Commedia Dell'Arte

Here's a few words from session leader Didi Hopkins about Commedia Dell'Arte and freedom of expression...

Commedia is a tool or key that unlocks some locked doors to creativity and freedom of expressionthere are rules and no rulesthere is nothing wrong and much right there is risk and courage and potential there is space to grow and explore and collaborate.

Commedia is about playing and responding working with not knowing, not planning, trusting and being free.

Commedia uses pictures and shapes in the body, sounds and actions to tell stories.

Commedia is an exaggerated style of theatre where characters are larger than life, stiller than life and at the same time more energetic than life, stories are extreme.

Punch and Judy descended from Commedia. Tom and Jerry. Itchy and Scratchy.

Commedia works like a comic book from frame to frame.

Commedia is the DNA and grammar of European Theatre.

Commedia is a tool or key that explores archetypes, types of people, types of behaviours.

It is an oral tradition that has survived 500 years in the body.

It is the root of comedy.

It is irreverent satirical political - a mirror of society and very very tragic.

Ha.

Vive la Commedia.

Didi Hopkins' first company Beryl and the Perils was based on the perils of the famous comic book heroine as she rattled and railed against patriarchy and parents. The work was political and had many similarities to commedia dell'arte. So when Didi discovered Carlo Boso's style of commedia which came out of the piccolo theatre, milan, she realised it was a style she had a huge hunger for, and she went on to study, perform, research and direct commedia in europe and the UK. Didi is now one of the foremost teachers and directors of commedia in the UK where she brings the lightness of renaissance italy to meet the darker more tragic side of English Shakespeare to create compelling and extraordinary theatre.

As part of the workshop, the group also had to try and act out what self-censorship felt like to them. See the clip below for some examples.

What does self-censorship feel like? from Tripwires on Vimeo.