What makes a comedy of manners

The famous English actress Athene Seyler who played many Comedy of Manners roles said you have to "dance" in the restoration costume Callow, , p.

Many 20th century practitioners used Laban movement as the basis for their characters. Rudolf Laban was a dancer and movement economy specialist who developed a system to monitor, map and choreograph movement. As a general rule you could start with Laban. If you can get a hold of it try the Restoration Comedy movement section in the book 'Acting in Person and Style'.

But I strongly suggest Laban as an approach and a system to try even if you only use the four components, the four elements and the eight elements of the system.

Good luck. Could you tell me about how actors of the tradition prepared and trained for voice? Other non-theatre traditions also influence the Comedy of Manners such as fashion, politics and the rise of Elocution and Public Speaking.

Hi Mark, I must commend your interesting and very helpful blog. I have an assignment to find one of the interesting context of this tradition. I have streamed through a lot of sources and they have given too broad information. Can you please help me find a reliabel source that speaks directly on the historically, political and social context of Comedy of Manners? Thank you! Yes, you can use this as a reliable source. Comedy of Manners. A Comedy of Manners. West Footscray: Tasman Press.

Of course, all book titles are in italics. The most reliable other sources are: Aitken, M. Acting in Restoration Comedy. Applause Books, London. Styan, J. Restoration Comedy in Performance.

Cambridge University Press. Hi Mark, great blog. I was wondering if you had any information or resources on the stock character known as the "rake. Monday, August 18, The Comedy of Manners. The Comedy of Manners. In England, the Restoration period heralded an exciting period in theatre. Conversely, Charles II was fond of frivolities, women the theatre and under his reign drama flourished once more.

Audiences were predominately from aristocratic backgrounds. As a style, Comedy of Manners is characterized by:. Conventions include:. Oscar Wilde and some other playwrights perfected elements of Restoration Comedy and the Comedy of manners to develop plays that mocked or made comment on Victorian society and its social divisions and mores.

In a Comedy of Manners, humor is achieved in many ways especially through the satiric treatment of those who allowed themselves to be deceived or who attempted to deceive others. Laughter is often directed against the fop, the pretender at wit, the old trying to be young or the old man with a beautiful and youthful wife. Prologues and Epilogues were important and plays would often begin or end with special pieces such as poetry, often delivered in a coarse, boisterous and hilarious fashion mocking high forms of Romantic poetry and verse.

The Restoration stage was poorly lit due to hooplike chandeliers that generally obstructed the vision of the audience. Oil lamps and candles were used and some theatres even used these below the actors at the front of the stage like footlights.

Dress was the contemporary dress of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries where every possible part of the body was adorned - large brimmed plumed hat, heavy periwig with curls tumbling over the forehead and down to the shoulders, a square cut coat and a waistcoat hanging to the knees, wide stiff cuffs and ruffles reaching to the knuckles and ribbons on every unmarked surface.

Women wore gowns with bell shaped skirts and sleeves with high mantillas and veils. Comedy of manners often satirized the middle and upper classes of people, i. These comedies often targeted the sophisticated and complex code of conduct in the society which gave more importance to appearance and outward behaviour, rather than true moral characteristics.

Lust, greed, materialistic nature of people, gossip and rumours, hypocritical nature and false pretensions of the people were common subjects of the comedy of manners. Areas such as marriage, love, adultery, fortune hunting were also portrayed in these plays. Comedy of manners relies upon high comedy. A playwright requires sophisticated wit and talent to write a comedy of manners. These comedies often used minimal physical action. Username Please enter your Username. Password Please enter your Password.

Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Sign in with your library card Please enter your library card number. Show Summary Details Overview comedy of manners. Subjects: Literature. All rights reserved. Sign in to annotate.