Definition
A farce is a comedy written for the stage, or a film, which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely and extravagant yet often possible situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include puns and sexual
innuendo, and a fast-paced plot whose speed
usually increases even further towards the end of the play, often involving an elaborate chase scene. Broad physical humor, and
deliberate absurdity or nonsense, are also commonly employed in farce.
As opposed to romantic comedies, farces usually do not contain a traditional plot involving frustrated young lovers who
eventually surmount all obstacles. Rather, they frequently focus on a transgressive act, or on a character's urge to hide
something from the other characters, and the unforeseen chain reaction that results. In staged farce there is usually only one
setting throughout the play, often the drawing room of a family home which has numerous doors (and possibly French windows)
leading to bedrooms, the kitchen, cupboards, and the garden. Alternatively, the setting can be a hotel or hospital room or an office. Film farces are typically much more expansive in the use of space.
Having no time to step back and consider what they have been doing or will be doing next, the character who has something to
hide soon passes the point of no return, erroneously believing
that any course of action is preferable to being found out or admitting the truth themselves. This way they get deeper and deeper
into "trouble".
This skeleton
in the closet may be real or just imagined (i e based on some misunderstanding or a misinterpretation of facts); a secret
which concerns the immediate present or the long-forgotten past and has just re-emerged and started to threaten the main
character's security or peace and quiet, at least seemingly. The subject-matters chosen by the various writers of farce reflect
the social mores of the time: In the late 19th century, it can be a woman lying about her real age, or a man having fathered an illegitimate child. In
the course of the 20th century, it is mainly infidelity, with the protagonist trying to prevent their extra-marital affair from becoming publicly
known.
Many farces move at frantic pace toward the climax, in which the initial problem is resolved one way or another, often through
a deus ex machina twist of the plot. Generally, there is a
happy ending. To the audience's delight, however, the convention of poetic
justice is not always observed: The protagonist may get away with what he or she been trying to hide at all costs, even if it
is a criminal act.
Farce in general is highly tolerant of transgressive behavior, and tends to depict human beings as vain, irrational, venal,
infantile, and prone to automatism. In that respect, farce is a natural companion of satire. Farce is, in fact, not merely a
genre but a highly flexible dramatic mode that often occurs in combination with other forms, including romantic comedy.
As far as ridiculous, far-fetched situations, quick, witty repartee, and broad physical humor are concerned, farce is widely
employed in TV sitcoms, in silent film comedy, and in screwball comedy. See also bedroom
farce.
Japan has a centuries-old tradition of farce. Kyogen are plays that are performed as
comic relief during the long, serious Noh plays.
Representative examples: A chronology
Britain
France
- Georges Feydeau: Le Dindon (1896) (aka Sauce for the
Goose)
- Marc Camoletti:
Boeing Boeing (1960) and Pyjama pour Six (1985) (aka
Don't Dress
for Dinner) [1] (http://www.theatresprives.com/francais/auteurs/biocamoletti.html)
Germany
- Carl Laufs & Wilhelm Jacoby: Pension Schöller (1901)
- Franz Arnold & Ernst Bach: Weekend im Paradies
(1928) [2] (http://www.felix-bloch-erben.de/play.php/nav/kata/iPlayId/1556/fbe/101)
Russia
United States
- Avery Hopwood [3] (http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/MT/98/Spr98/mt19s98.html) & Wilson Collison: Getting Gertie's
Garter (1927) [4] (http://www.apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=3077)
- Neil Simon: Rumors (1988)
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