Jul
30
Merry Wives is built around a series of practical jokes, mostly played on Falstaff, a characteristic it shares with other Shakespearean comedies recently produced at the New Swan: All's Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, and perhaps even Measure for Measure. But what defines a practical joke, why are they funny, and what do they do? In this talk, Professor Ian Munro (Department of Drama, UC Irvine) will discuss the Renaissance fascination with practical jokes and explore their thematic and theatrical effects in Merry Wives.
Please register for this free event to receive the Zoom link and updates.
Ian Munro is a professor of English and drama at UC Irvine specializing in early modern English theater. His research interests include European drama and performance, critical theory, urban space and representation, early modern popular culture, crowds and audiences, the intersections of theater and print culture, and the performance of wit. He is completing a book on wit and humor on the English stage.
For information, please contact Julia Lupton, jrlupton@uci.edu.
Zoom