Theatre and Laughter

by Eric Weitz

Overview

This stimulating introduction to laughter in theatre and performance examines laughter among actors, among audience, and the interaction between the two. Exploring the many uses and effects of laughter in theatre, Eric Weitz considers laughter as a tool of political resonance, as social commentary, and as one of the oldest rhetorical devices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137356086
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Series:	Theatre And , #4
Edition description:	1st ed. 2015
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	4.40(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Eric Weitz is Associate Professor of Drama at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of The Cambridge Introduction to Comedy.
Eric Weitz is Associate Professor of Drama at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of The Cambridge Introduction to Comedy.

Table of Contents

Series editors' preface
Partners in social relations
Laughter and theatre
Play's the thing
Laughter and its double
Killing the frog
Embodied joking
Subsequent audiences
The Heart of Lightness
Shadow laughter
Humour as embodied practice
Word play
Slapstick
The clown figure
Laughter in the frame
Laughter as behavioural meme
Laughter as theme
Funniness
Laughter and context
Laughter as crowd control
Laughter as event
Changing the situation
One more thing
Further reading
Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This enlightening short overview reinstates the important concepts of comic enactment and comic character long absent from other scholarly accounts of humour. Weitz explores the intimate nexus between comedy and laughter with a fine combination of scholarship and practical theatre experience, challenging us to reflect on our own appreciation of the ludicrous and laughable.' - Jessica Milner Davis, University of Australia, Sydney

'Lively and intelligent, this book is a stimulating romp through a whole range of ideas relating to theatre and laughter.' – Oliver Double, University of Kent, UK