''Avanspettacolo'' () is an Italian theatrical genre that developed between the 1930s and 1950s. Closely related to

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

, ''avanspettacolo'' features a diverse mixture of music, ballet,

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

, and other forms of entertainment. The genre emerged during the Fascist era, as a consequence of the promulgation of "modernist" laws that granted tax relief advantages to the theatres that were adapted to play

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

. As a consequence, theatre companies were forced to devise a light and short form of representation that could be performed on the stage to entertain the audience before the "main show" (i.e., the movie).Delteatro.it: Dizionario del spettacolo - Avanspettacolo
/ref>Angelo Olivieri with Alberto Castellano, 1989: ''Le stelle del varietà: rivista, avanspettacolo e cabaret dal 1936 al 1966'', Roma, Gremese, Mario Quargnolo, 1980: ''Dal tramonto dell'operetta al tramonto della rivista: mezzo secolo di fasti e miserie del varietà e dell'avanspettacolo'', Milano, Pan, 1980, SBN IT\ICCU\SBL\0287024 Since ''avanspettacolo'' began as a low-profile and minor adaptation of revue proper, and in the 1970s ended up including such things as

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

shows, the term is sometimes used in a pejorative sense to refer to cheap, low quality comedy. Nevertheless, in the first half of the 20th century ''avanspettacolo'' served as a springboard for many prominent comedians, including

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan language, Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and ...

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi De Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il principe della risat ...

Aldo Fabrizi Aldo Fabrizi (; born Aldo Fabbrizi; 1 November 1905 – 2 April 1990) was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter and comedian, best known for the role of the heroic priest in Roberto Rossellini's ''Rome, Open City'' and as partner of Totò in ...

, and

Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films. Biography Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di P ...

.Lino Banfi, 1991: ''Alla grande. La mia vita dall'avanspettacolo all'eurovisione''. Sugarco Edizione

References

Theatre of Italy Theatrical genres {{Italy-culture-stub