### Clue: Severely criticise having old theatrical technique propping up Travers' earliest farce (9)
### Answer: PANTOMIME 
 ### Explanation: Definition: farce
 PAN(to criticise severely, eg. a play) **plus**(having) { O(abbrev. for "old") + MIME(a theatrical technique of portraying characters, thoughts and actions without the use of words) } **placed below**(propping up, in a down clue) **the 1st letter of**(…' earliest) "Travers". And, of course, Ben Travers was an English writer known for his series of farces.
Answer: A confused or farcical situation.