About the Artist

21st Century Commedia is a Philadelphia-based physical theater company dedicated to smashing highbrow dramatic tradition with lowbrow comedic brilliance. Born from a passion for rigorous, movement-based storytelling, the company fuses classic theatrical lineages including clowning, mime, mask, and melodrama with a relentlessly modern, anarchic sensibility.

We believe that the deepest existential truths are often found at the bottom of a perfectly executed tumble, and that no classic text is too sacred to be broken apart and rebuilt with a sense of play. By stripping away polite theatrical convention, 21st Century Commedia creates high-energy, virtuosic, and deeply accessible performances where grand tragedy and absolute absurdity live side by side. Whether we are dismantling Russian realism, rewriting Shakespearean classics or throwing ourselves into slapstick Lazzi's, our mission is simple: to make audiences laugh, gasp, and remember the raw, visceral joy of live, physical storytelling.

Accessibility & Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Nudity

Adult Language

Audience Interaction

Content Advisory: Chekhov’s Banana Peel is an absurd physical comedy that contains fast-paced parodies of mature themes found in classic Russian literature, including gun violence, suicide, domestic abuse, and substance abuse. Recommended for audiences ages 13+.

Covid-19 Safety policy

This event does not require masks to be worn