ABSTRACT
Even after Goldoni’s ‘reform’ of the theatre and his consignment of the Commedia dell’Arte to history, its continuing inuence could, and can, still be seen in varieties of dramatic performance both ‘high’ and ‘low’. Some obvious examples are: the Figaro comic operas of Mozart (1756-91), themselves based on the plays of Pierre Beaumarchais (1732-99); the seaside Punch – originally Punchinello, the Anglicized version of the Neapolitan Pulcinella via the French Polichinelle – and Judy puppet show; circus clowns, in particular the character of Pierrot descended ultimately from Domenico Bruni’s Pedrolino; the British Harlequinade, with its Pantaloon, Harlequin, and Colombine, later evolving into the Christmas pantomime; the knockabout slapstick of the silent movie era; the anarchic antics of the Marx brothers’ recurring lm personages; and the stock characters of television situation comedy. These connections have been commented on many times before, as have the Commedia-inspired paintings of Tiepolo, Watteau, Picasso, and many others. In the growing use of improvised screen dialogue for greater authenticity and spontaneity, the Commedia dell’Arte’s heritage can also be discerned. British examples of this tendency can be found in the early lms of Mike Leigh, or in television comedies such as The Office and The Thick of It.
