What is funny and what is not

I enjoyed very much the National Theatre production in the Adelphi Theatre this evening, One man, two guvnors. A generous display of energy and hard work, I presume: it has to be difficult to give oneself in like that every night. Well, acting is about this, I guess. Perhaps, the interpretation is excessively centred in Corden at times, and lacks of rhythm at moments; but the output is good. A very funny comedy with a good interpretation and a gigantic physical work of some actors. Had fun.

The seed, original comedy, The Servant of Two Masters, is due to Carlo Goldoni (1746). The life of this man is... Italian, let's say... Fellinisque. Goldoni was born in Venice, and his life and work seems essentially modern: chaos, paradoxes, censure and public scandals and brawls. The man endured 86 years of life and for the last 30 he lived in Versailles, amongst the daughters of the King of France, teaching Italian. After the French Revolution Goldoni loses his Royal pension -granted by Louis XV- and dies in 1793 in dire poverty, abandoned as a rabid dog. The funny part in the fantastic comedy of his life is that the day after his death the National Convention decided to restore his pension, unaware of his death.

There is no better comedy than Life itself. Reality sometimes surpasses Fiction. Again and again. V. made me laugh today when she remembered the story of Cicciolina, the Hungarian porn star in the 80s who made it all the way to the Italian Parliament with her Party of Love. Burlesque, grotesque, funny, scandalous... Ok... . However, that IS Life; it was the Heart of Life beating through, nothing else.

But I agree with V. in that there are parts in the Comedy of Life who are not funny at all. The resignation of Berlusconi has come with elements of buffoonery that strike me. The grotesque scene of a group of people singing his fall to Handel's Hallelujah outside the Quirinale is just astonishing. The fact that his resignation has been celebrated as that of any petty dictator instead of an elected politician in a democratic state deserves, unfortunately, more pity than celebration, more worries than joys.

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