New Comedia

**New Comedia** is a form or period of theatrical comedy in the Empire of Sevicia that was first popularised in the early seventh century A.S. Considered a bold direction compared to much of Sevicia's comedy scene, New Comedia is defined by a more grounded, less farcical or absurdist approach to humour, a heavy reliance on dialogue and wordplay over theatrical slapstick, and an interweaving of relevant social and political themes through textual references.

New Comedia is also known for occasionally reaching over into tragedy and for its utilisation of poetic verse, usually during extended monologues or speeches. Its most famous playwrights are Jane of Hearts, Iophanus, and Porsa, whose works - considered some of the finest in Sevician history - are regarded as monuments of a new wave of theatre.

## Origins and history

New Comedia originated early in the seventh century in and around the Sevician capital of Morosea. The playwright Iophanus is widely credited as the father and pioneer of the form, with his first full-length play, O*matapera,* released in 623, including a number of unique ideas and features that strayed away from what was considered the norm in Sevician theatre and would later come to help define the genre. Though *Omatapera* and a number of other plays by Iophanus enjoyed a mild level of success, it wasn't until the early 630s that the form exploded in popularity.

The year 630 marked a seminal moment in the history of Sevician comedy, beginning with the popularity of Iophanus' *Watchers* and continuing with Jane of Hearts' *Lords of Fish* and Porsa's *The Anacala.* All three proved big successes and offered audiences a glimpse at a very different type of comedy that had yet to be properly explored. The form continued to grow in popularity until the early 670s, where it plateaued following the retirements or deaths of its three leading figures. It continues to hold an important place in Sevician theatre, though not quite as popular as it once was.

## "The Three" and their contemporaries

Most historians agree that there were three main propagators of New Comedia: Iophanus, Porsa, and Jane of Hearts, the latter of whom was known as a close friend and lover of the Sevician Imperator, Cloe of Ida. Their works that came in the 630s and 640s, such as Jane of Heart's *Rex* and *O Sevicia,* Iophanus' *Handsome Tales* and *Joy to Joy to Joy,* and Porsa's *Pastimes* and *The Temptress of Fate,* influenced the entire genre of comedy and inspired many imitators. These included: Marco Scrostani, a poet and playwright from northern Duscador; Donynion, a Morosean writer; Abela of Meirum; and Mallast, an Itrusic historian and playwright who hailed from the Cape of Sevicia.

The influence of the three lasted well into the 670s and beyond, and even after their deaths their work is widely circulated and performed in theatres and on stages across Sevicia. A number of historians point to New Comedia as one of the primary influences for Dusken Satire, a form of brash, often incredibly explicit satirical comedy that arose in Duscador sometime around the middle of the seventh century.

## Characteristics of New Comedia

New Comedia was significantly different from the forms of comedy that had been popular for hundreds of years before it. Some of the key differences are:

* **Emphasis on real personalities and topical drama.** The majority of New Comedia plays used real figures in Sevician society, either directly as characters or through reference, and focused on relevant topics and issues pertaining to Sevician society in the mid seventh century.
* **Realist theatre.** A significant portion of New Comedia opt no to use comic or tragic masks, which up until that point had been a staple of Sevician theatre, both comedic and tragedic, and contain a less absurd, less fantastical version of presentational comedy.
* **Self-referential monologues.** Many plays in New Comedia featured no chorus or choral features. Instead, characters delivered comic monologues to the audience or to other characters, usually in poetic metre, that would often include references to both the characters themselves and the audience of the play.
* **Self-referential theatre.** A feature in more absurdist works of New Comedia, characters would occasionally mock the art of theatre itself, making themselves and the audience aware of their role in the play and their intentions in doing so.
* **Structural complexity.** New Comedia plays often had little rhyme or reason to their structure, with many either partially or entirely omitting elements such as the prologue, the epilogue, the climax, and (more commonly) choral interludes of any kind.
* **Bawdy humour.** The plays often included a great deal of raunchy jokes and humour, mostly in the form of dialogue and cleverly interwoven references, as opposed to the more farcical physical theatre of Sevicia's older comedies.
* **Realistic costumes.** Unlike much of Sevicia's theatre of comedy, which contained deliberately absurd costumes and slapstick humour, New Comedia focused instead on a more grounded, realistic approach to the presentation of its actors and themes.
* **Tragedy as comedy.** New Comedia did away with the strict distinction between comedy and drama, blurring the lines between what was funny and what was, ultimately, tragic. Jane of Hearts was especially known for weaving tragic events and circumstances into her work, often vaguely disguised or passed off as humour, with the goal of making the audience uncomfortable while they laughed. A notable example is the death of the witches at the end of Jane's *The Witches of Kaman.*
* **The theatre of politics.** Much of the work of New Comedia, especially that of the 650s and 660s, had a heavy focus on either the direct or allegorical in regards to politics, using a grounded, realistic approach to costuming and staging to emphasise the absurdity of Sevician political life in the seventh century by drawing attention away from the buffoonery of the presentation and instead towards the profundity of the dialogue.
* **Poetry in prose.** Poetic metre was an important facet at the heart of New Comedia, used extensively during monologues and important scenes. Porsa in particular was a big proponent of using poetic metre throughout his works; his play *The Estan,* finished in 652, is famous for being almost written entirely in verse.

Unlike the majority of comedy that came before it, New Comedia's structure was often extremely loose, omitting large, important sections that were a staple in more traditional theatrical works. This provided its actors great room for improvisation on stage, accompanied usually by on-the-spot monologues tailored to a specific audience or recent event. The ever-changing nature of New Comedia plays was a key feature that allowed it to always feel organic and unique to its audiences.

## Famous works

### Jane of Hearts

* *Lords of Fish,* 630 A.S
* *With Rhyme and Reason,* 632 A.S
* *Birds, Bees, Fleas,* 632 A.S
* *Rex,* 633 A.S
* *The Bells of Eagle Palace,* 633 A.S
* *The Founding,* 637 A.S
* *Quiet,* 640 A.S
* *O Sevicia,* 644 A.S
* *Up On Prabitulan Hill,* 649 A.S
* *The Witches of Kaman,* 651 A.S
* *Arnacarum*, 656 A.S
* *Go All Sons,* 663 A.S

### Iophanus

* *Omatapera,* 623 A.S
* *For a Flagon,* 625 A.S
* *Salmonfolk,* 628 A.S
* *Watchers,* 630 A.S
* *Handsome Tales,* 635 A.S
* *Joy to Joy to Joy*, 638 A.S
* *Sarah,* 639 A.S
* *The Bowman's Daughter,* 644 A.S
* *The Banquet of Nyx,* 648 A.S
* *Strike like the Dragon,* 655 A.S
* *A Man Came From Ida,* 661 A.S

### Porsa

* *A Handful of Coins,* 628 A.S
* *The Anacala,* 630 A.S
* *Pastimes,* 633 A.S
* *Brothelmadams,* 635 A.S
* *The Temptress of Fate,* 641 A.S
* *The Empire, Part I,* 647 A.S
* *The Empire, Part II,* 648 A.S
* *The Estan,* 652 A.S
* *Tonguetoldtales,* 659 A.S
* *70,* 662 A.S

### Works by other playwrights

* Marco Scrostani: *Fathers' Sons,* 640 A.S
* Marco Scrostani: *The Motherland,* 649 A.S
* Abela of Meirum: *Mandera*, 642 A.S
* Mallast: *The Epic of Golgossa,* 650 A.S
* Donynion: *Scribes,* 646 A.S

## See also

Jane of Hearts

Iophanus

Porsa

*Reality as Fiction: The Plays and Playwrights of New Comedia*