What Is The Mood Of The Changes In Theatre During The Industrial Revolution

Throughout the 19th history saw a boom in industry, and not just products that were begin made. History saw a boom in the way products were made, the way people lived their lives. There were innovations in machinery such as trains and tools in manufacturing, but there were also innovations in the way people thought. During the Industrial Revolution we saw minds such as Marx and Darwin begin to set their thoughts onto the people of the world. Having said that, there was also unrest in the world, this was the time of the Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic War. All of these factors of the Industrial Revolution changed the lives of people living in the time, and theatre is a reflection of life, so naturally it also affected the theatre. The first thing that needs to be remember is that with the Industrial Revolution people began to move. With the train becoming more available people moved into cities, with people moving into cities they needed more things to do, this caused a boom in theatrical productions. (McCracken, 2/5) Through this boom of theatrical productions we saw a rise in Romanticism in theatre. Romanticism included Strum und Drang, an idea that theatre did not need to be so rigid, that it was about individuality and independence, it was all about the mood of the play and no subject matter was off
limits. (McCracken, 2/5) Because of the revolutions happening in France and America people were more inclined to independence and writing how they wanted to. While Strum and Drang began in Germany it was quickly picked up around the world for this reason. Playwrights such as Kleist, Buchner, and even Victor Hugo (who was an author as apposed to a playwright) embraced romanticism. Romanticism has a great affect on theatre today, it brought us shows such as Les Mierables and let way to melodrama. This brings us to melodrama and the change in technical theater through the revolution. Through Romanticism was born the ideas of melodrama, which can be described as theatre that evoked emotional response, that pertained a conflict between good and evil. (McCraken, 2/5) The nature of melodramas, their grandeurs and realism brought about changes in the way that scenic practices were done. First of all, theatres got a lot bigger, the apron got smaller, and wings got bigger to accommodate the larger scenery that was now being used. (McCraken, 2/5) There was also the invention of the elevator stage, the revolving stage, and the idea to use steel for structural needs. While melodrama sparked this need, it was due to the industrial revolutions and the innovations it brought that really allowed this technical change to happen. Many of the scenic inventions are still used today, specifically the revolving stage which can be seen on multiple Broadway shows including Hamilton. Another notable change in theatrical history was the fact that audience member began to get much more vocal and aggressive about what they thought should be onstage.
Riots broke out in many theatres due to plays that didn’t follow neoclassical rules or the preference for one actor over another. The Hernani Riots were caused by the violation of neoclassical rules, they were between the traditionalists and the romantics and lasted 54 nights in which the audience members shouted, rioted, and fought. (McCraken, 2/5) Luckily this theatrical change did not carry on into the modern theatre world, people are a lot less aggressive about their theatrical
opinions. In conclusion, throughout the Industrial Revolution we saw new mays of writing, innovations in scenic elements, people beginning to think outside of the box that had been all that theatre was previously. If nothing else, the industrial revolution was the beginning of the freedom we see now onstage. It sparked the interest in audiences to be open to all aspects of life being written and performed as plays. This freedom can still be seen today in most shows that are produced and that was the greatest thing the Industrial Revolution gave the theatrical world.