Historical notes

The transformation of non-living objects into living ones has always been one of mankind's most ancient activities. This activity is linked to the mental production of the world as a project base for its being practical and symbolic. The impulse to imitate and give life to objects--to the ghosts of the imagination--is universal. The marionette and the mask are only two aspects of the same escape from oneself and from finding oneself-the finding of "one" which is also the hiding from "the other". Consequently, puppets or marionettes can be found in all cultures, even though they may be of different forms and not always easily defined as real marionettes. In Africa, for example, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between marionettes and other objects of cult or performance. Here we shall attempt to trace the main areas of development of puppetry in Europe.
One of the features of puppet theatre is the strong rapport which is created between the audience and the performance and this holds even more so with puppet theatre. The audience is the determining factor in the relationship between theatre and communication because of its mood and social identity, as Bogatyrev reminds us. Therefore, these social changes are a result of conflicts, revolts or pacifistic transformations as those that Europe lived through from World War II to the present, determining the birth of a new type of performance and the decline of others.
One characteristic of puppets is that they lend themselves to the representation of supernatural beings, gods, devils, ghosts, witches or fantastic creatures such as centaurs or dragons. It is because of this special feature that they are easily used in rites and sacred performances. In Java, officially a Muslim country, which should not have the use of figures to represent the sacred, the performances represent ancient Hindu myths, legends of gods and heroes considered to be ancestors.
The precise identification and typology of the figures used in the puppet-theatre present serious problems. Until the first half of 20th century the terms burattino, marionetta, fantoccio and pupo were considered synonymous. The lack of distinction has created difficulties for scholars of the history of the theatre. Information about shows in documents dating from before the fifties do not in fact permit one to establish with certainty the exact type of figure utilised. Only after the Second World War was a distinction imposed which took into account both manipulation techniques and construction of the figure. Glove puppets (“Burattini”) are described as figures controlled from below and worn like gloves. String puppet (“Marionetta”) is taken to mean a figure controlled from above using a more or less complex system of strings. Rod marionette (“Pupo”), which in Italy is linked to a very precise repertoire, is a puppet controlled from above using two iron rods for the head and right hand, and a thread for the left hand. Rod puppets are controlled from belove using one o more rods and sticks.
The first record we have in Europe of shows using marionettes regard performances which took place in churches. These were the "mysteries" which were performed with articulated figures in front of altars, like those of Dieppe taking place in 1443 mentioned by Bil Baird. Moreover, Mr Baird gives us a rich description of the Medieval and Renaissance periods. It would seem that in the Dieppe "mysteries" a comic character was present which made the audience roar with laughter at his lines. It appears that the great success of this character soon brought on heated discussions within the clergy between those who thought these performances to be scandalous and those who defended it instead. The latter considered it an efficacious means of teaching the faithful the Christian doctrine. The result being that these sacred performaces were no longer to take place in the churches but rather in the church courtyards. The appearance of comic figures in serious theatre was becoming the norm. In performances of "Mahabharata” in the far East, these figures who were portrayed as servants, both of kind aristrocrats and evil devils, were actually tricksters, translators and magic assistants.
The sacred performance of the Nativity, common in Poland, was called "szopka" (crib) and continue still to this day. The scenography consists of a cathedral in which the small characters move on different levels, each simultaneously representing different episodes. This type of theatre can also be found in the Ukraine and Bielrussia, where it is called "betep" (Bethlehem).
The first documentation of profane puppet theatre is a xyloghraphy dating back to the XII century which represents two armed characters combatting on a table, these are held by strings manipulated by two people on either side of the table. In the Flemish manuscript "Li romans du bon roi Alixandre" dated in the XIV century two representations with glove puppets. are shown. In one of the two, there is a duel, in the other we can see one of the characters brandishing a stick similar to the one used in "Pulcinella" and "Punch".
There is relatively little documentation regarding puppet shows in Middle Age and Renaissance, however what was found is sufficient to allow us to deduce a widespread presence, probably throughout Europe not only of sacred performances, but of profane ones held in courts and squares as well. Here the puppet was, as it is in the present day, an excellent working tool for vendors and bankers.
During the 1600's the scene becomes more articulated. New characters were being added to the old ones and new types of theatre was being introduced. Italy appears to be the country where most of the marionettes and puppets came from. They were brought to other countries with performances of Pulcinella and other characters of the Commedia dell'Arte.
The performances received the approval of the audiences and the local puppeteers began to imitate them, introducing new characters and adapting the performances to suit their own culture. The Neapolitan Pulcinella who went to France became Pulichinelle and in England he was called Punchinello. This was the time when these popular performances, with their puppets, began to take stronghold of Europe. They were called with different names and invented in different eras and places and to this day they are still performing, their original indentity remaining unchanged: in England they are called Punch and Judy, in France Guignol, in Germany Hanswurst unt Kasperle, in Poland Petruschka, in Spain Don Cristobal and in Denmark Mester Jakel.
There is a great deal of information available regarding puppet theatre taking place during the 17th and 18th centuries. This information, concerns the types of theatre performed in courtyands and halls, which with the passing of time have become more contradicting and distant. Moreover, it can be learnt that the puppeteers were seen by the local authorities of that period as a threat because the improvised dialogue used during the performances eluded censorship. Almost everywhere had legislation which limited this activity, however towards the end of the 1600's the severe censorship legislation began to ease.
Totally different is the case of the marionette plays held for the aristocrats in theirpalaces. These performances began to have widespread diffusion among the bourgeois circles. During the 1600's the marionette opera was considered one of the expressions the theatre and music of the aristocrats. It was performed in the huge halls of the great palaces for an exclusive and sophisticated audience portraying religious subjects, take-off 's of the "Commedia dell'Arte" or melodramma, always being careful to show respect to the religious and government authorities as well as abiding to good manners.
In 1652 the jesuit Dominico Ottonelli, in his "Della Christiana moderazione del theatro", first severly criticised the street puppets as "infamous ministers of dishonesty and messengers from the etenal damnation", he then went on the discuss the three types of puppets which represented religious subjects: shadow puppets; string puppets and the puppets which slid along tracks. The shadows represented sacred actions taken from the Old Testament which were illustrated by a narrator while the characters remained silent. The string puppets were moved by an iron rod for the head and four silk strings for the arms and legs. They were separated from the audience by a net to hide the strings of manipulation. The third type of puppet, invented by the matematician Bartolomeo Neri, ran along tracks moved by weights. All represented singing sacred subjects.
The aristocratic performances in Venice became public for the first time when members of the aristocracy opened the doors to a mixed and vast audience so that they could appreciate these refined works. This change also applied to the musicals featuring marionettes. The first opera for marionettes was written by Filippo Acciaiuoli, who opened a theatre in Florence in 1670. Whereas, in Paris a violent dispute erupted between the "real" theatre and the puppet theatre. It was during the period of Lulli and Moliere. They, as well as other actors and playwrights, took advantage of their freindship with the King in order to ask him to close the puppet theatres. It was only in 1720 that Parliament, meeting to discuss laws concerning this sector, established the rule: the characters could have been more than two in a scene and speak with their own voice. This was despite the fact that the supporters of traditional theatre tried to have restrictions placed on puppets such as use of the "pratique".
For all of the 1700's, puppet theatre continued to receive enormous success. Small theatres were being built in all the palaces and families who did not own one invited professional companies to entertain during parties. Famous playwrights wrote scripts for the marionette opera, one of them being Pierjacobo Martello from Bologna who is the author of "Lo Starnuto di Ercole". Plays which were successful in "real" theatre began to be performed in "small" ones. Therefore, plays by Goldoni and tales by Gozzi were performed by marionettes. In order to make irony of the official theatre characters, the Parisian marionette artists invented "L'opera Comique."
From the end of the 1700's century, with the decline of the aristocratic families, throughout all of the 1800's the shows performed in the squares were in harmony with the spirit of the times, i.e. it was filled with ribellious humour. The puppets became a vehicle of social protest and political satire. Hence, the puppeteers were persecuted by the police. During the same period the interest of the intellectual class was stirred by these manifestations of the common people. The puppet shows began to spread from the cities to the rural areas. Towards the second half of the century, the puppetees began to use bigger stages and compete with other artists in presenting a drammatic and adventurous repertoire to which an important role was still retained by the traditional masks. Some puppeteers continued to use masks from the "Commedia dell'Arte" and others invented new characters representing typical local figures. In Italy, for example, there were: Rugantino (Rome); Gioppino (Bergamo); Sandrone (Modena); Fagiolino and Sganapino (Bologna); Peppennino (Catania); Nofrio e Virticchio (Palermo); Gianduja (Torino) however Naples always remained loyal to "Pulcinella".
The 1800's was a period in which some technical changes to the marionettes increased the different types. The center metal rod was substituted by two strings on the side of the head making the movements more graceful and unpredictable. Great ability on the part of the puppeteer in manipulating the marionettes was needed in order to make them expressive and captivating. This was the reason why great success was achieved by the puppeteer who were particulary capable.
The marionettes both in Rome and Naples maintained the rod making them more suited for travelling shows. At a certain point the shows portraying chivalrous repertoires became the most popular. Long performances which followed night after night for many months told the story of Charlesmagne and his soldiers as well as other heroic tales. In Naples and Sicily the marionettes wore shiny metal armor and took on the name of the "pupi". Similar marionettes can be found in Belgium and Northern France, in Eastern Europe and Portugal. In order to differenciate them from the other they were called iron rod puppets.
The 1800's was a great century for puppet theatre. Companies were blooming everywhere and were of all different types. Particulary interesting was the company of the "Shadow Puppets" belonging to Seraphin who obtained a great deal of success in Paris. His performances were often of a political nature. The shadows were black and cut out from cardboard. Another shadow puppet theatre which also received success was operated by Henri Rivière and Caran d'Ache, who begain their career with performances of "Le Chat Noir" in small "cabaret" and then moved on to theatre. Their shadows were made of zinc and the open parts were covered with coloured paper.
Theatres with paper puppets glued on cardboard, cut and painted were the trend in Northern Europe. There were toy-theatres in which the adults seemed to show more interest than the children. The puppets were stiff and glued to sticks by which they were moved. Whereas, the scenography was perhaps similar to that of a large theatre with deep stages and elaborate lighting. Only a few days after a “première” in theatres, one was able to purchase the script, sheets depicting the scenary and the characters that they could be cut out allowing the people to recreate the performance at home.
In the 1800's the marionette and scenographic techniques became more complex. In fact, little is known about it because the artists kept them a secret so as not to be copied by the other artists. In reality, however, all the tricks were repeated again and again after little time in all of the theatres. Big companies were almost always touring and had trains available to move them from one place to the other and for them to sleep in. One of the most famous companies belonged to Holden who travelled thoughout all of Europe and in the United States. These shows were popular and their theatres had movable benches so that they were able to hold up to a thousand people.
Apart from all these shows, more or less popular, during the end of the 1800's there was an interest being shown for the marionette on the part of avant-guarde artists. One should remember the theatre of George Sand, who with his son Maurice, founded the "Theatre des Amis" where he produced shows in his house in Nohant for over thirty years. More than 120 plays were written for this theatre by Sand himself together with his friends. Many contemporary figure artists became interested in puppet theatre such as Klee, Schlemmer, Kramer, members of the Bauhaus, Baj, Kantor, also scenographers such as Gordon Craig and Maria Signorelli. Their work created a new way of doing marionette opera which today is present on the scenes of all countries, leaving little space left for the more traditional companies. The new marionettes are often the result of different techniques. One can no longer speak of puppets, string puppets, or rod marionettes. The materials used have changed. By using foam-rubber, one can easily create a wonderful and light-weight marionette. Television has, more than anything else, influenced the world of puppets theatre, radically changing the quantity and quality of the audience and, consequently, the type of show. If on one hand you no longer have such great social differences, on the other you have the media imposing its most elaborate scenography and accelerated rythms of narrative action.

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