Definition: Atellan farces began in the Oscan town of Atella in Campania. The Atellan farce was an early type of Roman dramatic entertainment that lasted even into the Imperial period. Originally, Atellan farces were improvisational. They relied on stock situations and stock characters in masks, as well as the physical comedy of slapstick and burlesque. By the early Imperial period, Atellan farces were no longer improvisational, but scripted performances.
Livy describes the Atellan Farces and the names for the actors (histriones) in section 7.2. of his History of Rome, where he says the Romans first performed them to try to fight a pestilence (in 363 B.C., according to Richard C. Beacham in The Roman Theatre and Its Audience).
Also Known As: Fabula atellana
