Stage 32 Glossary

farce

Farce refers to a light-hearted, gleeful, often fast-paced, crudely humorous, contrived, and "over-the-top" comedy that broadly satirizes, pokes fun, exaggerates, or gleefully presents an improbable stock situation (e.g., a tale of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, etc.), often characterized by slapstick, pratfalls, and other physical antics. Types of farce include "screwball comedy" and "bedroom/sex farce/comedy." Contrast to "parody" and "satire."