volkstümlich-derb

10:02 May 15, 2010 

"burlesque" may once, in English, have had the meaning conveyed in the German "Burleske" entry. But my current understanding of "burlesque" matches that in the OxfAmDict: "a parody or comically exaggerated IMITATION (capitals mine) of something, esp. in a literary or dramatic work : the funniest burlesque of opera." Which doesn't fit here.

05:12 May 15, 2010 

I agree with Stephen that the word "burlesque" gives just the right sort of impression to, say, an educated member of the public. As I see it, the term eventually chosen will be used to advertise the German theatre performances in English, no more, no less. So it isn't really necessary to worry about the niceties as if we were writing a PhD, is it?

22:41 May 14, 2010 

Yes (cf. Lonnie @ Astrid's entry) I realise this has come to mean a form of striptease, but look at the older scope, in the German Wikipedia entry <http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burleske> (surprisingly not as informative in the Eng. version) - ' Theater (...)

Die Burleske ist eine Theaterform der „einfachen Leute“ und zeichnet sich durch groteske Komik und vulgäre Sprache (Dialekt, Soziolekt) aus. Dies kann bloß anarchische Freude an der Regelverletzung zeigen oder moralisierende Absichten haben, ist hauptsächlich im Volkstheater beheimatet, und ihre Figuren entstammen bis zum 18. Jahrhundert vor allem den niederen Gesellschaftsschichten. In Parodien und Karikaturen werden aber zunehmend auch die Herrschenden verspottet wie mit John Gays The Beggar's Opera, (1728).'
Commedia dell'Arte vocab. might also be useful (& what/who was le grand guignol?). Then there's Rabelais...

13:08 May 10, 2010 

http://www.answers.com/topic/punch-and-judy
"coarse" is a key term and means something a little different from "ribald, bawdy or crude"