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| HELP from any theater historians? (Greek / Elizabethan / Commedia dell'arte / kabuki) | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 05:25 pm EDT 06/18/18 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 05:23 pm EDT 06/18/18 | |
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| I'm helping a friend with an article he's researching, and I told him that I knew where I could get a well-informed answer. There's a particular comedy trope that is surely as old as time, but he's wondering if it has a name, and he's wondering just how far back this trope appears. I'll use a modern reference point as an example. In the film "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," John Candy and Steve Martin are shown spooning / cuddling in bed. As they slowly wake up, these two heterosexual men realize that their bodies are intertwined, leading to the memorable dialogue: "Where's your other hand?" "Between two pillows." "Those aren't pillows!!!!!" (the clip is linked below) The men leap from their bed in horror, and we're meant to laugh, thinking that nothing could be worse than for two people to end up in a case of mistaken sexuality (or, perhaps, mistaken gender). This comedy trope -- "oh no! i'm not gay!" -- or, "Oh no! I'm not female! / male!" -- is so ubiquitous that I wonder if it's ever been given a name. Here's where I'm hoping that theater historians can chime in: Just how back does this comic trope go? I know it's certainly part of any number of Shakespearean works, especially those in works like TWELFTH NIGHT where characters masquerade as an opposite gender, but I don't really know my Greek comedies so well. And I know virtually nothing about kabuku or commedia dell'arte, where surely this trope must make an appearance or two. In theaters where ALL the roles were played by men, was some of this comic energy even inherent to the work? Can anyone cite ancient examples that might be illustrative of how this trope has evolved? As far as we know, when did it begin? Many thanks to any and all contributions! GMB |
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| Link | Those Aren't Pillows! - Planes, Trains & Automobiles (YouTube) |
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| re: HELP from any theater historians? (Greek / Elizabethan / Commedia dell'arte / kabuki) | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 08:20 am EDT 06/19/18 | |
| In reply to: HELP from any theater historians? (Greek / Elizabethan / Commedia dell'arte / kabuki) - GrumpyMorningBoy 05:23 pm EDT 06/18/18 | |
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| The Hysterium subplot (“Lovely”) in “A Funny Thing....Forum” seems to be of this same ilk. So many of the Greek comedies are lost. I don’t have a definitive answer...just pointing to “A Funmy Thing.” And “Charlie’s Aunt.” |
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