Slapstick and comic performance : comedy and pain / Louise Peacock.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peacock, Louise, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Comedy--History and criticism.

Comedy.

Physical Description:

184 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

Slapstick comedy has been entertaining audiences for centuries. Within slapstick, comic pain and comic violence are performed to provoke laughter. This book explores just how and why the performance of pain and violence can make us laugh. It examines the centrality of the double act, the importance of morality and the techniques used by slapstick performers. In this engaging new book, Louise Peacock provides a detailed consideration of the ways in which slapstick is structured and performed, exploring a range of examples drawn from theatre, film and television including Commedia dell'Arte, Punch and Judy, Circus Clowns, television sitcoms like Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and a wide range of films from Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times to The Hangover.

Contents:

Part I Establishing a Critical Framework

1 What is Slapstick? 15

2 Structures and Techniques of Slapstick 40

3 Comedy and Pain 62

Part II Types of Pain Analysed

4 Accidental Pain 83

5 Random Pain: Objects and Animals 109

6 Intentional Pain 128

7 Real Pain 147.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 176-180) and index.

ISBN:

9780230364134

0230364136

OCLC:

871331381