Theatric Revolution: Drama, Censorship, and Romantic Period Subcultures 1773-1832

by David Worrall

Overview

The theatre and drama of the late Georgian period have been the focus of a number of recent studies, but such work has tended to ignore its social and political contexts. Theatric Revolution redresses the balance by considering the role of stage censorship during the Romantic period, an era otherwise associated with the freedom of expression. Looking beyond the Royal theatres at Covent Garden and Drury Lane which have dominated most recent accounts of the period, this book examines the day-to-day workings of the Lord Chamberlain's Examiner of Plays and shows that radicalized groups of individuals continuously sought ways to evade the suppression of both playhouses and dramatic texts.

Incorporating a wealth of new research, David Worrall reveals the centrality of theatre within busy networks of print culture, politics of all casts, elite and popular cultures, and metropolitan and provincial audiences. Ranging from the drawing room of Queen Caroline's private theatrical to the song-and-supper dens of Soho and radical free and easies, Theatric Revolution deals with the complex vitality of Romantic theatrical culture, and its intense politicization at all levels. This fascinating new study will be of great value to cultural historians, as well as to literary and theatre scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199276752
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/20/2006
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David Worrall is Professor of English Literature at The Nottingham Trent University.

Table of Contents

Introduction1. Customary Practices: The Regulation of the Theatres2. The Suppression of the Royalty Theatre, London East End3. Theatrical Oligarchies: The Role of the Examiner of Plays4. Theatrical Subcultures: Fireworks, Freemasonry, and Philip De Loutherbourg5. Political Microcultures: The Censorship of Thomas Dibdin's iTwo Farmers/i6. The Theatricalization of British Popular Culture: Queen Caroline and the Royal Coburg Theatre7. The Theatricalization of British Popular Culture: A General Historical Anthropology8. Political Dramas: iHarlequin Negro/i and iPlots And Placemen/i9. The Theatre of Crime: iThe Mysterious Murder/i and iThe Murdered Maid/i10. The Theatre of Subversion: Carlile's Rotunda and Captain SwingConclusion

Editorial Reviews

"Full of original research, intriguing detail, and rewardingly thick description."—Studies in Romanticism

"Exhaustively researched.... A valuable resource."—Margaret Russett, Studies in English Literature

From the Publisher