Astley's Amphitheatre was a performance venue in London opened by Philip Astley in 1773, considered the first modern circus ring. [1] It was burned and rebuilt several times, and went through many owners and managers. Despite no trace of the theatre remaining today, a memorial plaque was unveiled in 1951 at its site at 225 Westminster Bridge Road. [2]
The Amphitheatre opened in 1773. The structure was burned down in 1794, then rebuilt in less than seven months before being destroyed by fire again in 1803. The Amphitheatre was again rebuilt, this time in the style of rival Charles Hughes's Royal Circus with lavish decorations and reputedly the largest stage in London. [3] With increasing prosperity and rebuilding after successive fires, it grew to become Astley's Royal Amphitheatre and this was the home of the circus. The location of the theatre was Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth. [4]
The theatre continued to be popular long after Astley's death in 1814. His brother John succeeded him until he retired three years later, handing over to his partner Davis. This led to a renaming from 'Astley's' to 'Davis's' Amphitheatre. [5] William Batty (1801–1868), perhaps best known as the owner of Batty's Hippodrome, acquired Astley's from Andrew Ducrow (1793–1842) in 1841, after the building sustained its third fire, causing Ducrow to suffer a mental breakdown and die in early 1842. Batty rebuilt the Amphitheatre entirely on his own resources and ran Astley's until 1853. During his tenure, Pablo Fanque, the black circus equestrian and circus owner made his London debut at Astley's in 1847. [6] William Cooke leased the building in 1853 and ran Astley's until 1860. [7] [8]
In 1863 the Amphitheatre was turned into the Theatre Royal by Dion Boucicault, however it resulted in failure and left Boucicault heavily in debt. [5] Edward Tyrrel Smith succeeded Boucicault and provided Adah Isaacs Menken with her first London appearance in Mazeppa to "overflowing houses". [9] Its final owner was "Lord" George Sanger, who bought it for £11,000 in 1871 and ran it as Sanger's Amphitheatre for over 20 years. This theatre was demolished in 1893. [10] [11]
After the Amphitheatre was rebuilt again after the third fire, it was said to be very grand. The external walls were 148 feet long which was larger than anything else at the time in London. The interior of the Amphitheatre was designed with a proscenium stage surrounded by boxes and galleries for spectators. The general structure of the interior was octagonal. The pit used for the entertainers and riders became a standardised 43 feet in diameter, with the circular enclosure surrounded by a painted four foot barrier. [3] Astley's original circus was 62 ft (~19 m) in diameter, and later he settled it at 42 ft (~13 m), which has been an international standard for circuses since. [12]
The prevailing decorations are white, lemon-colour, green and gold, with rich crimson hangings for the private boxes. There are two full tiers of boxes, and two half tiers, ranging evenly from the two galleries. Each of the full tiers contains nineteen open boxes. The circles are supported from the pit by eight Doric pillars and forty-six Corinthian columns, fluted in white and gold. There are six spacious saloons - two for the dress circle, two for the pit, two for the upper boxes, with extensive refreshment places for the galleries. In the centre of the first tier is the royal box, tastefully ornamented. [13]
— The Illustrated London News , 1843
Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma credits a visit to Astley's for bringing about the reconciliation and engagement of Robert Martin and Harriet Smith.
Charles Dickens wrote a short story titled Astley's in his 1836 book, Sketches by Boz . [14] He describes an evening at Astley's in chapter 39 of The Old Curiosity Shop , and the circus is also mentioned in Hard Times (Book 3 chapter 7) and Bleak House .
Tracy Chevalier's 2007 novel Burning Bright is set at Astley's in 1792–93.
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the field of performance, training and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus.
Philip Astley was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus". Modern circus, as an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domesticated animals, acrobats, and clowns, traces its heritage to Astley's Amphitheatre, a riding school that Astley founded in London following the success of trick-riding displays given by him and his wife Patty Jones in 1768. Astley's first competitor was equestrian Charles Hughes, who had previously worked with Astley. Together with Charles Dibdin, a famous author of pantomimes, Hughes opened a rival amphitheatre in London, which Dibdin called the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy.
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a historic opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there.
Over the centuries, there have been five theatres in Dublin called the Theatre Royal.
The Lyceum Theatre is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnold, from 1794 to 1809 the building hosted a variety of entertainments including a circus produced by Philip Astley, a chapel, and the first London exhibition of waxworks by Madame Tussauds. From 1816 to 1830, it served as The English Opera House. After a fire, the house was rebuilt and reopened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. The building is unique in that it has a balcony overhanging the dress circle. It was built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell. The theatre then played opera, adaptations of Charles Dickens novels and James Planché's "fairy extravaganzas", among other works.
The Cirque Olympique in Paris, also known as the Cirque Franconi, was an equestrian theatre company, founded in 1782 by Philip Astley, the English inventor of the modern circus ring, and was initially known as the Cirque d'Astley or the Cirque Anglais.
Pablo Fanque was a British equestrian performer and circus proprietor, becoming the first recorded Black circus owner in Britain. His circus was popular in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus.
The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the junction with Westminster Bridge Road, just south of the River Thames in what is now the London Borough of Southwark.
Andrew Ducrow was a British circus performer, often called the "Colossus of equestrians". He was the originator of horsemanship acts and proprietor of Astley's Amphitheatre, and remains one of the few giants of equestrian drama whose name is still familiar in the twenty-first century.
Hippodrama, horse drama, or equestrian drama is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre.
'Lord' George Sanger was an English showman and circus proprietor. Born to a showman father, he grew up working in travelling peep shows. He successfully ran shows and circuses throughout much of the nineteenth century with his brother John. He retired in 1905 and was murdered by a disgruntled employee in 1911.
William Batty (1801–1868) was an equestrian performer, circus proprietor, and longtime operator of Astley's Amphitheatre in London. Batty was one of the most successful circus proprietors in Victorian England and helped launch the careers of a number of leading Victorian circus personalities, such as Pablo Fanque, the versatile performer and later circus proprietor, and W.F. Wallett, one of the most celebrated clowns of the era. Also, while in operation for only two years, Batty's most lasting legacy is probably Batty's Grand National Hippodrome, also known as Batty's Hippodrome, an open-air amphitheatre he erected in 1851 in Kensington Gardens, London, to attract audiences from the Crystal Palace Exhibition nearby.
Astley's Amphitheatre was a theatre on Peter Street, Dublin, which operated from 1789 to 1812. Established by Philip Astley, it was Ireland's first circus and, in later years, was known as the Royal Hibernian Theatre.
The Broadway Theatre, called the Old Broadway Theatre since its demise, was at 326–30 Broadway, between Pearl and Anthony Streets in Lower Manhattan, New York City. With over 4000 seats, it was the largest theater ever built in New York when it opened. During its brief existence, many prominent performers of the era appeared on its stage. It presented plays, opera, ballet, hippodrama, and circus performances in a space that was reconfigured several times. The operators always struggled to make money, however, and after twelve years the Broadway Theatre was replaced by a more profitable building, for the textile trade.
The Theatre Royal was a patent theatre located in Cork City, Ireland.
The Theatre Royal, Southampton was a theatre in Southampton, Hampshire, England. It opened in 1803 and was located near the Medieval Merchant's House on French Street. Jane Austen and her family visited the theatre in 1807. The building was later renovated and expanded, and reopened as New Theatre Royal in 1880. It was destroyed by a fire in 1884.
Cooke's Royal Circus (1780–1912) started as a circus show travelling around Britain in the late 18th century. It was primarily an equestrian show with over half the acts involving horses.
Marie Elizabeth Macarte was an English equestrienne and circus performer who found success in Britain and the United States in the 1840s to 1860s.
The Holborn Theatre was a theatre on High Holborn in London which opened in 1867 as the New Royal Amphitheatre and operated as an equestrian ring and theatre until 1886. During its short existence the theatre underwent numerous name changes, becoming the Holborn Theatre in 1884.
George Benjamin William Lewis commonly referred to as G. B. W. Lewis, or G. B. Lewis, was an English circus performer, later a circus and theatre entrepreneur in Australia. He married in 1864 the actress and playwright Rose Edouin.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Astley, Philip". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.