Papal Tyranny on the Stage: The Jacobite Rising of 1745 and the London Theatres

Abstract

During the 1745 Rebellion, Catholicism was stigmatized on the London stage as an external threat mostly in serious application plays which displayed the alliance of Jacobites and foreign powers intent on jeopardizing British integrity. At the same time, it was viewed as a possible domestic danger chiefly in satirical comedies portraying double-dealing Catholics lurking within the Church of England. In the first half of the theatrical season of 1745–1746, the theatre managers shifted the focus from aggressive anti-Papism when tension was mounting to an appeal to patriotic zeal when danger receded. The performance records show, however, that despite the upsurge of nationalism at the time, anti-Catholic propaganda rarely met with lasting success in serious drama. The few plays that managed to hold the stage for some time castigated Catholic hypocrisy by exposing it comically and theatrically instead of delivering long-winded moralizing lectures. The other alternative was the spectacular pantomime or musical pieces which suited the audience’s taste for spectacle. As professional entrepreneurs at the head of a new rising leisure industry, the managers knew how to capitalize on anti-Catholicism. Fully aware of the limitations of nationalist drama, they pandered to their patrons’ patriotism. At the same time, they made sure that they also catered for their theatrical tastes by complementing the nationalistic message of the main play with the more effective ridicule heaped on Papists in the satirical afterpieces.