The Original Sad Clown
<p>Joseph Grimaldi, the most famous clown in Britain, made his final appearance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 17th March, 1829 - the very venue where he’d made his stage debut as a toddler in his father’s variety act. He was 48.</p><br><p>Crippled with rheumatism, he told his adoring audience: “It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement.”</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly perform a thigh-slapping round of his hit drinking song ‘Hot Codlins’; explore why Grimaldi’s innovations were so influential for all ‘clownkind’; and recall how tragedy was a constant companion for this theatrical legend…</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘Books: The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian by Andrew McConnell Stott (The Guardian, 2009): <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/simon-callow-biography-grimaldi-review" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/simon-callow-biography-grimaldi-review</a></p><p>• ‘Joseph Grimaldi Factsheet’ (It’s Behind You!, The Magic of Pantomime): <a href="http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/Joseph%20Grimaldi%20Factsheet.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/Joseph%20Grimaldi%20Factsheet.pdf</a></p><p>• ‘Grimaldi: 150 Years On’ (Thames News, 1987): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqlG-_RRSE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqlG-_RRSE</a></p><br><p><em>Content warning: child abuse, staged suicide.</em></p><br><p>#Victorian #Theatre #Sad #UK #London</p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
Joseph Grimaldi, the most famous clown in Britain, made his final appearance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 17th March, 1829 - the very venue where he’d made his stage debut as a toddler in his father’s variety act. He was 48.
Crippled with rheumatism, he told his adoring audience: “It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement.”
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly perform a thigh-slapping round of his hit drinking song ‘Hot Codlins’; explore why Grimaldi’s innovations were so influential for all ‘clownkind’; and recall how tragedy was a constant companion for this theatrical legend…
Further Reading:
• ‘Books: The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian by Andrew McConnell Stott (The Guardian, 2009): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/simon-callow-biography-grimaldi-review
• ‘Joseph Grimaldi Factsheet’ (It’s Behind You!, The Magic of Pantomime): http://www.its-behind-you.com/Factsheets/Joseph%20Grimaldi%20Factsheet.pdf
• ‘Grimaldi: 150 Years On’ (Thames News, 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqlG-_RRSE
Content warning: child abuse, staged suicide.
#Victorian #Theatre #Sad #UK #London
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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