Description
Book SynopsisJohn McCormick and Bennie Pratasik provide a study of all aspects of puppetry in nineteenth-century Europe, including the stages, mechanical workings of the puppets, and the repertoire, covering a full range of countries and cultures. The book contains valuable and rare illustrations of puppets and theatres as well as informative diagrams.
Trade Review'Here is a bold and colourful fanfare for the common puppeteer, serving as a 'time machine' to days long before puppet theatre became 'figure theatre' … the information is tightly packed, and very absorbing.' Animations
' … an excellent and much-needed overview of traditional puppetry in Europe'. British UNIMA Bulletin
'Popular Puppet Theatre in Europe, 1800–1914 is a comprehensive, beautifully produced book and an engrossing account of every aspect of this puppet-theatrical world: the show people and their way of life, the audiences, theatres and, of course, the puppets and their repertoire.' The Times Literary Supplement
'Not only have McCormick and Pratasik uncovered a wealth of information about the development of European puppetry, but the connections they make between the different strands of puppetry are at times fascinating.' Lowdown
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. The Context: 1. Showpeople; 2. The performance context; 3. Audiences; Part II. Puppet Actors and Their Stages: 4. The stage and the wings; 5. Puppet actors I - the characters; 6. Puppet actors II - the figures; 7. Puppet actors in performance; Part III. Repertoire: 8. The traditional repertoire; 9. The establishment of new repertoires; 10. Contemporary plays and popular fiction; Epilogue; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.
