Hippodrama, or horse drama, is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre. Evolving from earlier equestrian circus, pioneered by Philip Astley in the 1760s,[1], it relied on drama plays written specifically for the genre; trained horses were considered actors along with humans and were even awarded leading roles.[2] Anthony Hippisley-Coxe described hippodrama as "a bastard entertainment born of a misalliance between the circus and the theatre ... that actually inhibited the development of the circus".[3]
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Horses appeared in Western European theater in the second half of the 18th century, both on stage and in aerial stunts (flying Pegasus).[2] Hippodrama emerged in the turn of 19th century in England, introduced by Philip Astley. At this time, gradual closing of country fairs and discharge of cavalrymen and horse grooms after the end of the Continental Wars[2] provided both experienced staff and public interest to the new show.
The first hippodrama premiered in 1803 in London at Astley's Amphitheatre, Royal Circus and Olympic Pavilion; and in Paris at Cirque Olympique,[2] where 36 horse riders could perform simultaneously.[1] Theatres built for hippodramas combined proscenium stage with dirt-floored riding arena separated by orchestra pit; scene and arena were connected by ramps, forming a single performing space.[1] The Circus of Pepin and Breschard presented Don Quixote de la Mancha "on horseback and on foot, with combats" in New York City on August 12, 1809.[4] Pepin and Breschard's company presented hippodramas in the newly formed United States from at least 1809 until 1815. Christoph de Bach produced similar entertainment in Vienna.[2] Astley's 1810 financial success with The Blood Red Knight persuaded the reluctant management of Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres to join the lucrative business.[2] Hippodrama plays, tailored for the masses, revolved around colourful Eastern subjects like Timour the Tartar or Mazeppa, or the Wild Horse of Tartary and the European military past (Marlborough's Heroic Deeds).[2] Mazeppa, first staged in England in 1823, became a hit of Astley's Amphitheater in 1831 and was performed by travelling companies in the United States from 1833; in 1860s it became a trademark show for Adah Isaacs Menken.[5] Adaptations of William Shakespeare (Richard III) were another common choice.[1]
The new genre spread to the United States after the end of the Napoleonic Wars; the Lafayette Circus in New York, inaugurated in 1825, was the first American theatre building specifically designed for hippodrama, followed by the Philadelphia Amphitheater and the Baltimore Roman Amphitheatre.[1] Hippodrama shows attracted the lower classes, labourers and seamen,[6] "ready to riot at the slightest provocations";[7] "in fact, much of recorded rowdyism of the mid-1820s in New York took place at Lafayette Circus.[6]
The Equestrian Circus in Saint Petersburg, Russia was built by Alberto Cavos in 1847.
The American Hengler's Circus prospered in the 1850s under the heading of Hengler's Colossal Hippodrama,[8] but elsewhere popularity of the genre faded by the middle of the century.[2] It was revived in France under Napoleon III, especially with the 1863 production of the Battle of Marengo and in 1880 Michel Strogoff.[2] The United States saw a brief revival of the genre in the late 1880s and 1890s, helped by the invention of a treadmill machine for imitating horse races on stage.[2] Film, introduced at the turn of the 20th century, finally replaced hippodrama as the show for the masses.[2]
In recent times, the Cavalia circus/show/production company has produced a well-received modern hippodrama which tours internationally, using as many as 30 horses per show and playing for up to two thousand people at a time.[9]
A modern one-of-a-kind hippodrama directed by Franz Abraham, an equestrian reenactment of Ben Hur, took place at the O2 arena, London on September 15, 2009. The show employed one hundred animals (including thirty-two horses) and four hundred people.[10][11][12][13]