Puppets and Puppetry

160 Pages·12.184 MB·English

by  Peter Fraser

Cyril
~aumont
PUPPETS
AND
PUPPETRY
•
THE ITU DI 0 PUBLIC AT I 0 NI London & New York
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Puppets & Puppetry
•
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
To the Officers and Members of
UN l MA (Union lntnnationak des Marionntlks)
repre..entative of many nations
who are working together for the advancement of
the art of puppetry
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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First pwhlulud 1958
O>pyright O T7u Studio Limiud I 968
Some of the material in this book first appeared in Pupj>tts and tk l'itPJ>tl Stage, 19S8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author withes to J"<eOl'C! his grateful thanb to Mr Geald Morice for hia
gene""" loan.t from hia Pl!Jll>OlrY Archives: to Mr Bernard Oma for many
'•tills' &om his collection of puppet &bru: and to Mr Alan Collingrid~, Dr.
Hans R. Punchke, and Prof..- HaJTO Siegel for informstim retpocting
puppet perf~• in Gmnany. The author alto desires to reoord his deep
a~ation of the oourteties afforded him by The Britilh F'ilm Institute, the
Britilh Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, the Cuchoalovak Embusy, the
Educational Puppetry Mooci1tion, the Frenc:hEmbuay (Cultural J)eponment),
the Poliah lnltitutt, the Society for Cultural Relatiml with the U.S.5.R, and
by Mean Philip Boucat, Peter Brinaon, Jan 8U11ell, Tom Howard, .)mu
Metod, GeorgeSpeaight, and Rikul>ei Umemto in obtaining illumative material.
Prihlislud in London by T7u Studio Limiud, Hrdton Hoou, Fi«t Stred E.C.~
and in Ntw Tork by Studio Nlications Inc, .fllll F011Tth """'"'
Made andp rinud in &.gland by H'illiam CltJwts and Sons, Limiud, and &eeks
Lon~•
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CONTENTS
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 6
ANATOMY 17
THE PUPPET TODAY 21
NEW USES FOR THE PUPPET 29
ILLUITllATIONI
&hind the Set11es
SS
Puppeufrom Austria
42
C.:ulwsllJVO.fia
47
France
53
Gtr1114ny
67
Great Britain
88
Greece
107
Holland
110
Israel
111
Italy
112
Japan
116
South
Afr~a 118
Swiet Union
119
Switzerland
124
U.S.A.
126
Tr.goslavia
IS8
Puppet Films from C.:ulmlwa!ia
141
Poland
150
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HISTORY A IN
The renaissance of puppetry in the twentieth century will be of particular
interett to future historiana of the theatre: for though there have dwaya
been puppets, even so far back u the dayt of ancient Greece and Rome, u
time went on they had come to be taken for granted: and by the nineteenth
century the showmen, foced with rising rents and the competition of more
spectacular entertainments, began to take to the road, and gradudly puled
from sight.
In compensation, u it were, prominent men of an and letters begm to
discover the possibilities or the puppet, which olfera immense scope u a
means of dramatic expression, '!'hile entailing the minimum of expense.
They carved or fashioned figures, clothed them, designed the settings, and
wrote the plays. At fint, for want of technical knowledge and the skill and
experience which can only be acquired by long years of practice and experi
ment, their efforts were aude, but gradually they improved and the
performances held the attention of the sophisticated writers and painters
who formed their audiences.
As examples of thi> influence one may cite George Sand's puppet theatre
at Nohant, which, founded in 18+7, had produced by 187!1, 1!10 plays; the
theatre of the famous singer, Duprez, at Vdmondois; and the puppets of
Lemercier de Neuville. Mention mutt also be made of Count Franz Pocci,
who wrote some forty puppet plays, distingui>hed by the elegance of their
wit; these were presented at Papa Schmidt's theatre at Munich.
Stevenson and Dickens praised the puppet; and that great reformer of
scenic design, Gordon Craig, prophesied that in the future the human actor
would be forced to give place to the Uber-marionette. Craig's belief in ita
enormous possibilities led him to conduct an energetic campaign by writing
articles on various aspects of the subject and by founding in 1918 '.llt
Mario,.,llt, a charming periodical which ran for twelve isaues and which
contained all kinds of material relating to the marionette, both old and new,
English and foreign.
An important \nfluence during the first third of this century, particularly
in London, where it made a great impact upon the English public, wu that
of the Teatro dei Piccoli, founded at Milan in 191S by Dr Vittorio
Podrecca, which, as a result of his many successful world tours, wu for
long years an international institution. A few statistics may be of intere.rt.
Up to 19S+ alone the Teatro dei Piccoli had visited 5,000 citie• in thirty
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DEVELOPMENT
countries, given 1+ ,000 performances to ten million spectators, and inlpired 18,000
anicle1 and notioe1. TI>eir performance had little in common with childhood memoria of
Mr Punch teen In a city or village by-. or a marionette performance witnes1ed in a
local hall.
N the Teatro dei Pioc:oli toured the world it helped to revive intere1t in thooe eow>triet
where it had lapted into decline, and created a demand for knowledge about the art and ita
hiatory, while the more errtluuiutic memhen of the audience, charmed by their intro
duction to a new and untiupected world of fmtuy and durm, at once ao real and ao full of
make-believe, burned with a reaolve to found their own puppet theatftl. So enthusium
grew and the puppet, rejuvenated and perfected, wu reotored to full favour. Today, the
bett companieo off'u a wide ~ of entertalnment-<1 c:irau, a muaic-IWI thow, playa,
opens, balle ta, employing tevenl hundred marionetteo and nwneroua puppeteers, tpeaken,
singers, and ttage hands. .
In more recent years London bu bef11 vioited again by Podrecca'1 Teatro dei Pioc:oli; by
Paul Brann'• Marionette'!Matre of Munich; the Salzburg Marionetteo of Hermann Aicher;
the Czech marionettea of the late Joeeph Skupa and ha wife; the marionettes of Harro
Siegel, with hie heautifully d ..i gned figure•; and the Ruaoian glove puppeta and rod
puppets of Sergei Obraztaov, with setting, production, and manipulation of auperb quality,
the play1 and figure• conceived with a subtle wit.
When w11 the puppet boml Hiatorial evidence prove1 that the puppet it u old u
civilisation itaelf, for in the tombs of the ancient Greeks have bef11 fowxl tura-<lOtta doll&
with articulated limbo, and aimilar figureo with an iron control-rod projecting vertically
from the head in the manner of the Sicilian puppet. There ue alto numuoua refereuoes in
the works of clusical writers, such u Apuleius, Ariatotle, Honoe, Plato, and Xenophon,
to figureo worked by the pulling of strings.
So far u the modem world ii <:oooemed. thue is little doubt that the puppet wu born in
Italy and introduced to neighbouring countries by trsvelling Italian al>owmen, wboee
puppet performanoe1 were afterwards imitated and adapted to 1uit national tastes. The
term 'puppet' ii derived from the Italian pttpa. meaning a doll.
Tiie puppet wu early uaed in Italy by the Church for the repreterrtation of the myatery
of the Nativity and for other important events in the life of Christ. From the Church the
puppeta went out into the world to entertain both nobleman and peuant, the perfonnanceo
heing given by 1howmen, who set up their cast.Iii, or 1mall portable bootha, in palace or
street u occulon aff'orded, the figure• uaed being glove puppeu. The name C11Sklla,
meaning a cutle, it doubtle11 derived from the booth'• retemblance to one, the puppet
"ft'l.
appearing above the battlementt. A R.
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Tbe operator spoke in a kind of whistling voice, due to the lL9e of a piw114 or tube con
cealed in the mouth, by which he adjusted his tone to suit the chancter presented, male,
female, or comic; the script of the play being marked in colours u a guide to the operator
when to alter his tone of speech. The colours used were red for a female, blue for a male, and
green for a oomic voioe.
The inhabitants of Europe in the Middle Ages were certainly familiar with the glov.,..
puppet, for jugglers and mountebanks used to produce them from beneath their cloaks to
delight their audiences. Tbe Bodleian Library poosesses a very interesting fourteenth
century F1emish M.S, Li Rom41ls d¥ &. Roi Alu:o.Jn, where one of the miniatures shows
a group of spectators watching a puppet-<lhow.
By the sixteenth century, wandering musicians, who picked up a living at the various
fairs, or performed at the wsyside while travelling between towns, were attracting atter>
tion with a new form of elementary puppet, called in France ~. .t u ii lo pl.ru:ltdu. This
consisted of a short plank with an upright post at one end, to which was attached a piece of
string threaded through two jointed figures and ending in a slip-knot. The musician, having
gathered his audience, placed the plank on the ground, slipped the loop about his leg, then
placed his foot on the boanl and moved his leg in such a way that the figures danced while
he l<lCOmpanied their steps with music from a bag-pipe, or pipe and tabor. There are
several contemporary representations of this type of marionette, and they are seen, too, in
Hogarth's print of Banholomew Fair, and even as late as the middle of the nineteenth
century.
The term 'marionette' came into lL9e during the seventeenth century, and is usually
applied to the full-length jointed puppet manipulated by .strings overhead; its etym0logy
is still obscure. The Elizabethans were evidently familiar with the puppet-theatre, for in
157S an Italian puppeteer established himself in London, and there are many references to
puppets in the works of SIW<espeare and Ben }on.t0n. Milton is said to have conceived
inspiration for his ParodUt Ltut after witnessing a puppet version of the story of Adam and
Eve. It was the custom then for the showman to stand in front of the theatre and explain
the action. Tbe productions were generally moral plays or representations of topical events.
In Ben Jonson's A Tok of o Toh, published 165S, there is mention for the first time in
Europe of a shadow show:
First I have fixed in the earth a Tub ...
this Tub I have capt with paper,
A fine oil'd Lanthom paper that we use .. .
Which in it doth contain the light to the business;
And shall with the very vapour of the canclle
Drive all the motions of our matter about,
As we present them.
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Motion wu the won! frequently used in Elizabethan timet to dellaibe a puppet or
puppet play, although it wu applied to all kinds of moving figures.
By the seventeenth oentury puppet performanoes began to improve and were well
patronised. In France there were the glove-puppeta of the Briochea, who performed on th
Pont Neuf at Paris; there were the string-puppeta of La Grille in the Maraia. Indeed,
these performances became so suoceaaful that living actors raised a protest and suoceeded
in driving the puppet-theatre back to the fairs.
In Germany at this period there were many puppet showmen, among the most important
being Treu of Munich, who had a repertory of more than a score of plays. Other important
centres were Buie and Vienna, in which latter city Johan Hilverding was pre-eminent.
In England the puppet theatre was patronised by Charles II and his Court. The king not
only gave his patronage but also gnnted a licence to play at Charing Cross to •Antonio di
Voto', a well-known Italian puppet-muter, whose show wu also admired by John Evelyn
as he records in his Diary. Another famous diarist, Samuel Pepys, records on May 9,
1662, that he went to Covent Garden to look at a picture 'thence to tee an Italian puppet
play ... the beat that ever I saw'.
On October 8 this puppeteer, !mown u 'Signor Bologna alias Pollicenella', performed
with great suocess before the king at Whitehall. The hero of Bologna's show was Polli
cenella. This new character, dressed in white Italian c:ootume, with his aquat figure and big
belly, became in the eighteenth oentury the Punch of every puppet play, eventually acquir
ing a humped back and hooked nose inclining to meet the cleft chin. About 1760 his dress
was changed to the traditional red and yellow motley of the English jester. Early in the
oentury he was a timid brow-beaten character; only later did he become the aggressive
villain we lmow so well.
In the pages of the Sf'«lalor and Tatkr there are several referenoeo to puppets, especially
to the performances given by a certain Martin Powell, whose theatre was in the Little
Piazza at Covent Garden. He was the most patroniud opentor of his day and the origin
ator of a apectacle called Uniwnal DJ,,ge, in which Noah and his family were aeen entering
the ark, followed by the animals, walking two by two.
Tiiroughout the next oentury Mr Punch became the star of atreet P.<rformanoes of the
glove-puppet drama. There was little plot, the performance being mainly alapetick. The
characters were generally limited to four: Punch; Joan, his wife; the Devil; and the
Doctor, or a Constable. In time the characters increased to fourteen--..leven persons and
three animals: fynch; Jo1n or Judy; Judy's Ghost; Baby; Doctor; Negro; Beadle or other
Offioer of the Law; Hangman or Jack Ketch; Devil; Clown: Toby (sometimes a puppet
dog, sometimes a performing dog): Horse or Donkey; and Crocodile.
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The marionette •bowmen, finding business declining at the fain and being shwmcd by
theatre managemenu, retaliated by adapting for performimce by marionettes well-known
s.,.,.,
melodramas such u Bl«l-Ey<d Maria Martin, S'Ul#'MJ Todd, and Ull&k Tom's
c.bin, with which they toured the country. Some oftheoe fit~ theatreo, loaded on wagon•,
were elaborate and capable of holding several hundred person. . Among the best known
lhowmen were the Jewell-Holden, the Tillen, Wilding, Cloweo, and Clunn Lewio.
In 1872 W. J. Bullock's Royal Marionettes opened at the Great St James's Hall, making
a sensation with their excellent scenery and well-mmipulated figures, provided with heads
of wax. Bullock's suocess resulted in the formation of other troupe• which began to
appear u 'turno' on the music-halh. Another excellent puppeteer wu Richard Bamard
formerly an operator in Bullock'• company-who toured Europe with great success.
Resuming the progreos of puppetry abroad we find that by the eighteenth century
puppet-plays are becoming more elaborate in treatment and presentation, and that many
prominent members of the aristocracy have their own private theatres. For instanc.e.,
Prince Eaterhazy, at his palace of Eisenstadt, presented during 177:1-1780 five marionette
operettas, for which Haydn composed the music: so charming were theoe that the Empress
Maria Theresa commanded a performance to be given at her palace at Schanbrun.
In 175S Goethe wu presented with a puppet-theatre, for which he compooed many
plays, and through them received initial inspiration for his Favsl.
In France the puppet continued to enjoy considerable popularity up to the middle of the
century, due in part to the wittineso of the plays; then a decline oet in and it wu for a time
supplanted by the shadow-theatre, introduced with the sudden craze for clti11Di1trit and the
vogue for the silhouette. The most famou.s wu that of Dominique Siraphin, whose sil
houette, cardboard figures were remarkable for their artistry. He established his theatre at
Versailles in 177+; a few years later he removed to Parit.
In the nineteenth century the puppet became more realiatic, due to the ingenious mech
anics of their construction. The marionettes of the famous Geisselbrecht, a Viennese show
man who wu also a skilled craftsman, were noted for their ability to cough, choke, and
even spit; he also poaseased a number of trick-figures which could effect the most sur
o. ....
prising metamorphoses, reminiscent of those required by Dibdin in his Motion-
The growth of the nationalist spirit in Germany gave rise to a new development: the
establishment of puppet theatres which derived inspiration from local characters and
traditions. So came into being Weyermann's theatre at Ulm, and the famous Hllnneochen
theatre at Cologne. Another wu that ofJ o..CSchmidt, established at Munich in 1858.
In Italy the string-puppet became still more elaborate, and it was nothing unusual for
puppet-theatres to present whole ballets, play>, and even operas. It is curious to note that
at Rome, where the theatre• were under the papal laws, the puppet dancen were forced to
wear blue tights like their human prototypes. Two of the best known theatres at this
period were the Teatro Gerolamo, Milan, founded by Guiseppe Colla in 1815, and the
Teatro Gianduja, Turin, established in 1818 by Luigi Lupi.
Charles Dickens hu written a most entertaining account of a puppet performance he
witnessed in Genoa, which is so typical that it is of interest to quote from it:
'The comic man in the c:omedy I saw one summer night is a waiter at a hotel. 1bere
never wa.s such a loc.omotive actor since the world began. Great pains are taken with him.
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