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THE COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE
an Introduction
by
Adam DariusChapter Three
PIERROT
The commedia dell'arte encompassed a cavalcade of diverse characters, many remaining constant through the centuries while others disappeared completely. But there were certain roles that neither kept to their original forms nor, conversely, vanished from the repertoire. Instead, they gradually evolved, almost like a child who grows up into an adult with only some of his much younger characteristics in evidence. Such a role was that of Pierrot, a character who, as if untouched by time, leaps from the archives of theatrical history.
Pedrolino, one of the earliest surviving characters of the commedia, owes his greatest fame to the fact that he was the forefather of his much more celebrated descendant, Pierrot.
Pedrolino's character was in sharp contrast to that of the commedia's other manservants. Generally speaking, the other valets were all in pursuit of their masters' wealth, their covetousness manifesting itself in undetected theft. Pedrolino, conversely, was thoroughly ethical and honest. Off duty, he exuded an effortless charm, his fundamental simplicity reaching one and all. Though there was elegance in his demeanour, he was, nonetheless, something of a buffoon.
Pedrolino, unlike most of the other commedia characters, dispensed with the accessory of the usual mask, whitening his face, instead,with many layers of powder.
The commedia troupes, having had their origins in Italy, eventually, as we know, spread out over much of Europe. It was due to this diaspora of Italian strolling players that the character of Pedrolino eventually metamorphosed into Pierrot.
In France, the commedia met with initial public enthusiasm, but its success intimidated the resident establishment theatre which felt threatened by the Italians' almost instant popularity. The establishment theatre, in order to consolidate its own footing, enlisted the already nationalistic Parliament onto its side, temporarily preventing the unwelcome influx of nomadic Italian actors. A present day parallel can be seen in the way British Actors' Equity attempts to prevent foreign performers from working in Britain.
Regarding those early Italian comedians, though they initially suffered a setback, they eventually returned to France, this time to stay and to subsequently influence the direction of future French theatre.
By the time Pedrolino was settled in France, not only had his name altered, but also his personality. As Pierrot, he was to become, in time, the most popular of French archetypal theatrical figures.
The character of Pierrot as we know him today is that of a figure both heartbroken and desolate, the outcast as permanent scapegoat. Dispossessed, he is the eternal wanderer, carrying with him the salvageable remnants of his scattered life.
Can we, perhaps, see Pierrot as a stateless symbol of dislocation, with his passport to nowhere, at the whim of unfeeling bureaucracy whose only energy stems from sectarian red tape?
Both Pedrolino and his evolutionary descendant, Pierrot, had been merely supporting players in the roster of commedia productions. Pierrot's apotheosis from his previously lacklustre self was due to the matchless artistry of Jean Gaspard Deburau (1796-1846) who, during the early part of the 19th century in France, was the most authentic legatee of the commedia actors.
Born Jan Kaspar Dvorjak in Bohemia, he died in Paris only fifty years later. Baudelaire, Théophile Gautier and other noted contemporaries have all alluded to his great artistry for improvisation and mime. Blessed with an extraordinary suppleness, he had been an acrobat in childhood. In the full blossom of his artistic maturity, he reigned supreme in the rowdy and boisterous Théâtre des Funambules. There, traversing the candle-lit stage, he transported his audiences, reaching the depths of their concealed emotions. In the presence of Deburau, the public saw, not only the artist exposed, but themselves revealed.
He lies in the cemetery of Père Lachaise and upon his tomb are engraved the words:"Here lies the man who said everything without ever speaking a word."
As mentioned earlier, the life and art of Deburau were, in 1943, brought to the screen in that unique cinematic masterpiece, Les Enfants du Paradis. France's finest actor and mime artist, Jean-Louis Barrault, reincarnated in that role his legendary theatrical ancestor, thus conveying in his interpretation the wistful delicacy inherent in this character. For, though feather light on his feet, Pierrot is leaden at heart, the outsider for ever thrust beyond the barricades.
Barrault, in his recreation of Deburau's Pierrot, emerged from the silver screen as the palest of simpletons with a hidden wisdom, unconsciously tragic, his happiness short-lived and doomed.
As I, myself, reflect on the many rebirths I have given to this character, remembered images drift through the wings of now darkened theatres. For I have, together with Pierrot, that elegiac exile, touched people from the amber autumn of Estonia to the ebony summer of the Ivory Coast.
Throughout four and a half decades, my interpretation of Pierrot has inevitably altered. Over the years, as my understanding deepened, Pierrot, though originally fleet of foot, gradually etherealized. His arms, with their drooping satin sleeves, eventually became the sorrowing branches of some weeping willow. Aglow with an inner state of grace, his face powdered white by the dust of moonstone, he glides through the lunar splendour of the night.
SUMMARY
Pedrolino
A charming, naive valet, forefather to his more notable descendant, Pierrot.
Pierrot
Like the Flying Dutchman, Pierrot is condemned to sail the seven seas, never finding harbour or safe haven. Despite the lashing winds of humankind, Pierrot's translucence remains undimmed.
In UK: £9.95
In Finland: 16 euros
Paperback, 97 pages, 20 illustrations
ISBN 952-90-7188-4, published 1996
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