Here's a brilliant book on the subject: "The Craft of Comedy" by Athene Seyler. Still in print, it was first published in 1943. It takes the form of a series of letters written by the then reigning queen of high comedy, the actress Athene Seyler, to a young actor, Stephen Haggard.

This is what she says in one of the earlier letters:
"What, then, is at the root of comedy ? The essentials are: lack of balance, distortion, over-emphasis or under-emphasis, and surprise. Now, all these things are only relative to something else: the truth. So that you must first see the truth of a character before you can upset its balance. But you must *believe* in the distorted view of the truth that you have discovered. Having drawn the character a little out of proportion you must passionately believe in that measurement as the correct one. I think that your true comedian does both these things at once; that is to say, he is aware instinctively that the emphasis he is laying on one side of his portrait distorts it, and yet he offers it as a true likeness."

....and here is Ray Cooney, the master playwright of farce:

"In the beginning, there is The Plot. I'm not searching for a 'comedy' plot or a 'funny' storyline. I'm searching for a tragedy. Farce, more than comedy, is akin to tragedy. In 'Run For Your Wife' the hero is a bigamist. This situation in real life is an absolute tragedy for those involved. My play doesn't dwell on the tragedy but the audience instintively understands what is at stake.

The characters must be truthful and recognisable. This is why the audience laughs. The characters are believable; ordinary people who are out of their depth in a predicament which is beyond their control and they are unable to contain - tragedy again. "
(This quote comes from 'Life in the Farce Lane' by Brian Rix).

True comedy is timeless. I remember the first time I saw "She Stoops to Conquer", written in the 18th century, and it dawning on me as the play went on that all the hilarious situations and conflicts between characters were exactly the same as the ones being used so successfully in 20th century TV sit-com.

- jeanie