Magic on the Early English Stage

ISBN-13: 9780521825139 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 318 str.

Philip Butterworth

Opis

Magic on the Early English Stage investigates the performance of magical tricks, illusions, effects and their staged appearance in the medieval and early English theatre. Performers who created such magic were not known as conjurors, as we might refer to them today, but as jugglers. Records concerning jugglers on the medieval stage have been hitherto misunderstood or misapplied. These references to jugglers are re-examined in the light of discussions of 'feats of activity' that also include tumbling, vaulting and 'dancing on the rope'; appearances and disappearances of the 'Now you see it, now you don't' variety; and stage versions of these concepts; magic through sound in terms of ventriloquy and sound through pipes; mechanical images and puppets; and stage tricks. Information that has remained dormant since original publication is discussed in relation to jugglers such as Thomas Brandon, the King's Juggler, and William Vincent, alias 'Hocus Pocus'. Investigates the nature of the work of medieval jugglers for the first time
Identifies and discusses individual jugglers and their work
Draws upon analysis of stage directions, civic records, ecclesiastical accounts, eye-witness descriptions, and early books on magic to form a picture of the representation of magic on the medieval stage"

Recenzje

Review of the paperback: 'Philip Butterworth's style is excellently suited towards theater studies, and will teach students the material clearly without overcomplicating the subject … [The] paperback format … raises the bar for Magic on the Early English Stage's high standard of excellence, making sure that it stays one of the foremost theater studies textbooks.' Bookrenter.com

Spis treści

Introduction; 1. Jugglers: the creators of magic; 2. Feats of activity: juggling, tumbling and dancing on the rope; 3. Conveyance and confederacy; 4. Appearances and disappearances; 5. Magic through sound; 6. Mechanical images, automata, puppets and motions; 7. Substitution; 8. Stage tricks; 9. Terminology; Appendix 1. Edward Melton's Text; Appendix 2. Wily Beguiled (1606); Appendix 3. Beggars' Bush (1622); Appendix 4. The Knave in Graine (1640).