Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole

by Jessica Moss

All Jane wants is to perform comedy. But she is struggling even to get stage time in the court of King Henry VIII, in 1533. Despite the support of her friend Anne Boleyn, Jane can’t break into the boys club of Tudor nightly entertainment – King Henry would rather see acts like Carl the Funny One, who makes wry observations about contemporary life, but who also is known to publicly masturbate. But Carl the Funny...

All Jane wants is to perform comedy. But she is struggling even to get stage time in the court of King Henry VIII, in 1533. Despite the support of her friend Anne Boleyn, Jane can’t break into the boys club of Tudor nightly entertainment – King Henry would rather see acts like Carl the Funny One, who makes wry observations about contemporary life, but who also is known to publicly masturbate. But Carl the Funny One has a degree of power, and an interest in Jane: which he uses to put her in a humiliating and upsetting situation. When the event goes public, the court is divided, and as Carl makes half-hearted non-apologies, Jane still can’t get onstage – until she and Anne have finally had enough. In a world where you are inherently seen as less-than, what kind of justice is possible? How can you ever be seen as funny when you’re not really seen as a person? Inspired by the very short Wikipedia entry about Jane Foole, or Jane The Foole, the only female court jester ever depicted, and current events.

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Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole

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  • David Hilder: Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole by Jessica Moss
    “

    Holy mackerel. I'm entirely won over by this comedy of rage, this extremely funny vivisection of awful societal structures and strictures, this profound and sometimes profoundly silly and often very sad examination of, ya know ... horrible sexism built into our social norms. Every character is fresh and distinct, and the writer's voice couldn't be more clear as well. Love, love, love this one.

    Holy mackerel. I'm entirely won over by this comedy of rage, this extremely funny vivisection of awful societal structures and strictures, this profound and sometimes profoundly silly and often very sad examination of, ya know ... horrible sexism built into our social norms. Every character is fresh and distinct, and the writer's voice couldn't be more clear as well. Love, love, love this one.

    ”
  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole by Jessica Moss
    “

    LOVE IT. This play is about a woman in King Henry VIII's court who wants to be a comedian, but it's also about sexual harassment and the weighing all women of all time have always had to do between standing up and speaking out and letting things slide, knowing it will be way worse for them than for the men behaving badly. A wonderful commentary on what it's like to be female and the exhaustion of tap dancing backwards and in heels, wishing and praying and striving, while men are able to take and use what they want.

    LOVE IT. This play is about a woman in King Henry VIII's court who wants to be a comedian, but it's also about sexual harassment and the weighing all women of all time have always had to do between standing up and speaking out and letting things slide, knowing it will be way worse for them than for the men behaving badly. A wonderful commentary on what it's like to be female and the exhaustion of tap dancing backwards and in heels, wishing and praying and striving, while men are able to take and use what they want.

    ”
  • Daniel Krane: Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole by Jessica Moss
    “

    This is a hysterical read: a formally-daring, caustic look at comedy's #metoo moment through the lens of an aspiring female jester in King Henry's court. Medieval standup while sending up Louis CK? Sign me up.

    This is a hysterical read: a formally-daring, caustic look at comedy's #metoo moment through the lens of an aspiring female jester in King Henry's court. Medieval standup while sending up Louis CK? Sign me up.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations