Perhaps something akin to this oppressive feeling may have weighed upon you in watching this old-fashioned family life on the banks of the Floss, which even sorrow hardly suffices to lift above the level of the
tragi-comic. It is a sordid life, you say, this of the Tullivers and Dodsons, irradiated by no sublime principles, no romantic visions, no active, self-renouncing faith; moved by none of those wild, uncontrollable passions which create the dark shadows of misery and crime; without that primitive, rough simplicity of wants, that hard, submissive, ill-paid toil, that childlike spelling-out of what nature has written, which gives its poetry to peasant life.
Mademoiselle Cormon's absence allowed the ladies present to discuss the
tragi-comic scene--embellished, extended, historified, embroidered, wreathed, colored, and adorned--which had just taken place, and which, on the morrow, was destined to occupy all Alencon.
Thus, the show's
tragi-comic elements aren't lost on the actor.
The
tragi-comic production speculates about his past and turns a satirical eye to the religious hypocrisies of 19th Century Scotland.
A-Sometimes, the attempt to stay close to young people as they try out new personas can result in
tragi-comic compromises that nobody is happy with -- the cool dad nodding along to gangsta rap numbers, A-pretending not to hear the lyrics.
Casey's Laurence meanwhile perfectly embodies the hen-pecked, stressed-out husband, belittled by his wife at every opportunity and scorned by her right up until the play's
tragi-comic climax.
But while we thankfully still have one more week of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's
tragi-comic masterpiece to go, unfortunately tonight is the last we'll see of Steve Coogan's crowning creation for a while.
Yorgos Lanthimos's
tragi-comic drama re-vitalises the period format with a script that sounds modern and a visual quality that uses natural lighting and wide-angle filming to emphasise the vast spaces of Hatfield House used for the film.
Theresa May's
tragi-comic last-minute attempt to bring MPs round to her point of view on Brexit entered a whole new farcical phase yesterday.
Manto's art is also suffused with a
tragi-comic perspective but his narrative is clearly rooted in social and psychological realism.
Summary: India seems to have a
tragi-comic relationship with her artists and their canvases.
Taking aim in particular at Austria's conservative government, Celik added it was "
tragi-comic" that the EU made such comments when it was "held captive by members where the far-right is ruling".