Discover the Secrets of Slapstick, Timing and Farcical Mayhem.
In this full day session, you will master the core principles of farce, from precise comic timing to the physical humour of the exaggerated stock characters. You'll learn to harness this anarchic style, bringing to life the comedy of mistaken identities, improbable situations, and plot-driven chaos. With an emphasis on high-octane comedy, the workshop shows you how to bring these super-sized characters to the stage with skill and confidence. Through hands-on experience, you'll get to work directly with the physical, the absurd, and the wonderfully ridiculous elements that make farce so compelling.
Cost:
£50 full price
£25 students/Equity members
in association with and hosted by
Drawing from the tradition of scripted farce – from Molière to Dario Fo – this workshop uses games and exercises to explore:
Stock Types and Exaggeration:
Meet the classic archetypes that populate the world of farce, such as the Flouncing Fop, the Scheming Servant, the Pompous Pedant.
Go beyond the surface-level caricatures to uncover the flawed humanity that makes these characters enduringly funny.
Through practical work on the Levels of Exaggeration, you will gain the precision needed to ensure every move, look and gesture serves the comedy, while remaining rooted in the character's truth.
Physicality, Comic Timing, Tempo and Rhythm:
Choreographing and executing classic comic stage business, from a perfectly timed pratfall to the expressive silence of a comic double-take.
Controlling a scene's tempo and rhythm, building and releasing comic tension to escalate chaos, and precise placement of pause to win the biggest laugh.
Experimenting with the stage environment as a source of comedy, discovering how to turn a simple prop into a comedic tool.
Key Take Aways:
For Performers:
Master classic comic skills and timing with physical precision
Learn to manipulate tempo and tension to control audience responses
Embody farce archetypes with truth, not just caricature
For Teachers and Directors:
A practical toolkit of exercises to extend students’ range, skills and capacity to explore the heightened, exaggerated style of farce
Methods to orchestrate theatrical mayhem with safety, precision and confidence
Practical ways into texts such Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Servant of Two Masters, One Man Two Guvnors, The Government Inspector and Max Frisch’s The Arsonist.
⚠️ Warning:
This course may result in uncontrollable giggling and sudden urges to pratfall.
What participants say:
“A fast paced, giggle-packed day with great insights into how physical comedy is constructed. Huge fun!”
“I have done a lot of CPD ... and this was head and shoulders above the rest - fun, practical, academic and so useful. I would snap up future training with Learning Through Theatre.”
“Hilarious! It was best day of laughter I’ve had in ages!”
More About Farce:
Farce has its origins in the comic traditions of the ancient world, but it truly crystallised in medieval France, where short comic sketches were “stuffed” (farcire) into otherwise serious religious plays by clerics. These lively interludes, often mocking priests, judges, and quarrelling spouses, soon became a genre in their own right, performed in marketplaces with exaggerated characters, slapstick humour, and rapid-fire dialogue. At the same time, in Renaissance Italy, commedia dell’arte developed as a professional theatre of improvisation, using stock characters, masks, and physical comedy. Though farce was usually scripted and commedia improvised, both traditions shared key characteristics: archetypal characters, comic misunderstandings, and physical gags and exaggeration. Together, they laid the groundwork for the great comic playwrights of the Renaissance, from Molière in France to the masters of modern farce like Georges Feydeau and Dario Fo.
About the Workshop Leader:
Cheryl Stapleton is a performer, director, and teacher with over 30 years’ experience. She founded Learning Through Theatre™ primarily to provide theatre workshops, specialising in commedia dell’arte, expressionism and physical theatre. Cheryl trained in drama at Brunel University, studied physical theatre, mask, and mime at École Philippe Gaulier, and furthered her commedia practice with Antonio Fava and John Rudlin. She also worked with Michael Chase to develop her skills in mask-making. Cheryl teaches theatre skills internationally in schools, drama schools and universities. She is also an artist with ISTA (International School Theatre Association) and delivers private and corporate voice and presentation coaching.