George Speaight
Encyclopedia
George Victor Speaight was a theatre historian and the leading authority on 19th-century toy theatre.
One of his brothers was the Shakespearean actor Robert Speaight
, who paid for some of George's education at Haileybury
.
George was fascinated from his boyhood by toy theatres, and in the 1930s professionally took up puppetry. He became known for his puppet
show performances at the Bumpus bookstore in Oxford Street
.
He undertook wartime service as a conscientious objector
, providing wireless services at Gibraltar, then later in uniform participating in the invasion of Normandy.
His book Juvenile Drama: The History of the English Toy Theatre appeared in December 1946. He became manager of Pollock's Toy Theatres, and for some years worked in theatrical endeavours.
His next book History of the English Puppet Theatre appeared in 1955. He then worked as an editor of children’s encyclopaedias and reference books, initially at Odhams Press. He later joined George Rainbird's firm where he edited the Catholic Encyclopaedia, before becoming editorial director of Rainbird Reference.
He retained an interest in the theatre, editing Theatre Notebook, the journal of the Society for Theatre Research, and producing a catalogue of 19th century plays. He held prominent roles at the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, at the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, and as a jury member at the International Festival of Puppet Theatre at Bucharest. He founded or co-founded several theatrical enterprises.
Speaight left reference publishing in 1974, but continued with theatrical activities during a long retirement. In 1980 he published The Book of Clowns and A History of the Circus.
In 1946, he married Mary Mudd, an engraver of wood. He was much affected by her death, shortly before his own. They had a son and a daughter.
One of his brothers was the Shakespearean actor Robert Speaight
Robert Speaight
Robert Speaight was a British actor and writer, and the brother of George Speaight the puppeteer.He was an early performer in radio plays. He came to prominence as Becket in the first production of T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral. He went on to Shakespearean roles, and to direct.He also...
, who paid for some of George's education at Haileybury
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
.
George was fascinated from his boyhood by toy theatres, and in the 1930s professionally took up puppetry. He became known for his puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
show performances at the Bumpus bookstore in Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
.
He undertook wartime service as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, providing wireless services at Gibraltar, then later in uniform participating in the invasion of Normandy.
His book Juvenile Drama: The History of the English Toy Theatre appeared in December 1946. He became manager of Pollock's Toy Theatres, and for some years worked in theatrical endeavours.
His next book History of the English Puppet Theatre appeared in 1955. He then worked as an editor of children’s encyclopaedias and reference books, initially at Odhams Press. He later joined George Rainbird's firm where he edited the Catholic Encyclopaedia, before becoming editorial director of Rainbird Reference.
He retained an interest in the theatre, editing Theatre Notebook, the journal of the Society for Theatre Research, and producing a catalogue of 19th century plays. He held prominent roles at the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, at the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild, and as a jury member at the International Festival of Puppet Theatre at Bucharest. He founded or co-founded several theatrical enterprises.
Speaight left reference publishing in 1974, but continued with theatrical activities during a long retirement. In 1980 he published The Book of Clowns and A History of the Circus.
In 1946, he married Mary Mudd, an engraver of wood. He was much affected by her death, shortly before his own. They had a son and a daughter.