Over Spring Break, I saw the play "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA. It gave me an another view of humor through the use of dramatic irony.
A brief synopsis is that a young Monty Navarro has 7 distant family members ahead of him in line for the family fortune. In order to avenge his mother's exile from the family, he decides that the 7 men and women above him should meet their doom so that he can acquire the family fortune.
What made this play so funny were the various side remarks and internal conversations the audience could hear going on in Monty's head. We loved him before he became a murderer. The dramatic irony of the play was very apparent as we, the audience, knew what ill-fate was going to befall the members of Monty's family before they themselves knew how they would die. Dramatic irony can be defined as (theatre) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play...and this is exactly what "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" displayed!
Another thing that made the many death scenes bearable and actually funny was that one single actor played all 7 members of the family (both men and women) who died. Through his exaggerated personalities and the multiple costumes he donned for each character, he appeared to be a different person in every scene! Realizing he was the same actor after reading the playbill was comical!
Even more hilarious was when, at the end of the play, once Monty had gained possession of the family fortune, that same actor appeared on stage as a member of the family further down the list of inheritors and he had poison to kill Monty!! This caused the crowd to erupt in laughter as the curtains closed.
If you're into plays, I definitely suggest seeing this one!! It was a great example of many different methods of humor.
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