The Histrionic Art

Abstract

This chapter is a study of West End theatre in the age of Romanticism. It explains the importance of the patent theatres (particularly those in Drury Lane and Covent Garden) and their attempts to retain a monopoly over the performance of the spoken word. This is then contrasted with the emergence of so-called ‘minor’ theatres in the West End such as the Lyceum, the Adelphi, and the Olympic. They became associated with new theatrical forms including melodrama and burletta. The chapter explores the theatre-going experience in the early nineteenth-century West End and the varied styles of acting in the age of Edmund Kean. It explains why demands emerged for reform of the patent theatre system leading to the 1843 Theatre Regulation Act. This chapter links the early nineteenth century West End to the confessional state which explains why the nature of theatre had to change in the age of reform.