ABSTRACT
A 1943 illustrated story about the Harlequinade, a slapstick theatrical phenomenon that arose in the sixteenth century, began as a proposal for a children’s book regarding this forgotten entertainment. The idea transmuted into a story of a playful encounter between a retired actor and five circus children evacuated to the English countryside during World War II. Taking Brian Edwards’s proposition as definitional basis for play as an “enabling factor,” in this case, for realizing intergenerational connection and consolation, this chapter examines Harlequinade in light of its publication history, wartime setting, and the bond achieved between actor and evacuees. The chapter touches on John Bowlby’s maternal attachment theory, Jacob Levy Moreno’s principles of impromptu play meant at achieving mental catharsis, and Moreno’s definition of “encounter.”
