{"id":11798,"date":"2026-02-26T10:55:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11798"},"modified":"2026-03-11T10:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:45:28","slug":"from-the-archives-the-corgi-skateboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11798","title":{"rendered":"From the Archives: The Corgi Skateboard"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post was written by Maris Tiller, SCRC Research Services GRA. Maris\u00a0<\/em>a Graduate student pursuing her Master’s in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Among the books and manuscripts found within SCRC’s archives, there are also artworks and artifacts.\u00a0One such artifact is this prop, which belongs to our extensive theater collection, dubbed by our staff as the \u201ccorgi skateboard\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It was known that this item was donated by David and Annabelle Stone as part of our Gilbert and Sullivan collection. It was assumed that this was a prop used in one of many revivals of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, which turned out to be correct! However, the 1992 production of <\/span>Princess Ida\u00a0<\/span><\/i>that the corgi prop was a part, turned out to be a more atypical Gilbert and Sullivan performance than initially thought.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 1992\u00a0English National Opera\u00a0production of\u00a0<\/span>Princess Ida\u00a0<\/span><\/i>was directed by Ken Russell,\u00a0a British filmmaker and theater director. Primarily, Russell was known for his films, stirring controversy with sexually provocative\u00a0scenes and blasphemous imagery. His 1971 film,\u00a0<\/span>The Devils<\/span><\/i>, is still\u00a0widely\u00a0unavailable\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0restored, uncut version\u00a0because of how Russell chose, through the lens of\u00a0the \u201cdemon possessions\u201d of Loudun, to critique the Catholic church.\u00a0His persistent desire to stir the pot of what was acceptable or over-the-top in films\u00a0made him a controversial figure in British cinema.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of his career-spanning controversies, Russell continued to make films with moderate critical and commercial success, becoming a staple of the British film industry. Early critical success with his adaptation of D.H. Lawrence\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Women in Love<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u2013 a film which garnered him several Oscar nominations and one win \u2013 and later commercial success with\u00a0<\/span>Tommy<\/span><\/i>, an adaptation of The Who\u2019s rock opera of the same name, allowed him artistic freedom not often awarded to such controversial artists. In addition to this, Russell\u2019s cult film successes with the likes of\u00a0<\/span>Crimes of Passion\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and\u00a0<\/span>The Lair of the White Worm<\/span><\/i>\u00a0kept him in cultural conversation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Russell also occasionally dabbled in theater and opera. As with his films, he was known for making bold, strange visual choices in his translations of classic plays and operas. In one instance, Russel adapted\u00a0<\/span>La Boheme\u00a0<\/span><\/i>for the stage and decided to incorporate Nazi imagery into the set design as well as a giant replica of the Savage Messiah statue. The aesthetic choices made in Russell’s theater productions, as often occurred, were not incorporated into the text of the opera. Instead, they served just a visual element of the performance, leaving many fans of the opera feeling confused. This was a trend in late Ken Russell’s work in general: aesthetic choices meant to be provocative, but which instead came<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>off as confusing or distracting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, we come to the context of our corgi skateboard. The original text of\u00a0<\/span>Princess Ida\u00a0<\/span><\/i>does not involve dogs in any form. However,\u00a0Russell, who, as\u00a0established, enjoyed playing around with social commentary, transformed the character of King Hildebrand into a parody of Prince Charles. So, Russell also includes Queen Elizabeth\u2019s corgis in the production, even though a character parallel to the queen herself does not appear in the play. Only one review in the Herald and Times points out this detail, mentioning,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cskateboards disguised unconvincingly as corgi dogs\u201d.<\/span><\/a>Other reviewers were far more occupied by other strange decisions made by Russell, such as his choice to set the play in an English-Japanese hybrid theme park called the\u00a0Buck\u2019N\u2019Yen\u00a0Palace (get it?) and the fact that the chorus members wear massive fake ears throughout for unexplained reasons. Notably, the ears are included as an element of the design of the poster for the show.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Russell\u2019s\u00a0production of\u00a0<\/span>Princess Ida<\/span><\/i> was not successful. Critics\u00a0were baffled by his production design choices, changes to the score, and haphazard modernizations. Contemporary reviews talk of the show being a confusing waste of three hours, bringing up set and costuming details to question why they were there in the first place. Few images exist from the production itself, sadly, and Russell did not provide a lot of insight into why he made these choices. In the only interview he gave about the production, he talks about how uniquely \u201cmodern\u201d the text really is in comparison to other Gilbert and Sullivan operettas but does not elaborate on how his direction reflects this. Overall, the corgi skateboard itself\u00a0remains\u00a0a fun and baffling novelty, on and off the stage, a strange artifact from an even stranger theatrical production.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fisher, Iain. \u201cKen Russell Stage: Opera and Princess Ida, Gilbert and Sullivan.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Savage Messiah: A Ken Russell Site by Iain Fisher<\/span><\/i>, www.iainfisher.com\/russell\/ken-russell-opera-princess-ida.html. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRussell Royals. Princess Ida, London Coliseum.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The Herald<\/span><\/i>, The Herald and Times Archive, 18 Nov. 1992, www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/12579363.Russell_royals___Princess_Ida__London_Coliseum_\/.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walters, Michael (Editor). \u201cGilbertian Gossip No. 41.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The Gilbert & Sullivan Newsletter Archive<\/span><\/i>, 6 Sept. 1998, gsarchive.net\/newsletters\/gossip\/no40\/gg40_02.html.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blog post was written by Maris Tiller, SCRC Research Services GRA. Maris\u00a0a Graduate student pursuing her Master’s in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction.   Among the books and manuscripts found within SCRC’s archives, there are also artworks and artifacts.\u00a0One such artifact is this prop, which belongs to our extensive theater collection, dubbed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101024,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-34i","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5189,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5189","url_meta":{"origin":11798,"position":0},"title":"Gilbert & Sullivan Come to Mason Libraries","author":"admin","date":"December 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"George Mason University has announced the intention of benefactor David Stone to bequeath his massive collection on Gilbert and Sullivan to the University Libraries\u2019 Special Collection & Archives.\u00a0 In a Mason News story by Corey Jenkins Schaut at http:\/\/newsdesk.gmu.edu\/2014\/10\/gilbert-sullivan-collection-make-home-mason\/, the collection is described as \u201ca treasure trove of Gilbert and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_1784_small","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_1784_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5279,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5279","url_meta":{"origin":11798,"position":1},"title":"Exhibition, The Pirates of Penzance: Memorabilia of the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries","author":"admin","date":"April 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"George Mason University Libraries benefactors, David and Annabelle Stone, have generously provided an exhibition in the Fenwick Library's A wing display cases to celebrate this spring's student performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. With original materials from their collection, which comprehensively documents the careers of Gilbert and Sullivan\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Designed by Bob Vay with images and creative input from David Stone, this poster promotes Fenwick Library's Pirates of Penzance exhibition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/pirates_poster-160x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6149,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6149","url_meta":{"origin":11798,"position":2},"title":"The Swing Mikado: Gilbert and Sullivan Reinvented in 1938","author":"admin","date":"February 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here in the Special Collections Research Center, we are gearing up for #GandS2017 - our celebration of all things Gilbert and Sullivan, culminating in the opening of an exhibit of materials from the David and Annabelle Stone Gilbert and Sullivan Collection. One of Gilbert and Sullivan's popular comic operas is\u00a0The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/mikado_01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3357,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=3357","url_meta":{"origin":11798,"position":3},"title":"Reprocessing the Federal Theatre Project – Radioscripts","author":"admin","date":"April 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In support of JAM (Jazz Appreciation Month) I\u2019ve selected two scripts from the Federal Theatre Radio Division of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) to highlight in this update on reprocessing the FTP.\u00a0 In the radio script series we have over 200 original scripts used for radio productions. These productions are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Federal Theatre Project"","block_context":{"text":"Federal Theatre Project","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=25"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/story_of_swingRadioscripts-300x201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11850,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11850","url_meta":{"origin":11798,"position":4},"title":"From the Archives:\u00a0Ozma\u00a0of Oz\u00a0by L. Frank Baum\u00a0","author":"Meghan Glasbrenner","date":"March 31, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog post was written by Maris Tiller, SCRC Research Services GRA. Maris is a Graduate student pursuing her Master\u2019s in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction. \u00a0 The\u00a0classic children\u2019s book\u00a0The Wonderful Wizard of Oz\u00a0by L. 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