Difference between revisions of "Billy Buttons, or the Tailor's Ride to Brentford"
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== Performance history in South Africa == | == Performance history in South Africa == | ||
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| + | ''[[Billy Button, or The Hunted Tailor]]'' | ||
1837: Brought to in Cape Town by [[W.F.H. Parker]] in 1837, when it was performed as ''[[Joey Grimaldi's Trip to Brentford]]'', along with ''[[Polander]]'', the dramatic play ''[[The Enchanted Turk]]'' and ''[[The Children in the Wood]]'' (Th. Morton). | 1837: Brought to in Cape Town by [[W.F.H. Parker]] in 1837, when it was performed as ''[[Joey Grimaldi's Trip to Brentford]]'', along with ''[[Polander]]'', the dramatic play ''[[The Enchanted Turk]]'' and ''[[The Children in the Wood]]'' (Th. Morton). | ||
Revision as of 06:53, 8 June 2016
Billy Buttons, or the Tailor's Ride to Brentford is considered to be the first circus clown act, created by Philip Astley in England in 1768, and later performed by a range of clowns.
Contents
The original text
The original circus act was based on a popular tale of a tailor, an inept equestrian, trying to ride a horse to Brentford to vote in an election. The tailor has tremendous difficulty mounting the horse correctly. When he finally succeeds the horse starts off so fast that he falls off. However, as David Carlyon (2016) points out, the "play" was in fact originally created as "a riding, not clown, act; relying on the popular assumption of tailors as physically inept or cowardly" (p. 175). Its use as a farce developed from this original, via its use in circuses then onto the vaufdeville and other stages. It is thus often found as an interlude or afterpiece in 19th century productions, usually billed as a farce.
Translations and adaptations
This act has been performed under numerous names (and possibly incarnations) since the original Astley performances in 1768 - though often simply referred to by the name of the character ("Billy Buttons", or later "Billy Button"). Titles used in South Africa include:
Billy Button, or The Hunted Tailor
Billy Buttons, or the Tailor's Ride to Brentford
Joey Grimaldi's Trip to Brentford
Performance history in South Africa
Billy Button, or The Hunted Tailor
1837: Brought to in Cape Town by W.F.H. Parker in 1837, when it was performed as Joey Grimaldi's Trip to Brentford, along with Polander, the dramatic play The Enchanted Turk and The Children in the Wood (Th. Morton).
Sources
http://www.circushistory.org/Day/Day17.htm
http://archive.pba.org/programming/programs/tiaarchives/587/
David Carlyon 2016. The Education of a Circus Clown: Mentors, Audiences, Mistakes. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History, Springer:Appendix B, p.175.
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp.
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