It seems a long way from Molière to Ray Cooney.There are immense distances between the worlds ofAristophanes, Plautus, Georges Feydeau, Ben Travers,Joe Orton and Basil Fawlty. But as one of the oldestgenres in the history of the theatre, farce bridges thegaps by generating gales of helpless belly laughteracross the generations.

Inspired by John Mortimer's observation that farce is'tragedy played at a thousand revolutions a minute',Roger Foss embarks on a lightning tour of therib-tickling world of confused characters, absurdsituations, ruined reputations, sexual innuendo andbravura comic acting and finds out if farce really is aforce to be reckoned with in the 21st century.The great creators and performers of farce arecelebrated, most notably master farceur Ray Cooney,who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, in essaysthat will inform and entertain both the aficionadoand anyone with a sense of humour.