Greg Chapman, in his Condensed
Histories shows, books and podcast takes a look at different parts of history
from the point of view of one juggler and entertainer. With shows ranging from
his ,Silent Movie Live', a touching tribute to Charlie Chaplin, to his
'Completely historically accurate re-enactment of the Battle of Agincourt as
performed by one man on a unicycle', he offers his own take on all things
history. ('Condensed Histories Podcast' available on iTunes, 'Condensed
Histories Volume One, Histories From England' available from Amazon. Detailas
of shows at www.condensedhistories.com)
1. How and/or when did you get you hooked on
history?
I
would love to come up with a really smart answer to this, the first question,
to show that although my claim is never to be anything more than a 'Juggler and
Entertainer' talking about history, that there is an academic core to my life
in history. However, I fear that anybody who has seen any one of my shows in which
I take out the bullwhip will immediately see that here is a man who was first
inspired to history by Indiana jones, and just never grew up. From watching the
Indiana Jones movies I began to look at archaeologists and history, and I think
it was the story of Howard Carter and the Tomb of Tutankhamen (discussed in the
first Condensed Histories book) that made me realize this was a real
thing.
I
was lucky that as a child, as well as today, I devoured books, and it was
always the stories in history which held the ultimate fascination for me, and
led me down the road to where I am today.
2. What role does history play or has it played in your personal life?
History
was always something I loved, the stories fascinated me. I was lucky enough to
have been born into a family who shared an interest, and growing up whenever we
went on holiday as a family we would visit local castles, historic buildings
and museums, and I guess that that only cemented my love of them. Until a few
years ago, history was very much something
in my personal life. I was busy working as a performer, on tour a lot of the
time, and I actually did a History Degree with the Open University, not because
I envisioned history playing a part in my future career, but to give me
something else to focus on when I got in from a day's shows. It helped give me
something else to do in a time before I realized that doing my own shows and
writing books could fill the time in hotel rooms on tour!
3.
How is history a part of your professional life/career?
I
started my professional career when I left school, intending to be a serious
actor - which very quickly fell by the wayside as I realized that juggling and
entertaining without learning lines and playing a part were just more fun to
me. About five years ago I first struck on the idea of writing a history book
based on my own thoughts and life, and it was something I started and then let
drift for a year.
A
few years back I was then looking for a subject for my next one man show, and I
found my History Degree still in an envelope in a drawer, and from there the
Condensed Histories shows were born, and as a result the book was finished and
became the first in a series. Since then the majority of my shows (which are my
full time job) are my Condensed Histories shows, travelling around juggling,
entertaining, and talking about history.
4. Why is
studying/knowing history important?
To be
honest this isn't an argument I normally try to make. There are arguments that
knowing history can deepen understanding of the present, and various others,
but I try not to stress them, because for me stressing that it is important to
know history is the wrong way of going about it. If someone had ever told me I
should know history because it is important when I was younger, it might even
have put me off a little (I'm a professional juggler - not one for following
what other people tell me is important or I'd have listened to my teachers and
got a 'real job'). I would much rather let people know how fun and interesting
history is, let them know the stories, and discover history through that,
rather than because it is important.
When I
tell people the story of Taillefer the juggler at the Battle of Hastings, I don't think there is anyway it will be
important to them to know it, but from the number of people who come up and
talk to me about that fact after the show, I know that it has entertained them.
I suppose it is the same thing as juggling - is it important? I might get
myself in trouble at the next juggling convention I attend, but I think no, the
act of juggling is not important. It is, however, entertaining when it is
performed in the right way, in the same way that history is entertaining when
imparted the right way. From what I gather, happiness is good for your health,
and being entertained is good for happiness. So there you go, I guess the
importance of history is that being entertained by it is good for your health
(I must add at this point in time that I am NOT actually a doctor).
5. What is
your favorite period or aspect of history to learn about and why?
I don't
know. Isn't that a terrible answer? But I fear an honest one from a lot of
people. The whole reason I started doing the Condensed Histories books and
shows is so that I could do stuff on as many different types of history as
possible, because I've never found myself tied to one time period. So the only
answer I can give is what I’m learning about today.
The answer
today is Victorian Explorers, because I have just started work on a new project
for next summer, including a new series of shows, and so I have a pile of books
about all of the great Victorian Explorers on the desk in front of me as I
work, and I am learning new stories with every page I turn. My favorite thing
to learn in history will always be a new story, which is part of the reason why
when I interview people on the podcast I ask them to choose a subject to talk
to me about, rather than me choosing one I am already familiar with.
6. What Is the Condensed Histories project and how did it come about?
I've
just realized I should have read through all of the questions before I started
writing, because then I wouldn't have already largely answered this question in
a previous answer. It is a lesson I never learned in exams either, along with
re-reading your answers, and the fact that the point of an exam wasn't to
finish and get out of the room as quickly as possible so that you have more
time to do what you want.
Really
it began with the first show that I created, as mentioned above, when I found
my history degree while searching for inspiration, and the response I received
to the shows has been so warm and flattering, and the feeling of sharing the
stories which fascinate me alongside the variety skills I use in the shows is
something I really enjoy. I also feel it connects me to a long tradition of
jugglers and 'fools' throughout history who shared tales while performing. I
have often said that it is Shakespeare's line 'better a witty fool than a
foolish wit' that keeps me going!
7. Some really weird people don't
connect history and fun automatically. How do you reach those people?
First off
I find these people unfortunate, but by no means weird. Weird is not a word I'd
be comfortable using when my full time job as an adult is juggling, unicycling,
cracking a bullwhip and dressing up!
Usually
the failure to connect the two comes from the fact that they have never been
shown that history can be entertaining while they were in school - something
which I hope I'm helping with while touring the school versions of my shows. I
was lucky - I had great teachers in schools but due to the curriculum there
were still subjects I found boring - the French Revolution springs to mind. I
had to study this for my A-levels at 18, and do for once I dreaded history
lessons which were long and boring and about corn laws and the minutiae of the
subject, never getting on to the heart of it. It was only years later when I
tried to tackle this that I found Mark Steel's book 'Vive La Revolution' that I
began to realize that most of the subject was actually fascinating!
But my
shows are usually big, exciting events where people who don't like history are
dragged in by the show, and I love it every time people come up to me and tell
me they've never liked history before, and then spend ten minutes just
discussing history with me.
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