The Beginning

What we know as ‘Commedia dell’ Arte’ (Comedy of the arts, or of the Artistes) is believed to have begun in Italy, but itinerant bands of players would have travelled the whole of Europe so it is difficult to be precise about it’s origins. However they are frequently referred to as ‘Italians’ in surviving legislation against them.

Popular theatre had been in existance from the classical era, and in Italy had an almost unbroken run. The ultra-conservative Catholic Church had attempted to stamp out such performances, prefering more political and religious topics. From the late 15th Century as the Renaissance began to develop, more secular subjects became common. These consisted of entertainments of a more popular nature and were composed of both male and female performers.

The performers themselves were a motley crew, who besides being actors were also tumblers, jugglers, prostitutes, gigolos, thieves and other disreputable types. Besides their ‘stage’ performance, there would be other impromptu displays and distractions¹. They lived initially outside the law and various edicts were passed against their performing. Despite these edicts and prohibitions they flourished. The performers mocked the establishment, political and religious personalities, and made great use of regional stereotypes².

The Performances

The shows themselves were what we would call improvisation. There were no set scripts each show would be unique. The frameworks were borrowed from classical sources, as well as popular folk tales. There were a finite number of stock scenes, situations and conclusions, which were bundled together to provide a coherent story line.

Each performer had his own character, to which he injected his own talents, quirks of behaviour, technique and routine, termed ‘Lazzi’. In time there was established a set list of characters which were recognizable across the bands. However the popularity of certain people performing certain parts dictated that character’s part in the story. This led to some diversity between the bands as who where minor characters in one band, would be major characters in another.

However the performances themselves come to us second-hand and we can only guess at the style and mood in which they were performed.

The Story Lines

The stories were very fluid, which is hard to describe, but if you were to imagine a typical scenario it would be very akin to “Romeo and Juliet” played for laughs.

Characters were divided into three main classes; Vecchi, Inamorata, and Zanni. There were also outsiders who were primarily used to provide a distraction whilst costume and scene changes were executed. The settings of the various characters within each class were fluid and not always set from one company to the next.

Essentially there would be two opposing families headed by their respective patriarchs, the Vecchi. The basis for the opposition could either be rivalry as in Romeo and Juliet, or class based, where one family was of slightly lower status than the other. Each family would have at least one ‘child’ destined to fall in love with one of the ‘children’ of the opposing family, these lovers were termed the ‘inamorata’.

Supporting these characters were the ‘Zanni’ or servants. These could be either servants proper, or characters of similar status to the principles, but providing a supporting role. Using our Romeo and Juliet analogy, Mercutio and Tybalt would be Zanni despite their social status.

The Vecchi

The ‘masters’ of each household were primarily the following stock characters:

Pantalone (Pantaloon)

Alternatively he can be portrayed as a penniless aristocrat, who is attempting to marry his heir or heiress into ‘new money’.

Il Dottore or Gratiano (The Doctor)

The Doctor is invariably a ‘renaissance man’, university educated and fond of providing advice even when he knows little about the subject involved. He was frequently portrayed as a ‘cuckolded’ husband.

The Inamorata (The Lovers)

Characters for these two could vary. The usual scenario was for the male to be the Doctor’s son and for the female to be Pantaloon’s daughter. As stated before a wedding between the two would seemingly benefit the Doctor through her dowry.

Invariably both of the lovers are in love with the idea of being in love, and not necessarily to each other. Some plot outlines involve the frustration of the Doctor as his child’s attentions wander anywhere but where the doctor wants it to go.

Other alternatives involve Pantalone kidnapping his daughter to prevent her meeting the Doctor’s son. This is usually a sub-plot involving a particularly inept Zanni.

Invariably the lovers are portrayed as fickle and feckless, and totally oblivious of the consequences of their actions. Shakespeare’s lovers learned from their mistakes, Commedia lovers didn’t. They are invariably spoilt, vain, blinkered, and naïve.

The Zanni

The Zanni were the true characters of the commedia.⁴ They are the catalysts to the performance. Although there were a wide variety of characters, the ones outlined below are the ones, which endured and remained popular. Popular presentations of each character varied and demarcations varied, so the character details are merely one version of each character’s make-up⁵.

Although typically pictured as servants, the Zanni could be family members, or characters outside of the families. Many Zanni became independent of the commedia itself and developed into primary characters in their own right.

The un-named Zanni were seen as uncomplicated creatures, eager to serve, and possessing only the desire to fulfil their basic needs, which were sleep, food and sex. Zanni could sleep anywhere and at anytime⁶. Invariably most zanni are portrayed as country bumpkin types, slow, plodding and unintelligent.

Female zanni were the crowd pullers of the commedia and as such they shared a complicity with the audience and frequently interacted with them. This interaction usually involved theatrically ‘whispered’ asides, and short speeches to the audience, just as in modern pantomime⁷ . Sometimes this interaction continued after the performance as many actresses were also prostitutes. A skilled female zanni would however convince every male in the audience that it was their ‘lucky day’, sometimes eliciting money without actually having sex with them.

The most popular zanni had names and were fairly common across troupes. Their characteristics varied however, and one perception of Harlequin for example could be at variance with another interpretation. The profiles below are an amalgam of commonly perceived roles and characteristics.

Arlecchino (Harlequin)

Harlequin was also a satirist or mimic of his ‘betters’ and was frequently used to portray ‘youthful’ attitudes that many of the audience could identify with. Many troupes used Harlequin to either satirise characters from ‘serious’ plays or political figures. Like Franceschina, Harlequin would speak directly to the audience at times.

Harlequin is both hedonistic and insatiable, whatever his desires. Harlequin lives on his wits, but is either not particularly intelligent and doesn’t learn from his mistakes or extremely intelligent and mischievous. He had usually some duty to perform, which he invariably neglected. Nimble and agile, an acrobat normally played the harlequin. Harlequin was portrayed as a thief, a womaniser and a good-natured rogue. Harlequin formed the head of the eternal triangle with Pedrolino and Columbina. Pedrolino loves Columbina, who in turn loves Harlequin. Harlequin either loves Columbina, but frequently strays, or merely lusts after her.

In some troupes, the Harlequin was the typical ‘clown’ or buffoon whose antics included ‘slapstick’ routines, visual comedy, ‘pratfalls’ and other simple comedic forms. In this role Harlequin was invariably hampered by some impediment, whether it was his inability to read and write, or his being a foreigner, dependant on the scenario within the troupe. Many Commedia plots relied on Harlequin causing or making an error, which he then spent the entire performance putting to rights, with the inevitable misunderstandings and confusion in-between. He uses his wits and agility to escape from the holes he has dug for himself.

Pedrolino (Pierrot)

Good natured if lacking in intelligence, Pedrolino is constantly put down by the other characters, but never sinks for long. He drew sympathy from the audience, especially the few females there. Pedrolino loves Columbina with unparalleled devotion, but his love is unrequited. The only time Columbina bothers with him is to get him to tell her about Harlequin, or convey a message to him. Buttons from Cinderella, Baldrick from ‘Blackadder’ and Harpo Marx are all derived from the Pedrolino character.

Columbina (Columbine)

Il Capitano

The Captain is the most attention grabbing zanni, he is constantly showing off and plays to the audience. The eventual end to the show is however his exposure as a fraud. Comic effects of the Captain would be to have him afraid of his own shadow, or a mouse etc. Every act the Captain performs is a fraud and every word he utters a lie.

Unlike the rest of the zanni, he is an outsider, but other zanni can be found in his service. A typical scenario outline could have a band of soldiers with the Captain as their head, and containing an amorata and his companions i.e. Harlequin and Pedrolino. Brighella and Pulcinello in turn would oppose them. The setting would be a town where the other characters lived. In this role he would perhaps replace the Doctor as a Vecchi.

Franceschina

Pulcinello (Punch)

Brighella (Scaramouche or Scapino)

The End of the Commedia

The Commedia grew and flourished throughout the 16th and 17th Centuries. Many troupes settled within France where it became known as the Comedié Italiénne. During this time the names of the characters were developed into the French names. By the end of the 17th Century the commedia began to lose it’s originality, many of the plots became common place and the verbal comedy began to be replaced by visual comedy.

One of the features of the Commedia had been it’s satire on current events, this to began to fade as players failed to adapt their roles to meet new trends in society and the form became antiquated and stale. Some characters merged with others to produce a simplified commedia form, Columbina and Franceschina merged, as did Il Capitano and Brighella in the form of Scaramouche.

In England Harlequin became a character in his own right, and usually got a scene of his own the ‘Harlequinade within a pantomime. Pulcinella became a puppet character within the stylised ‘Punch and Judy’ shows.

Commedia survives in a simplified form in certain places, and resurrections are frequently began and are relatively successful, but how much these compare with the original style and content of the original are anyone’s guess. Despite this the form has survived in some other way, the Marx brothers, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all carried on the traditions established by the Commedia. Modern films also retain many of the elements that would be familiar to Commedia goers, for example, ‘Anchors Aweigh’ (MGM 1945) the Musical starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, was a typical Commedia scenario featuring inamorata and zanni in a convoluted plot.

The appeal of commedia in its time was due to its originality and non-conformity, it was a unique and risqué entertainment. It has little space in a world where there is a multitude of entertainment options, and modern recreation can never capture the spontaneity and originality of this form. Many troupes call themselves ‘Commedia Players’ but they can only capture a small amount of the feeling of the true form, and attempt to convey it’s meaning to an audience that has seen it all before, whether it be musical comedy, Only Fools and Horses¹², Fresh Prince of Bel-air, or The Simpsons.

There are inumerable web pages devoted to the Commedia, and each has it's own slant on the characteristics of certain elements.

Printed Sources

The following books were consulted during the writing of this article:

Commedia dell'arte: a handbook for actors by John Rudlin

Commedia dell'arte: a resource book for troupes by John Rudlin and Olly Crick

Studies in the Commedia dell'arte, Eds. David J. George and Christopher J. Gossip

The World of Harlequin by Allardyce Nicholl

¹ Essentially the renaissance equivalent of both Disneyland and the Hells Angels turning up in your local high street at the same time² It isn't known whether they adjusted these stereotypes for foreign audiences, it is presumed that if they didn't, the performances would have lost some of their appeal.³ Pantalone better known to us as Pantaloons.⁴ From which we get our word zany.⁵ Particularly in the case of Harlequin, as I'm biased for some reason ⁶ Of course in particularly odd positions, in seconds and complete with amusing snores.⁷ Oh no it's not...⁸ See what I mean about bias. ⁹ The Harlequin or Hellequin in France were the 'Devil's Horsemen, also used to denote the English in the Hundred Years War.¹⁰ One tale of the Harlequin and Columbine has Harlequin play a cruel joke on Columbine which causes her to commit suicide before it is apparent that it is a joke. This act 'shames the devil' who dooms Harlequin to wander the earth for eternity, even denying him entrance to hell¹¹ The comedian Frankie Howard adapted Franceschina’s role for himself in his films such as ‘Up Pompeii’ etc. (Lurkio, Lurkalot et al.)¹² Del Boy is a perfect 'Pantalone', Rodney a cross between amorata and Harlequin, Cassandra's father is Il Dottori etc.