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Something you didn’ t know …
ΑΠΟΤΥΠΩΜΑΤΑ
Physical Comedy
Although nowadays the most widespread form of comedy are anecdotes, puns and parodies, one should not forget that the comical realm does also contain many and diverse, for the most part unknown, means used to cause laughter. In fact, the spectrum of comedy is so wide that, in some cases this can be achieved without using even a single word.
That being said, the existence of physical comedy is no surprise. This comedy genre, as it can easily be inferred from the name, includes any type of manipulation of the human body that can be considered humourous. One particular genre of physical comedy is the so – called Slapstick.
It is undoubtedly a somewhat extreme form of comedy because it is based on violence, sometimes intentional and others not. In an episode of Mr. Bean called Mr. Bean goes to town for example, a typical scene of Slapstick can be found.
In this scene Mr. Bean traps people inside trash bins and pinches them with a sharp pencil. Another popular show, where Slapstick was featured frequently, was The Benny Hill Show, a multi – nominated and much loved British show of the previous century.
The origin of the term Slapstick is quite fascinating and worth noting. Back in the 16 th century a device with that name was used in commedia dell’ arte an early form of theatre developed in Italy, to produce a sound referring to slapping.
It goes without saying that it was used to cause additional laughter, when actors struck one another on stage.
Another type of physical comedy, Mime Art, is based entirely on body motions. It is more than entrancing, how people practise this genre, creating a whole new universe out of their movements and also create laughter. Their distinctive characteristics are the striped black and white shirt and the white gloves.
Of course, physical comedy is not the only lost in the decades comical treasure. There are many unknown forms of comedy waiting for you to experience.
Aggelos Malioris A2
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