Theatre History II Entry 7

As I was reading through scholarly articles I found an interesting connection between Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. The article said that Puck’s speech at the end of the show requesting the audience’s applause is similar to Peter Pan’s request to save Tinkerbell with applause.

Puck’s speech goes as follows:

And, as I am an honest Puck,

If we have unearned luck

Now to scape the serpent’s tongue,

We will make amends ere long;

Else the Puck a liar call.

So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends,

And Robin shall restore amends.

The article says that the audience may clap to save Tinkerbell because they were clapping with the young. Or maybe because it was a memory of their youth. In any case the article was pointing out the connection of fairies to applause in theatre.

The link to the article is:
http://muse.jhu.edu.ezp.lib.cwu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/v057/57.1davis.pdf

Davis, Tracy. "“Do You Believe in Fairies?”: The Hiss of Dramatic License." Theatre Journal 57.1 (2005): 57-81. Web. 6 Mar 2011. <http://muse.jhu.edu.ezp.lib.cwu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/v057/57.1davis.pdf>.

"Tinkerbell." Tinkerbell Gets a Voice for New Film. Web. 6 Mar 2011. <http://disney.families.com/blog/tinkerbell-gets-a-voice-for-new-film>.