The Victorian Clown by Jacky Bratton

The Victorian Clown by Jacky Bratton

The Victorian Clown, first published in 2006, is a micro-history of mid-Victorian comedy, spun out of the life and work of two professional clowns. Their previously unpublished manuscripts - James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book - offer unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain, when the comic managed audience attention for the riders and acrobats, parodying their skills in his own tumbling and contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times through his own 'wheezes' - stand-up comedy sets. Plays in the ring connect the circus to the stage, and both these men were also comic singers, giving a sharp insight into popular music just as it was being transformed by the new institution of music hall.

Jacky Bratton is Professor of Theatre and Cultural History in the Department of Drama and Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London. She is the author of New Readings in Theatre History (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and, with Julie Hankey, is Joint Series Editor of the Shakespeare in Production series published by Cambridge University Press. She also discusses theatre history on BBC radio. Ann Featherstone is Research Assistant in the Department of Drama and Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London. Her interests encompass popular entertainment and culture, and she has published on subjects such as public entertainments, the diary of a Victorian theatre-goer in Nottingham, and the portable theatres in Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film and Early Popular Visual Culture. She is also a part-time lecturer in theatre history and popular culture at the University of Manchester.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781107666672
ISBN 10	1107666678
Title	The Victorian Clown
Author	Jacky Bratton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2014-03-27
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.