Reconstructing the movements of Schaefer’s Märchen-Stadt Liliput—Data Document

During the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, travelling Vaudeville and Varieté troupes were a common occurrence providing novelty entertainment to larger and smaller communities. While the existence of itinerant theatre troupes can be readily established through casual mentions in newspapers, the movements of these, like those of other itinerant professions, are notoriously difficult to track. Using the example of ‘Schaefer’s Märchen-Stadt Liliput,’ a troupe of persons of small stature travelling Germany and parts western Europe in the 1920s to 1940s, this paper examines their touring schedule as derived from ‘standard’ newspaper sources

19世纪下半叶至20世纪上半叶，巡回轻歌舞（Vaudeville）与综艺（Varieté）剧团是极为常见的演出团体，为大小城镇社区提供新颖别致的娱乐内容。尽管巡回戏剧剧团的存在可通过报纸的零星提及轻松佐证，但与其他流动职业群体一样，这类剧团的巡演轨迹向来难以追踪，这已是学界共识。本文以1920至1940年间在德国及西欧部分地区巡回演出的、由身材矮小的表演者组成的「舍费尔的童话小人国（Schaefer’s Märchen-Stadt Liliput）」剧团为例，基于"standard"报纸史料，对该团的巡演日程展开考察。