Military Melodrama:
The News-Reel effect
The Storming of the Bastille in 1789 was a very important event for the theatre. Barely three weeks after the battle took place, it was recreated on the stage with great success. In the age before television and radio, such performances became almost like news programmes, informing the people about the event. Many of the audience members could not read so the theatre was their way of getting information, and of finding out what occurred during these battles. However, there was a very strong sense of patriotism in the plays so it was a biased version of event that would be shown.
During the Crimean War, the news-reel feeling of military melodrama had reached its peak, with a battle occurring on 20th September, 1854, being recreated on-stage at Astley's, with four hundred extras, on 23rd October, 1854.