Double, Oliver and Wilson, Michael (2008) '"I am a Poor, Skinny Man": Persona and physicality in the work of Karl Valentin'. Studies in Theatre and Performance, 28 (3). pp. 213-221. ISSN 1468-2761.
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| Official URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/stap.28.3.213/1 |
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Abstract
The celebrated Munich cabaret artist Karl Valentin first came to prominence with his performance of his sketch Das Aquarium in 1908. This was also the moment at which he first established a comedy based on extreme logic, wordplay and misunderstanding, which in turn created a world in which his innocent "matter-of-fact-ness" exposed the absurdities of social situations. This article explores Valentin's use of his extraordinary skinniness to create both an effective comic persona and a comic physicality in his work. The authors argue that it was in Valentin's slightly earlier sketch, Ich Bin ein armer magerer Mann, that the comedian found his physical "comic voice", and they go on to provide an analysis of the improtance of physicality in Valentin's work, particularly in relation to this sketch. A bew translation of the sketch is also provided.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled keywords: | Brecht stand-up comedy cabaret German theatre |
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theatre |
| Divisions: | Faculties > Humanities > School of Arts > Drama and Theatre |
| Depositing User: | Oliver Double |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Oct 2012 09:54 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2013 09:27 |
| Resource URI: | http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/31337 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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