The clown and gown : the significance of humor of political and social issues in selected modern plays

Abstract EN

Performers of comedy know well that the power of their performance lies in their awareness of transforming the painful and serious truths into comic relief.

The performer who bears the real cost of such mission cares greatly for the meaning of that offset.

Through speakable or mime acting, the employer of the slapstick or any similar types of physical comedy comes up with the idea of showing seriousness comically and professionally.

Performance of clowning distinctively gets the purpose of inducing hearty laughter and indulges skillfully in the depth of the truth and its climaxing aftermath.

This can be achieved when the roles are performed dramatically pretending not desperate while actually they are so disparate of the severe realistic situation.

Fundamentally, the clown's task more comic tends to be comic making people smile or laugh.

But he/she acts in a proper or particular way to reflect pain and mischief foolishly.

Clown's tact and dexterity nip up with the skill of performance and how the clown is clever to perform comedy, magic, voodoo, and tragedy.

The paper's theme sheds light on the traditional meaning of the clown and the updating specific evaluation of the political and social significance of theatrical clowning unlike the classical fool or court jester played during Shakespearean time.

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First, the study presents an introduction to the art of clowning staged theatrically and the major types of clowns.

The study initiates the modern conceptual analysis of theatrical clowning preceded by a brief introduction about the serious clowning plays such as The Clown by the Syrian poet and playwright Muhammad Al-Mayghout, and Bill Irwin's The Regard of Flight (1983) and Largely New York (1989).

Then, the attention is significantly directed to highlight the role of clowns as messengers of political and social themes who intelligently deliver messages through wordless performance discussed in some modern plays such as Clomadeus (1991), performed by the imagistic Soviet troupe Ilkhom, and Come Down From the Mountain John Clown, John Clown (1993) devised by Barabbas.

The paper rounds off its analysis by a brief conclusion.