Synopses & Reviews
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
Review
'Philip Butterworth is rapidly establishing himself as the pre-eminent authority on special effects of the medieval stage ... His approach is cautious, scholarly, and thorough ... Magic on the Early English Stage is a valuable addition to our knowledge of stage effects and other technical 'tricks' of the period.'
Comparative Drama
Review
"Magic on the Early English Stage provides an unprecedentedly precise and impeccably thorough survey of the historical records within its purview." - Bruce Boehrer, Studies in English Literature
Review
"This valuable compendium should be acquired by university libraries and academies of dramatic art." --DuBruck: The Current State of Research
Synopsis
An original investigation into conjuring tricks and stage magic on the medieval stage.
Synopsis
Magic on the Early English Stage is an original study of conjuring tricks and stage magic in theatre from medieval times to the seventeenth century. Performers who created such magic were known as jugglers rather than conjurors, as we know them today. This book investigates, for the first time, the nature of their work, their skills and the relationship between individual jugglers and magic performed 'on stage'. As Butterworth describes, much of this work was performed by small family-based companies whose repertoire included tumbling, vaulting and 'dancing on the rope'.
Table of Contents
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).