The Complexities of Farce
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The Complexities of Farce (With a Case Study on Fawlty Towers) Dario Dalla Costa BA(Hons), DipEd This Thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Arts of the University of Western Australia, School of Social and Cultural Studies, Discipline of English, Communication and Cultural Studies, 2004. Abstract This thesis will counter the argument that farce is a simplistic dramatic form low in the theatrical hierarchy and demonstrate that it is both complex and multifaceted. It will be shown to have a long history and to have influenced many different dramatic forms. The thesis is in two sections. The first will explore farce in general, and the second will use the sitcom Fawlty Towers as a case study in order to explore the televisual mode and its relevance to the contemporary context. The question “What is farce?” will be answered in detail, thus developing an unambiguous perception of the genre which will form a contextual basis for the rest of the thesis. Recurring themes will be used to link chapters together and certain issues raised in early chapters will be expanded upon in later ones. A key aspect to be taken into consideration is the importance the physical plays in farce. Thus, my focus will be specifically on performance texts, and not limit itself to the “literary” texts. The theatrical hierarchy will be addressed directly, exploring why and how the genre has been delegated to the lowest rung of the hierarchical ladder. Such a classification will be destabilised and shown to be unfounded because it is based on such assumptions as tragedy being the “best” genre because it is tragedy, and farce the worst because it is farce. The conclusions made in this section will then be demonstrated by approaching farce in a more oblique manner through an exploration of Commedia dell’Arte and Medieval Carnival. This will reveal the extent to which farce and/or its techniques have manifested themselves. Fawlty Towers will be introduced to determine how farce has translated to the televisual medium. Fawlty Towers is useful because, unlike the “literary texts” studied earlier, its recordings provide visual/aural examples which are more practical in exploring farce’s physical characteristics. The farcical aspects of Commedia and Carnival will be re-explored to show how they have evolved and manifested themselves in the sitcom form. Integral to the thesis is a study on laughter. Various laughter theories will be studied in relation to Fawlty Towers to establish that, like farce, laughter is also a complicated subject matter worthy of study. Through association, farce is shown to be even more complex. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the Fawlty Towers performance text to illustrate farce’s multifaceted nature, and that it can, and should, be taken “seriously”. The series’ “closed world” will be examined to discover how it ideally suits the farcical paradigm. Then, using Victorian beliefs and ethics as a contextual base, I explore how farce parodies this outdated value system as it is played out – anachronistically – through the character of Basil Fawlty. The thesis terminates with a brief conclusion summing up what was analysed, while affirming that the premise proposed in the introduction has been achieved. iii For Megan Contents Abstract - ii Dedication - iv Acknowledgements - vi Introduction - 1 Chapter 1 - 8 Chapter 2 - 40 Chapter 3 - 73 Chapter 4 - 105 Chapter 5 - 134 Conclusion - 163 Notes - 165 Bibliography - 184 Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge my supervisor Dr Steve Chinna for guiding me through the past two years. This thesis would never have been written without his constant support and patient editing. I would also like to thank Associate Professor Chris Wortham, who acted as my assistant supervisor, and Mr Stephen Lee for his valuable ideas relating to the understanding of farcical characters. I also wish to express my gratitude to my family and friends for their continuous encouragement – particularly Aaron Baker, Barbara Williams and Megan Williams for reading my drafts and offering an “outside” opinion. Finally, I thank Francesca Vallini for all she has done for me (and taught me) over the years. Introduction What is farce? Here are six definitions: The Macquarie Dictionary: “A light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon situation rather than character”.1 The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary: “a coarsely comic dramatic work based on ludicrously improbable events”.2 The Australian Oxford Dictionary: “a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and often including crude characterisation and improbable situations”.3 The BBC English Dictionary: “a humorous play in which the characters become involved in unlikely and complicated situations”.4 The Oxford English Dictionary: “a dramatic work (usually short) which has for its sole object to excite laughter”.5 And, The Collins Softback English Dictionary: “a broadly humorous play based on the exploitation of improbable situations”.6 While dictionary definitions are by necessity concise and reductive, such simplistic descriptions may imply triviality and unimportance. Ironically, barring a number of similarities, each definition highlights a different aspect of the genre, indicating that it is much richer than may appear at first glance. Thus, the objective of this thesis is to demonstrate – through exposition – that farce is neither unsophisticated nor unrefined, but, rather, a complex and multi-faceted genre in its own right with distinct characteristics, and eminently worthy of analysis. Chapters one and two will present a detailed, and yet wide-ranging, exploration of farce, demonstrating that it not only embraces a wide range of characteristics, but also has an ability to manifest itself in a variety of different forms. I do not intend that the texts studied in chapters one and two will prove to be an exhaustive compilation of farcical works – nor a chronological history of the genre – but they will fall mainly into two categories: those deemed “a farce” and those with farcical characteristics. As will be demonstrated, farce has been placed very low in the theatrical hierarchy, particularly because of its emphasis on the physical side of performance. However, it is precisely its physical aspect which will be used to demonstrate that such denigration is without merit as, rather than simplifying, it enhances the genre. An ongoing theme will comprise of an exploration of the differences between farce and comedy, with the latter being defined the more “literary” because of its believed reliance on the “verbal”. (Nonetheless, because of individual differences in interpretation, the distinction between them necessarily becomes blurred.) Each chapter will build on the previous by either expanding on what was said before or using the previous information to develop its own line of argument focusing on a specific subject or theme. Also, there are numerous instances where a premise or topic is only referred to briefly in one part of the thesis because of its pertinence later. The reader will be informed, either in the main body of the thesis or in the endnotes, that there will be a more detailed exploration of that topic to follow. The final three chapters will become more specific and focus almost exclusively upon the series Fawlty Towers. Initially, this particular series was chosen because, to my knowledge, this would be the first scholarly work to take a comprehensive look at how Fawlty Towers functions as a farcical sitcom, or situation comedy. Fawlty Towers is also of a manageable size, and comprises of only two series with six episodes in each, with both having been filmed within a relatively compact historical context – the decade of 1970’s. Its six-hour running time results in a conveniently sized series which will permit me to go into some detail. At the same time, it contains a greater range of farcical techniques than would be available for analysis in a single two-hour play. Fawlty Towers is further self-contained by being written by the same authors – John Cleese and Connie Booth – and having the regular characters played by the same actors. 2 This ensures conformity of style with the characters having defined roles and predictable reactions. And, by being in possession of a visual recording for each episode, I can explore the physicality of this farce first-hand, rather than having to envisage it solely from the written text. (This will also bring into consideration how the televisual medium affects farce’s production and reception.) Furthermore, in it having been filmed in front of a studio audience suggests that – as with a stage farce – the actors would have been influenced by spectator participation, and thus, the barrier between actor and audience member would have been narrowed. (The importance of spectator participation will be made clear in chapter two.) Finally, Fawlty Towers is described by Garry Berman as an “instant classic” which has gained “universal” acclaim over the years and become a “comedy milestone”.7 According to Berman, “it has become the unofficial measuring stick against which later farcical sitcoms have been judged”.8 Chapter one begins with a detailed study of generic labels and their usefulness in assisting in the understanding of the various genres. This will convey the difficulties involved in not only defining generic categories, but also deciding which characteristics belong to each specific genre. This leads to the chapter’s main purpose: to provide the primary defining characteristics of farce