Melodrama became popular from the 1780s to 1790s and lasted until the early 20th century. The first drama in Britain to be labelled a melodrama was Thomas Holcroft’s
A Tale of Mystery in 1802. ‘Melodrama’ consisted of short scenes interspersed with musical accompaniment and was characterized by simple morality, good and
evil characters and overblown acting style. Characters in melodrama were stereotypical - there was always a villain, a wronged maiden and a hero. The emotions of the actors
were played out in the music and accompanied by dramatic tableaux. Because of these musical interludes melodrama was not considered a ‘play’ and thus evaded
the monopoly of the patent theatres stipulated in the Licensing Act.
Early Melodrama
Early melodrama aimed to appeal to a working class audience. Indeed the heroes and heroines were nearly always from the working
class and the baddies were aristocrats or the local squire. Melodrama often had romantic settings; ruined castles and wild mountains,
reflecting the Romantic movement’s obsession
with the wilds of nature and exotic travel.
In the 1820s and 30s there was a craze for domestic melodrama and for
real life horror stories. Maria Martin or Murder in the Red Barn was
based on a true story of the murder of a young girl. Popular novels were
also turned into melodramas. Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the
story of the slave Uncle Tom, and the cruelties and harshness of his life.
It was the first famous abolitionist work of fiction, and became a stage play in 1852.
After its American success, the play opened at London’s Adelphi
Theatre.
Later Melodrama
Melodrama became synonymous with spectacle and remained popular until the early 20th century. Charles Kean’s The Corsican Brothers was
a hit with Queen Victoria in 1856. William Terriss presented successful melodramas at the Adelphi Theatre between 1885 and 1887 including Seymour Hicks’s One of the Best,
which George Bernard Shaw declared was ‘One of the Worst’.
Terriss himself came to a melodramatic end - he was assassinated at the stage door of his theatre in 1897.
Melodramas at Drury Lane were truly spectacular productions designed to show off the new technology of the theatre. The
Whip and Ben Hur were designed by Bruce ‘Sensation’ Smith and stage effects included train crashes, boats sinking and chariot races.
Read more about Victorian spectacular theatre.
Listen to the incidental music from a Drury Lane melodrama.
Introduction
The Old Price Riots
