Published October 2018 - Prix Cadre Noir of the Académie Pégase, 2019
The emergence and rise of modern circus placed entertainment entrepreneurs, equestrians, and above all, the horse, at the heart of the commercialization of leisure in France and England at the turn of the 18th century. From 500 spectators in London on a night in 1768 to 300,000 in one summer in Paris in 1854, the history of equestrian theater and the birth of modern circus illustrates how the horse regenerated theatrical creativity, contributed to the construction of heroes and historical myths, sparked new narratives and staging techniques, and provided cultural references that transformed the audience's relationship to the extraordinary, the sensational... and to national identity, within what became a true cultural phenomenon throughout the 19th century.
At the intersection of the history of theater, sport, edutainment, and also the history of wars, this work explores the creation of cultural innovations and the structuring of a new entertainment offer where the horse and equestrian culture paved the way for an unprecedented theatrical genre bridging knowledge dissemination and theatricals. Between state control and market laws, the strategies employed by Astley and Franconi offer a window into the economy and regulations of leisure and private theaters at the very moment when the leisure market was emerging and taking shape in England and France, and when equestrian practices were transforming.
Preface by Daniel Roche
WHYTHIS WEBSITE
This website was launched in 2018 when I published my book Du Théâtre équestre au cirque, which resulted from the research I carried in History and Social Sciences for the PhD I submitted in 2004. It is dedicated to the materials that were left out of the book - long enough as it is. But as everyone knows, once you start digging into a subject, you find more and more materials, build up amounts of data and it is a shame that the work done may be of no use for others to jump from.
At a time when open source and open access in academia are an issue institutions try to deal with, it seemed to me that disseminating some of my own findings could be a stepping stone for other researchers to gain time and dig further.
So here are some more elements about the cultural and material history of the circus in France and England between 1750 and 1860, about the men and women who made it happen and developed its continuous evolutions. But this website also brings insights about theatre, entertainment, horse riding, the commercialisation of leisure, the dissemination of knowledge and the construction of common culture and common images about national history and memory, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural innovations through the specificities of the circus as an architectural and economic venue... which are the topics that circuses led me to unfold. So this website is about circuses in Paris and London. But not only.
Thus, TheatreCirque.com aims to provide easy access to data and texts that could not fit in the book and which, thanks to the web, complement the printed edition. The topics and documents you will find here are intended for students and researchers in history, cultural and art studies, but also for those who are just curious about these subjects. Happy reading!
CIRCUS TIMELINE
Chronology. The history of the circus is that of individuals as much as that of establishments. This frieze (visible only on desktop) shows all the major dates of the inaugurations of new circuses, equestrian theaters and hippodromes, in Paris and London, from 1768 to 1900.
Details, here , for the successive names and managers of Astley's Amphitheater and here for managers of the Théâtre du Cirque Olympique, other circuses and hippodromes in Paris.
DOCS&
FOCUS
 Theatres Equestres et CirquesCartes des emplacements à Paris & Londres |  Dynastie des FranconiQuatre générations ont ancré l'histoire du cirque et marqué l'équitation française, l'histoire des spectacles et des théâtres. |  Amazones au cirque: secret de selleLa 3e fourche, un design de selle par Jules-Charles Pellier et François Baucher pour favoriser l'assise des amazones, à l'origine d'une nouvelle équitation féminine. |
|---|---|---|
 Astley's Toy Theatres: British edutainmentLes "toy theatres" anglais dits aussi "juvenile drama", ou "théâtres de papier" sont des théâtres miniature en bois et carton qui permettent de reconstituer "à la maison" les pièces les plus célèbres de la scène londonnienne: 24 des plus célèbres hippodrames d'Astley ont ainsi été édités en toy theatres. |  Répertoire du Cirque OlympiqueDes pantomimes équestres aux hippodrames, parmi les scènes parisiennes, le Théâtre du Cirque Olympique a son propre répertoire. Plus de 265 pièces ont été recensées de 1807 à 1847. Quel est ce répertoire ? Quels sont les genres exploités ? Plongée au coeur des créations du Cirque Olympique. |  Publications de Philip AstleyPhilip Astley a publié au moins dix ouvrages, des manuels et traités d'équitation, des livrets et cartes militaires mais aussi à propos de la magie et des spectacles. Une diversité éditoriale peu commune pour un cavalier souvent traité d'illettré. |
 Astley's Olympic PavilionEn 1804, Astley ouvre un second établissement à Londres auquel il donne un nouvelle orientation équestre pour compléter l'offre spectaculaire de son amphithéâtre de Lambeth. Le succès est-il au rendez-vous? |  Astley's AmphitheatreDénominations et directions successives de l'Astley's Amphitheatre à Londres de 1768 à 1893. |