OU professor’s new book examines the evolution of farce

Oakland University Professor David Gram’s first book, Contemporary Farce on the Global Stage: Or, Serious Laughter, was recently published by Routledge Publishing. The book examines the evolution of farce as a theatrical genre in the 21^st century.

“My love and appreciation for farce goes back many, many years,” said Gram, an assistant professor of theatre at OU. “It’s a genre of theatre that has been around since the Greeks and the Romans, and continues to endure because the comedic situations that characters find themselves in are not only recognizable but universal.”

Unlike farces of the past, where a successful resolution was a given and audiences could laugh uproariously at adulterous behavior, farce no longer guarantees an audience a happy ending where everything works out.

“Generally speaking, up to the end of the 20th century, one could argue that the biggest element at stake in a farce was one's reputation,” Gram said. “Almost 25 years into the new millennium, I think the stakes are much higher.

“Inspired by modern playwrights like Joe Orton, Dario Fo, and Michael Frayn, contemporary farceurs recognize that the genre can be an effective vehicle to explore race, gender, sexual orientation, social and political issues, culture, and the craft of theatre,” he added. “Classic tropes of the genre remain ever present; the difference is that farces today no longer guarantee happy endings. Cartoon violence has been replaced with a greater element of danger, even the death of characters. We are no longer being 'diverted' with laughter. The laughter is reflecting our fractured world.”

With a foreword by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, Contemporary Farce on the Global Stage: Or, Serious Laughter introduces readers to the Mechanics of Farce, and the ‘Four Ps,’ which are key elements for understanding, appreciating, and exploring the form.

Designed specifically to give theatre-makers a rounded understanding that will underpin their own productions, this book will also be of use to theatre and performance studies students.

“Over the course of writing the book, I had the opportunity to interview over 60 award-winning playwrights, directors, actors, designers, stage managers, and scholars from all over the world, about farce,” Gram said. “In conversation with them, I asked why we should take farce seriously? Needless to say, in these troubled and uncertain times, the most common response was: laughter is a great antidote, and a form of catharsis. This modality of storytelling can help us make sense of a world in disarray. Farce is an attempt to restore order. Personally, I believe comedy is a powerful weapon, and farce is comedic resilience in the face of chaos, disorder, and potential failure.”

Contemporary Farce on the Global Stage: Or, Serious Laughter is available for purchase on the Routledge Publishing website, www.routledge.com/Contemporary-Farce-on-the-Global-Stage-or-Serious-Laughter/Gram/p/book/9780367219284.