The story takes place in an Italian village.

Prologue
Tonio comes before the curtain and announces to the audience that the performance is about to begin. He says that the comedic drama they are about to see is about ordinary human beings like them.

Act I
A company of traveling actors arrives in a bustling village and is given a warm welcome. Tonio holds out his hand to Nedda, the wife of company leader Canio, but he is pushed aside roughly by her husband. The actors leave for the inn; Nedda stays behind and dreams of being free of Canio and his jealousy. The hunchback Tonio approaches and declares his love, which Nedda rejects with scorn. When he persists, she strikes him across the face with a whip. He leaves, humiliated, but stays close by and spots Nedda talking to a man, her lover. It is Silvio and he asks Nedda to run away with him. She hesitates but then promises to meet him after the evening performance. Tonio finds Canio and brings him to the two lovers. Silvio manages to escape unrecognized, and Nedda refuses to reveal his name. As show time nears, Canio begins to put on his clown makeup, which cannot hide his overwhelming sorrow.

Act II
The performance is about to begin; the villagers, including Silvio, take their places in the audience. Beppe, dressed as Harlequin, appears onstage to woo Nedda, dressed as Columbine. Canio, playing the part of Pagliaccio, Columbine’s husband, bursts in and Harlequin runs away. Thrown into a theatrical situation that mirrors his own life, Canio begins to lose control. He keeps demanding that Nedda reveal the name of her lover, and when she refuses, he stabs her. Silvio rushes onto the set and Canio kills him as well. Canio then announces to the audience, “The comedy is over.”