The characters in One Man, Two Guv nors are based on Commedia Del Arte stock characters. That means that there is a historical starting point for each character. There are three types of stock characters: Zanni, Vecchi and Innamorati. The Zanni are the clowns. Usually they are shown as servant characters, but that is not always the case. he origin of the term zanni indicates that rather, they are meant to represent commoners or the everyman. The zanni are generally supposed to be low-class characters, at least in behavior if not always in their active social status. While they might sometimes be of a higher social class, they are never classy per se -- at heart they always remain cunning conmen or dull-witted country boys. so in modern productions it is more typical to see the zanni as crude and boisterous Vecchi mean old men in Italian. In fact they are usually the authority figures in the story -- "The Man" who is holding back the little people -- with the parts most typically fulfilled by the Doctor and Pantalone, although other characters like the Captain and Ruffiana can fall into this position as well. Storywise their usual purpose is to act as the villains and opponents. In general the vecchi are portrayed as selfish, and quite prone to committing any and all of the seven deadly sins (lust, sloth, greed, pride, wrath, gluttony, envy.) They also are often hypocrites, demanding acts of sacrifice and loyalty from others they would never perform themselves, save for an occasional and usually sudden change of heart in the final act to allow a happy ending. They are almost always in a position of power over other characters, sometimes through their social position, other times by mere familial relation, but whatever it is -- they have the power to make their unreasonable demands of the other characters, and only clever schemes or incredible luck can get the victims out from under the control of the vecchio. Luckily, tradition dictates the vecchio is indeed almost always thwarted in the end. The Innamorati are the romantic leads -- "Lovers" would be an accurate translation for their title. The male is the inamorato and the female is the inamorata. In traditional commedia, the romance of the innamorati is the driving plot of the show -- it may be a story of lovers kept separated by circumstance, or it could be a tale of the vecchio and the inamorato competing for the affections of the inamorata, but the love story was the heart of the show and the event that sent the other characters into action. Sometimes the two actors will play their roles straight, in contrast to the ridiculous antics of the zanni and the vecchi around them; on other occasions they may ham it up or parody the comical traits of those who are in love, and play as comedians themselves. Here are the Stock Characters as they line up for our show.
Lloyd Boateng - Brighella An ill-tempered but intelligent zanni, he is known to be dangerous and may even commit murders or other violent crimes. He is selfish and opportunistic -- as is the case with many of the stock characters -- but unlike the other zanni who are often stupid or at least gullible, Brighella is cunning and can manipulate circumstances in ways that would be beyond the other characters; any failure of his schemings will usually be due to bad luck on his part, rather than any real problem with his plan. He traditionally shows no real sense of honor, and will rob his dearest friend if he finds the chance; and only demonstrates loyalty to others if he discovers it to be to his own best advantage. His name comes from an old Italian word that means "brawl" and so in English his name could be rendered as Brawley. His costume was usually white with green trimmings, and his mask an olive-color or (less-commonly) brown, with a hooked nose. Duchartre describes his traditional hat as a toque with a green border, though most illustrations seem to show Brighella with a peasant's bonnet sometimes called a "muffin hat", similar to what most other zanni commonly wear. A modern Brighella-type character can be found in Edmund Blackadder of the Blackadder series. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Malicious intelligence, manifesting as insults, trouble-making, schemes, and brawls. Charlie Clench - Pantalone A vecchio, and one of the older characters of the commedia, both historically and in canon. In fact, the older the show states Pantalone's age to be, the better. He is usually portrayed as being of the merchant class though he may or may not be wealthy; if he is, it doesn't matter as he's usually so averse to spending any of his money that his lifestyle is almost that of a beggar. His costume consists of pants and a shirt or else a jumpsuit, usually red in color, with a long black coat or a cape thrown over. His mask is meant to portray an ancient old man, very wrinkled, with a large, long nose. Pantalone's traditional costume of long trousers, which was his attribute even before such garments were fashionably worn, resulted in the term pants pantaloons and so on becoming the name for such garments. His actual name may be from Greek Pantaleon, a clown mentioned by the ancient author Athenaeus, suggesting his origins to be quite old indeed. Modern Pantalone-like characters include Mr. Burns on The Simpsons (whose face is even drawn in such a way as to resemble Pantalone's mask) and Robert "Granddad" Freeman on Boondocks. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Greed and stinginess -- usually of money but can apply it to women, power, food, or whatever else captures his fancy. SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Old man. Jokes about prostate troubles, broken hips, and 'back in my day we wore an onion on our belt' will abound.
Harry Dangle Il Dottore Common names for the Doctor are Graziano Baloardo and Spaccastrummolo, which roughly translate in English, respectively, as Dr. Gratian Stoupide and Dr. Hack-and-Bandage. According to Duchartre, the character first appears during the sixteenth century, he is summarized as having spent his whole life learning everything without understanding anything. The Doctor is one of the vecchi, and is therefore by demand of the type prone to commit all seven of the deadly sins. He has an unusual mask that covers only the nose and forehead, either black or flesh-tone, and dresses in black. Early doctors wore caricatures of the medical robes of their era, but in the mid-seventeenth century the costume was modified to a jacket of Louis XIV style, extremely wide hat, breeches, and a ruff collar. He is rarely shown as being even remotely competent in his profession, and common sources of humor stem from his low cure rates and the bizarre (and obviously useless) treatments he administers. A modern version of this character can be found in the form of Professor Farnsworth on Futurama an extremely elderly, amoral, senile and deranged scientist who appears to spend most of his time inventing useless and ridiculous devices and ordering around his employees. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Egotism and pride; often conflicting with his actual stupidity and ineptitude. SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Old man -- see Pantalone. Dolly Columbina First appears in the seventeenth century, as a variation of the soubrette or maid, who were the female counterparts of the zanni. Columbine is usually amorous and is often in love with someone or another in any scenario, most typically Harlequin. She may be variously prim and dainty, or she may be bold and uncouth; but she's never as crude or vulgar as Francesquina or Ruffiana due to her intelligence and legitimate affection for others. Modern commedie often use her to provide a voice of reason in the show and utilize her more as a straight-man for the other characters. As is usual for the female roles, her costume tends to vary by the fashions of the day, and at times can be as elaborate as that of the inamorata, and at other points may be ragged and drab. Her outfit became somewhat standardized in the nineteenth century as a gown, usually white in color, frozen in the fashion of the previous century. She frequently wears no mask at all, though sometimes she may have a small eye-mask. A modern character somewhat in the style of Columbina can be found in Babs Bunny from the Tiny Toons cartoon series, in the way she often has small romantic troubles and indulges in girly activities. Yung Hee on Mike Tyson Mysteries depicts a Columbina in a straight man role. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: The antics of love/lust. She can also be a straight man, meaning she has no primary comic trait and instead serves mainly to aid jokes from other characters. SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Sauciness; also, strange creativity.
Francis Arelcchino Perhaps the most popular and definitely best-known of the commedia characters. There are many dubious etymologies of his name, often linking him to mythical beings or spirits, but no one can say for sure whence the word originates. My own best guess, based on information available to me, is that it comes from Frankish karalchin, or "little man" (cognate to the names Karl and Charles.) Harlequin's early costume was a kind of unitard or jumpsuit decorated with patches, meant to indicate a garment so ragged it was more patches than real material. Over time it evolved into the diamond or triangle pattern that has come to distinguish him. Later versions show him in a two-piece outfit made from a shirt and pants. Interestingly, his outfit has always been belted around the hips, instead of at the waist. Harlequin is traditionally portrayed by a physically agile actor and makes use of slapstick and stunts. His character is often not particularly bright though the extremes to which this is taken vary by the scenario. He wears a dark brown or black colored mask, sometimes with a beard or mustache attached. Old style Harlequins often wore a hat made from a dead animal, though from the eighteenth century on a bicorn or tricorn hat has become traditional. Another attribute of Harlequin is a wooden prop -- usually a wooden sword or a wooden stick (originally a slapstick, but later evolutions show it as just a walking stick or cane.) PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Making a nuisance of himself. These are the lovers and have no listed comic traits Alan Dangle Flavio (INAMORATO) & Pauline Clench Isabella (INAMORATA) Rachel Crabbe none There is no specific stock character for this role, but may be an Innamorati. Stanley Stubbers none There is no specific stock character for this role, but may be an Innamorati. Alfie none There is no specific stock character for this role, but may be Burratio or Punchinello (See others below) Gareth none There is no specific stock character for this role, but may be Pedrolino or Tartaglia (See others below)
Others Stock Characters Burratino One of the zanni, with an extremely good nature -- obviously trustworthy enough that in Fortunata Isabella, the inamorata chooses him as her sole companion on a cross-country trip. He's not usually shown to be particularly smart, and he, like many zanni, is often inclined toward gluttony and lust. He is easily brought to tears by any kind of bad news (such as discovering he's eaten all the macaroni) and can lament these things at length. Illustrations show his costume to be a slightly baggy shirt and pants, decorated with small bows or ribbons, and wearing a collar. His hat is a kind of flat-cap with a narrow brim. The name Burrattino means little-donkey. A modern version of Burrattino can be found in the character of Burton "Gus" Guster on the show Psych. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Soft-hearted to excess. Il Capitano Unusually, the character of the Captain can fall into both the zanni and the vecchi categories, and can even fill the part of the inamorato on occasion. He is opportunistic and greedy, and in many scenari he is revealed to have never been a captain at all; and if he does have legitimate claim to the title he only earned it through deception and bravado. The other characters may or may not be fooled by his claims, depending on the needs of the story. He usually wears a fancy version of a period military uniform, and may or may not have a mask. If he is masked, it is usually flesh-colored with a long nose and mustache that turns up at the corners. He also is frequently portrayed as wearing glasses -- in past times these would have been a fashion accessory, akin to sunglasses today. He is usually played as being an extreme coward behind his bravado, though once in a while the character is known to demonstrate true courage; nevertheless, even when he does, it is so ineptly applied that his action is still a miserable failure. A modern example of a character in the style of the Captain is the title role of the show Invader Zim, an arrogant and exceedingly self-centered alien who earned a high military ranking simply because his superiors wanted to put him in charge of the most distant planet they could think of, so they'd never have to see him again. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Egotism and megalomania. SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Cowardice or ineptitude, in contrast to his primary trait. Geronte A French version of Pantalone. Though still old, he is usually portrayed as less mean or miserly and instead more ignorant or naive. 19th century costume designs show him as an old man dressed as a gentleman of the late 17th or early 18th century, but with flamboyantly bright red rolled stockings and a variety of unfashionable hats. He does not appear to wear a mask. His name is from a Greek word meaning elder or old man. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Ignorance/stupidity.
Pedrolino Ranks with Harlequin among the most popular characters of the commedia. He particularly took off in English-speaking countries after the character was revamped during the late seventeenth century to be more innocent and romantic. An indication of his popularity comes in the works of Wodehouse, who declares that for costume parties, every well-bred Englishman dresses as Pierrot. This costume consists of a white, baggy jumpsuit, or else loose trousers and a button-down shirt, sometimes with overly-long sleeves. A ruff or a clown collar around the neck is almost always worn, and the actor leaves the face unmasked and made-up with white powder. A skullcap is worn on the head to hide the hair, sometimes topped with another wider-brimmed hat. Occasionally he can be found wearing a bonnet or a tall toque. A Pierrot-like character can be found in the roles favored by Buster Keaton during his heyday (Bertie in The Saphead, Johnnie in The General, etc.) PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Originally tended to play pranks and insult other characters for humor; later came to be known for innocence and dreaminess Punchinello Pot-bellied and hunchbacked zanni, his shape is somewhat like that of a chicken, and this is probably the origin of his name (from medieval Italian pollicino, a young pullet or chicken.) His mask is formed to have a long, hooked, beak-like nose, and his costume usually includes a tall hat of some form. His actual garments are similar to Pierrot's. Pulcinella's primary trait is a tendency toward malice and selfishness which is usually covered by an ignorance or pretense thereof as to the harm he's causing. Like Brighella, he's willing to commit murder, but Pulcinella will often find a way to make it seem like an accident or even to trick or confuse the victim into killing himself. He evolved in English-speaking countries into Mr. Punch of the notorious Punch and Judy shows. The character of Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice) as played by Michael Keaton is a sort of modern Pulicinella character. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Gleeful malice. La Ruffiana A female vecchio, not well documented but recently grown in popularity due to the new availability of female actresses and the need to fit them with roles. Her name, according to Florio, means "a woman bawde" i.e. a whore or a madam. She is often played as gossipy, to the point that sometimes her name gets mistranslated as "gossiper." In any case, her character is that of a low class woman, even if the story has set her up to be financially well-off through her occupations or marriages. She doesn't appear to have a standard costume but evidently would dress as flamboyantly as her financial condition would allow. Oddly for a female character, it appears she did traditionally wear a mask, which looks to have been modeled after the bauta style, but with a higher mouth so as not to obscure her speech. Lady Booby from the film adaption of Joseph Andrews is a Ruffiana-like character. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Old whore
Tartaglia The word tartaglia means a stutterer or stammerer, and this is the primary trait of the character. For the sake of humor he often will find himself stuck on the most obscene syllable in any given word. Tartaglia frequently is an official of some kind, like a judge or a minister to the king. He usually is in the character class of a vecchio or a zanni. He does not appear to have a standard costume, but Maurice Sand shows him in a green and yellow striped clown outfit. He often is shown with thick glasses and is meant to be old, so his mask uses these qualities. A rounded nose is also common. A modernized Tartaglia can be found in the character of Porky Pig. PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Stutter. A lot of this info was taken from La Commedia Inglese by Talia Felix