Commedia dell’arte

Mask work and movement are key in Commedia dell’arte, an Italian comedy tradition that was popular in the Renaissance period. There were a number of stock characters, eg Pantalone and his servant Arlecchino from the play, The Servant of Two Masters.

A drawing showing a scene from the play The Servant Of Two Masters — Figure caption,
Early image from *The Servant Of Two Masters*

The relationship between Basil Fawlty and Manuel in the ��˿�� sitcom, Fawlty Towers, is reminiscent of the master-servant relationship in the Commedia dell’arte. The plots were arguably vehicles for a number of comic routines known as lazzi. These were either based on an individual’s habits or on interactions between particular characters that the audience would come to expect. The lazzi were hugely, if not entirely dependent on movement, such as Arlecchino catching and eating a fly in a stylised way, pretending to be a statue as a way of hiding, or getting beaten round the head by his master.

James Corden as Francis Henshall in One Man, Two Guvnors National Theatre 2011 — Image caption,
James Corden in *One Man, Two Guvnors*, a play with its roots in Commedia dell’arte Credit: Nigel Norrington/ArenaPAL

The Servant Of Two Masters, directed by Giorgio Strehler at Piccolo Teatro di Milano — Image caption,
A performance of *The Servant Of Two Masters* at Piccolo Teatro di Milano. Credit: Piccolo Teatro di Milano/photo Ciminaghi

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Using your bodyCommedia dell’arte