Early 20th Century Juggling was dominated in the Western
World by the amazing Cinquevalli. Many
people were inspired by him to take up the art and most of them were men.
However, many women also responded to Cinquevalli's example, including the mysterious, and
relatively unknown, Lucy Gillet.
Berlin born Lucy arrived in Australia on June 4 1913 for a
three month tour on the Tivoli circuit. She was just 18 years old and was
accompanied by her parents, Zelma and Fred. Both were 'dumb show' performers
who had retired 18 months earlier to support their daughter's career.
The family travelled from Southampton, and apparently the
tour of Australia was part of a longer world tour for Lucy. However, it seems
that England had long been their base, as there were reports of Lucy performing
in English provincial theatres as early as 1908, when she was described as a
child acrobat and juggler. Lucy told the Australian press that she had been
juggling since she was 10 years old, so it seems safe to assume that Mr and Mrs
Gillet may have been an early 20th Century version of stage parents.
At 18, Lucy was, according to Charles Waller, 'a pretty girl, pleasantly plump and fair'.
She was also a fan of Zeppelins and longed for the day when everybody travelled
on dirigibles. She had resented the long sea voyage to Australia because she
couldn't practice juggling on a steamer.
Lucy opened at Sydney's Tivoli Theatre in June 1913. Her act
was part of a long line up of vaudeville fare which included the flying
Banvards, an acrobatic troupe. Lucy was unfortunately competing against some
huge names in the legitimate theatre during her stay, including ballerina
Adeline Genee and contralto Clara Butt, who was very popular with the locals because
of her Australian husband.
However, Lucy was considered a unique performer in
vaudeville circles, primarily because of her high skill level and her gender.
Her balancing and juggling was often compared favourably to her male peers ,
and in Adelaide she was described as a 'lady Cinquevalli'
Her act in Australia was carefully constructed to emphasise
her femininity. The set was a kitchen and the props were primarily domestic
utensils and equipment, including plates, chairs, tables, lamps and pot plants.
A typical performance began when the curtain parted to
reveal Lucy sitting on a chair in a Dutch themed blue setting, then she quickly
blew out a lamp and began to juggle. Lucy was a skilled foot and hand juggler.
She balanced a candle on her foot and threw it to her forehead. She juggled
three chairs and in a particularly clever trick she perched a table on her
forehead while juggling five balls in two hands and then in one, she then
tossed the balls into receptacles sitting on the balanced table. The finale of
her act in Adelaide was balancing a round table on two poles, letting it fall
to her feet and juggling it.
One of her most astonishing feats was almost destroyed by a
wit in a Sydney audience. Lucy was balancing a pot plant on her forehead,
supporting revolving plates with her mouth, juggling other plates with both
hands and holding a reading lamp on her left foot. This left her with only the
right foot to balance on. Suddenly a sarcastic young man in the audience
yelled, 'What about your other foot Miss?" drawing much laughter from the
crowd and probably some angst from the juggler.
And Lucy was a very serious juggler. Her attitude was
approvingly commented upon in Adelaide where a reviewer said that 'she gives
the impression that the only thing that matters on earth to her is juggling.'
In Sydney she arrived promptly on the Tivoli stage every day at 10 am for a two hour practice session. Lucy
was passionately devoted to her craft and was adamant that 'people who juggle
cannot afford to be nervous.'
Lucy performed in Sydney , Melbourne and Adelaide and left
Australia in August 1913.
Although she did not make a lasting impression on Australian
audiences, her feats were incredible for
the day. There were a number of female
jugglers at the time but few displayed the skill level and artistic appeal of
Lucy Gillet.
Note on sources;
Details of Lucy's age and her parents names come from
shipping records in Victoria. I assume the Fred and Zelma mentioned are her
parents, who the press stated were accompanying her on the tour.
The physical description comes from Charles Waller as quoted
in Magical Nights in the Theatre. Waller was so impressed with her that he only
devoted a sentence to her act in his scrapbooks. His remarks may have been representative of the typical male spectator at the time. He described her turn dismissively as 'a nice
little show.' In contrast his scrapbooks devote copious space and detailed attention to Cinquevalli.
The Zeppelin story comes from the Adelaide Mail. There was
more coverage of Lucy in Adelaide than anywhere else. The paper seems to have
interviewed her, about Zeppelins of all things! The same source also provided
information about her practice sessions and details about her act.
The story of the wit in the Sydney audience comes from the
Referee, June 1913.
There's also a really badly aged photo of Lucy in a Sydney newspaper which I haven't included here. I will be investigating other sources for a photo.
There are some suggestions on line that Lucy went to the US in
the 1920s. I looked at the records on Ancestry and I'm not sure if it is the
same Lucy, it's possible, but I haven't really looked at much else other than the
Australian tour.
Further correspondence about Lucy is welcomed. Drop me an
email.