Commedia dell' arte the theatres of the fairgrounds

Theatres of various sorts and sizes have operated in fairgrounds across Europe (and beyond)from very early times. In Russia, skomorokhi, travelling entertainers, were famous for music-making and ballad singing, clowning, tumbling, showing puppets, and dancing. The best - known European popular entertainment of this sort was probably provided by the commedia dell' arte, a from of theatre presented by itinerant Italian troupes in fairgrounds, market-places, tavern yards and village greens, from about 1550 onwards. Commedia dell' arte actors played stock characters (Harlequin, Pantalone, Pierrot, etc.) in masks and recognisable costumes, and improvised their performances from pre-conceived scenarios often based on popular tales. Performances usually included plenty of songs, spectacular tumbling, rope-walking, juggling, etc, and were filled with stage tricks (known as lazzi) . 

                                                                                       Later, commedia dell' arte was accepted in higher social circles across Europe, including Russia.. by the middle of the eighteenth century commedia dramas began to be scripted, notably in the work of Carlo Goldoni (1707-98), though a movement to restore improvisation to commedia , led by Carlo Gozzi (1720-1806), met with some success. But commedia's day was really over, and by 1800 it was virtually dead.

H.M.L.P.Herath

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