Farce and Vaudeville

Farce is an extreme form of comedy based on horse-play and bodily assault that causes people to laugh when the improbable happens. Plot -- often about marriage and extra-marital affairs -- focuses on the inherent stupidity of man in relation to his environment. However farce must maintain its hold on humanity or it devolves into travesty and burlesque.

Farce derives from a theatrical style called vaudeville, which is typically a light or satirical comedy. Vaudevillian plots centered on society and its political, religious and moral failings.

Light on character development, farce and vaudeville use easily identifiable characters, common language, physical comedy (and for vaudeville, popular songs) to create easy-to-understand performances intended to entertain unsophisticated audiences.
Source: The Oxford Companion to the Theatre; and Pronko, Leonard. Eugene Labiche and Georges Feydeau. New York: Grove Press, 1982.