Genre · 62 plays

Comedy

Comedy as a working theatrical form has, for two and a half millennia, used the apparatus of misunderstanding to clarify the rules of a society. Whether the means are mistaken…

Advertisement

About Comedy

Comedy as a working theatrical form has, for two and a half millennia, used the apparatus of misunderstanding to clarify the rules of a society. Whether the means are mistaken identities, marriage plots, social satire, or the older tradition of rough physical farce, comedies in this collection earn their laughs by paying close attention to manners. The form is harder to write than tragedy, harder still to perform, and remains the genre most stubbornly capable of telling a community something true about itself without setting off the defences truth normally activates.

All comedys in the archive (62)