Most of the references included here are in respect of appearances in Scotland, simply because that is the geographical focus of my own researches. The Springthorpe family extended their entertainment fare to include variety concerts which could include singing, comedy, clog dancing and ventriloquists, and in the final years of the company's existence they were marionette proprietors. This study will consider the Springthorpe waxwork exhibitions which were very popular in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly in Scotland, the North of England, and in Ireland. Some writers may have a broadly similar viewpoint: Pamela Pilbeam observes that waxworks are a form of theatre (Pilbeam 233), and in a comparison between waxworks and playing with dolls, Marina Warner states that "similar powers of projection invest the stubborn, inanimate, horrible thing with life, with soul" (Warner 55). Although devoid of any dramatic performance as such, the effect on the public must have been theatrical, as they considered the lives of the kings or queens, or the horrific actions of the murderer whose wax representation stood before them. Waxworks were often to be found in the fairground, along with penny theatres and puppet show-booths. Some waxworks had a certain degree of movement, although this would have been considerably less than a marionette or other puppet figure is capable of. I would suggest this makes the waxwork exhibition entirely different to a display of sculpture or paintings in a gallery. All of this requires a certain input from the public: a suspension of disbelief and a willingness to engage in the life story or life events of the characters being represented. Even the costume requires authenticity, just as on the stage. Yet in the manner of being viewed, such a waxwork is not entirely akin to the work of the portrait sculptor, it is much nearer to the marionette figures-minus the caricaturing-of the fairground booths. Great skill goes into the creation of lifelike figures with convincing eyes and veins, and the waxwork must look as if it is about to breathe. The public moves around the rooms of a waxwork exhibition looking at the various representations of monarchs, politicians and criminals-this surely fits into a view of "theatre", as the public must suspend their disbelief to consider the representations before them. Waxwork exhibitions have been around since the eighteenth century (Warner 18), and although waxworks are generally "static" exhibitions, I would suggest that there is more than a little of the theatrical about them.
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