ABSTRACT
Slapstick and comic violence are so central to both Commedia scenarios and lazzi that they are impossible to ignore, contributing as they do so much to the audience’s enjoyment of the performance. It is, therefore, worth considering how comic violence is presented to the audience and the ways in which that presentation guides their response to it. Exploration of the purpose of comic violence is also relevant. Sometimes it serves as a structural device: as a way to punctuate the performance; at others it allows the performers to pass comment on the society and times in which they live and work. Beyond these considerations it is important to analyse how slapstick violence might have been performed on the traditional Commedia stage.
