Theatre, Performance and Analogue Technology: Historical Interfaces and Intermedialities by Kara Reilly (review)

Abstract

mentoring or apprenticeship process, and its importance, are not really highlighted. Nor is the decision to employ male or female principal boys in different years explored. The title of the book implies there will be a materialist framework based on the costs, income and consequent value of pantomime. I am aware that when I was musical director for the 1987 pantomime, Salisbury Playhouse was hugely successful and recorded a phenomenally high box office. However, this approach is not maintained in the majority of the book, rendering the title somewhat irrelevant. What does become very clear, however, is that there was a strong sense of family among the performers – a feeling perhaps engendered by the cold, cramped and difficult conditions in the old theatre (which are repeatedly recalled). The difference when the company moved to the new building is mentioned, but no detailed assessment offered of how that affected the performance or performers. As such, what I read here confirmed many of my own memories, but I was also frustrated by the missed opportunity to draw more from the wealth of material presented. This is a useful book because it documents a particular time and place through the voices of the people who experienced them and that is informative despite the repetitive structure. It documents a very particular moment of transition in British theatre and pantomime history.