazza Fontana and inadvertenly reveals the police were the ones actually behind it
- He tries to exposes the Maniac’s multiple identities, but the other characters believe the Maniac is Captain Piccini/Magistrate Malipiero –> he goes so insane he takes everybody hostage to save them
- By the end, he uses very irrational means to achieve a serious objective
- Fo uses this as a metaphor to show how state police + bureaucracy corrupt ordinary people.
- Starts of: normal ends: insane
Inspector Pissani character summary
- Another detective like Bertozzo
- One of the three policemen present during the anarchists interrogation
- More banal and sanctimonious than thoughtful or competent
- Easily manipulated by the Maniac
- So accustomed to a corrupt, authoritarian, bureaucratic police system that when the Maniac demands that he take accountability for his actions he begins begging for mercy, praying to the rosary, and tries to jump out of the window.
- At one point he admits the Superintendent pushed the anarchist out the window, and it becomes the most damming evidence since the Maniac taped it.
Superintendent character summary
- The boss of ALL the characters
- Sadistic and stern
- Head of Milan Security Police: boss of Bertozzo, Pissani, and the First and Second Constable
- On first appearance: sweaty, furious and brandishing a club after interrogating (torturing) a subject.
- Quickly establishes ties to the old Fascist government in Italy (Mussolini’s party).
- He tries and fails to present the Maniac + Maria Feletti with a plausible explanation of the anarchist’s death
- HE was the one who pushed the anarchist out the window
What is the superintendent representative of?
Fo uses the Supervisors behaviour to show audiences what activisist knew for decades: Fascist forces in powerful positions in the police and military used their power to silence leftist movements by any means possible, including torturing activists + staging terrorist attacks.
First Constable character summary
- Low-ranking police officer
- Assistant to Bertozzo in the first scene
- Incompetent, easily manipulated, and extremely interested in his pension above all else
- Does nothing more or less than following orders.
- Replaced by an equally dim-witted Second Constable in the second + third scenes (who is even played by the same actor)
What is the First Constable representative of?
Represents Fo’s views that the police are self-inserted mercenaries for the rich and powerful.
mercenaries: *primarily concerned with making money at the expense of et
Exam hint !
Always mention style (commedia dell’arte) in context
