If the Medical World was This Funny, I'd Have Changed Careers!

Thursday night ended on a very humorous note; the actors who put on “The Imaginary Invalid” gave spot on performances in delivering a delightful, over-the-top slapstick comedy, providing a great ending to the set of 5 plays that were seen in TA101.

Physical comedy is a powerful tool in the actors’ hands; it can be completely overused/incorrectly handled in inexperienced hands. However, the actors of PSU effectively managed to use the physical comedy of the show to its fullest extent to attain the greatest effect on their audience. The character of Argan is a prime example of this show’s physical comedy; much of his performance riddled with delightfully awkward positions and of course, the ever-welcome toilet humor in his constant flatulence. This thing with physical comedy is that it is very easy to overdo it in the efforts to get more laughter out of the audience. But the actor who played Argan simply let the comedy do the work and didn’t have to push the envelope in order to get us to laugh; this is the most effective way to do physical comedy.
One of the most important things when it comes to comedies is diction and volume. When actors don’t have very clear diction or audibility, the punchlines aren’t heard well and the comedic effect is unfortunately muffled. Though, this performance is definitely not the case. All the actors were heard very clearly, each consonant was finished crisply and cleanly. The beginning scene between Argan and Toinette is a great example on how the actors used their diction to the fullest extent; I didn’t have to struggle to listen, when one struggles to focus on one thing, they tend to block out everything else, occasionally missing the important punchlines. Although, I was sitting close to the front, so of course, it wouldn’t have been difficult to hear the spoken comedy. So, after the first act, I relocated myself close to the back to see if there was any discrepancy between the two spaces in regards to making out the comedic content. However, I found that even though I moved to a further seat, I heard the actors just as well as when I sat in the close-to-the-front seat.

Although toilet humor is fine and welcome in many physical comedies, its reactions onstage are just as important as the actual content itself. Argan’s flatulence brought laughter every single time, but something drew me away from it a while into the play. As the play wore on, especially during the second act, I noticed that the characters’ reactions to Argan’s flatulence seemed to be played a bit too candidly. I asked myself, “What would honestly be more humorous: Someone freaking out from a fart, or their faces subtly contorting from it?” I would have liked to see the reactions downplayed a little bit more to see facial reactions, rather than bodies facing the other way with hands pinched over the mouth and nose. Comedy shouldn’t have to be over-the-top all the time, after all, too much of one thing, one way tends to desensitize, and the same effect won’t always be achieved. Which is why comedy is best when approached from all different angles.

Overall though, I have thoroughly enjoyed this show and the genuine belly laughs it gave me. I do hope that I will be able to see high-quality shows like this in the future. I had a great time seeing all of the plays this term and getting to write about them. Perhaps I just may write more reviews for other plays I see in the near future, but until then, Happy Summer to everyone!

~Chris McVey