Staging History

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, historical subjects became some of the most popular topics for stage dramas of all kinds on both sides of the Atlantic. This collection of essays examines a number of extraordinary theatrical works in order to cast light on their role in shaping a popular interpretation of historical events.The medium of drama ensured that the telling of these histories – the French Revolution and the American War of Independence, for example, or the travels of Captain Cook and Christopher Columbus – were brought to life through words, music and spectacle. The scale of the productions was often ambitious: a water tank with model floating ships was deployed at Sadler’s Wells for the staging of the Siege of Gibraltar, and another production on the same theme used live cannons which set fire to the vessels in each performance. This illustrated volume, researched and written by experts in the field, explores contemporary theatrical documents (playbills, set designs, musical scores) and images (paintings, prints and illustrations) in seeking to explain what counted as history and historical truth for the writers, performers and audiences of these plays. In doing so it debates the peculiar contradictions of staging history and re-examines some spectacular box office hits.

"This book uncovers a surprising and unfamiliar world of theatricality. A particular strength is the volume's concentration on performance contexts. Acting, costuming, dancing, scenography and, above all, music are given unprecedented treatment throughout the book. The volume includes more than 70 rare or difficult-to-find illustrations." --David Worrall, University of Roehampton, "This illuminating collection of essays transports the reader to the spectacular world of the London theatre in the early nineteenth century and demonstrates how seemingly trivial entertainments engaged with the world-historical events unfolding around them. The strength of this collection lies in the careful interweaving of theatre history, musicological analysis, and a thrilling attentiveness to scenographic innovation. That this book is so superbly illustrated and so cognizant of the importance of music and dance is crucial to its effect, for one leaves the volume with a very clear sense of how the theatre targeted all of the senses in a multi-media whirlwind. The editors and contributors have a set a new standard for dealing with a repertoire that has all too often been ignored by social and cultural historians. Every essay reconstructs the dynamic relation between performance and historical consciousness and in so doing we are forced to think about the transience of evidence and about what counts as history in new ways." --Daniel O'Quinn, University of Guelph, "This sumptuously illustrated book provides a series of carefully researched case studies on the uses of history in late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century theatre. Michael Burden's excellent introduction indicates how a move towards factual accuracy and realism, both in the historical material used and in the visual representations of the past, through scenery and costume, was often spurious and the productions linked as much to contemporary issues and political agendas as to historical authenticity. This is very much a key theme of several of the essays, whether exploring the relevance of plays about Hofer 'the Tell of the Tyrol' to the Chartist movement or Columbus's discovery of America (here represented, somewhat anachronistically, by Peru) to the French Revolution. The Saratoga Campaign, the Siege of Gibraltar and the death of Captain Cook are all the subjects of essays examining historical events reworked as ballets, operas and melodramas. As well as a strong emphasis on context, contributors draw on pictorial evidence--paintings, prints, political satires, scene designs, music covers and playbills--and on the use of music and songs, in order to investigate the theatrical impact of their chosen topics. The memorialisation of Sir Walter Scott through theatricality and spectacle and attempts to capture the vocal delivery of John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons in Shakespeare are among other subjects touched on in the book. Organised into sections which focus on the theatrical creation of British history on stage, the representation of national politics and identity, and the mediation of empire, the exotic and exploration, all the essays are of a very high standard, offering new and original insights. This volume makes a significant and accessible contribution to our understanding of the way theatre used history in the period covered. Beautifully presented, it will appeal both to scholars and to the general reader."--Jim Davis, University of Warwick

Michael Burden is Professor in Opera Studies at Oxford University, Fellow in Music at New College, and Chair, Faculty of Music Board. Wendy Heller is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at Princeton University. Jonathan Hicks is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Music Department at Kings College London. Ellen Lockhart is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto.