Victorian Theatre Research Paper

This essay will be talking about how the architecture of theatres changed during the Victorian era. The topics discussed will be how the social changes, political changes and the technological changes played a factor in the change of architecture of theatres in the Victorian era. The main focus of this essay will be how the creation of the stage space changed. 100

Before the Victorian era, in the Georgian era, actors were not really on stage that much, meaning they were a lot closer to the audience. During the Georgian era, theatres were not a really nice place to go to. This is because the theatre experience was a lot different to how it is now, or even in the Victorian era. The audiences could be rather rude, noisy and also dangerous. It

The gas industry being one of the main changes. In 1885, the gas industry developed the gas mantle. The gas mantle didn’t produce a very bright light, which meant that lime light began to get used. Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light) was actually introduced in the 1820’s, which is just before the reign of Queen Victoria. This was a light created when a naked flame was directed at a cylinder of quicklime, creating an intense illumination. This made the stage a lot brighter than just simply using gas mantle lighting. However, this caused many of the Victorian theatres to burn down as a naked flame was being used, putting the lives of the audience at risk. The plus point about limelight’s was that theatre designers had the advantage of experimenting with the lighting, as they could do a bit of dimming of the light and also change the colours due to the gas used. A little while later, electrical lighting became popular and was used a lot more than gas lighting. This was an increase in the audience, as there were less fires and also a brighter stage. However the brighter stage was not something the theatre directors liked, as this did not allow dim lighting to be used, which meant that there were no shadows of the actors, making the plays look more flat than 3D. Electrical light dimming was introduced in the next century. During this period, gas lighting was

There were hundreds of theatres fires between the installation of the first gas lighting system in Philadelphia in 1816 and London’s Savoy Theatre becoming the first to be electrically lit in 1881. Leaving a flame burning overnight would prevent pressure building up in the gas lines and a subsequent explosion.” http://www.history.co.uk/shows/articles/5-theatrical-traditions-and-where-they-come-from The Victorian theatres were first to properly introduce the proscenium arch, which meat that the indoor theatres looked like they were in a box like structure with a frame around the act. The border was an elaborate frame designed in a picture frame pattern painted in gold, which was approximately two feet wide. The frame continued round the proscenium arch and below the actor’s feet, which gave the illusion of no stage, making it more appealing to the viewers. A good example of this is the Haymarket Theatre (Theatre Royal) reconstruction in 1880.