English and French Theatre Spectacle in the 17th Century

Introduction: Italian Influence on English and French Theatre

It is difficult to define the differences between French and English theatre in the seventeenth century. In both cases, Italian set design and technology had a great impact, and both nations absorbed the new Italian developments, though at different times. As Campbell writes, "The foreigners who visited the English theatres in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries made no comment as to differences in structure between English and Continental theatres" (Campbell 208). Nevertheless, some meaningful differences did exist.

Spectacle was emphasized in England first through the masque, and France followed with the machine play. In terms of scenic elements and special effects, both traditions developed differently, yet by mid-century their results were comparable. By the end of the century, France had returned to a sparser neoclassical style and was moving toward opera and ballet, while England continued on a trajectory of visual spectacle in which opera and ballet were downplayed. This paper illustrates these differences in spectacle between English and French theatre in the seventeenth century, focusing on the contrasting development of the masque and the machine play, the different uses of music and dancing, and the stylistic contrast between neoclassical simplicity and Restoration showiness.

The English Masque and Its Development

Hartnoll and Found describe the English masque as "spectacular entertainment which combined music and poetry with scenery and elaborate costumes" (Hartnoll and Found 304). It apparently derived from a folk ritual in which guests arrived in disguise with gifts for the king, concluding with a ceremonial dance. Disguise was more prominent here than in French plays. As Hartnoll and Found explain, "The presentation of the gifts soon became an excuse for flattering speeches, while the wearing of outlandish or beautiful costumes and masks, or visors, led to miming and dancing as a prelude to the final dance" (Hartnoll and Found 304). In the early seventeenth century, Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones were the key author and designer of masques respectively. Performances typically took place in ballrooms or great halls with seating on the sides, and on sets separated by a curtain. It was more a royal art than a public one, and dancing was its central focus.

The masque developed considerably over time. Jones began using machines to create special effects, his most impressive being a huge "globe" with no visible axle that revolved with eight dancers inside it. Thomson notes that "wings, grooves and painted backcloths, augmented by machinery on demand, would become the stock-in-trade of the English stage before the 17th century ended" (Thomson 334). Simultaneously, Jonson wrote ante-masques that incorporated comic antics and grotesque dancing — perhaps the English dance equivalent of the French farce.

The English Civil War ended the popularity of the masque as a spectacle, but "it had provided the means of introducing into England the new Italian scenery, and the Restoration theatre was to take over many of its spectacular effects" (Hartnoll and Found 304). Before the masque's demise, the decorative ballroom frame had been replaced by the proscenium arch with movable shutters or wings running in grooves to open or close in front of a painted backcloth. Jones also replaced angled wings with flat wings — both key borrowings from Italian design.

The masque was essentially an allegorical and symbolic theatre that conveyed its story primarily through visual means. There was emphasis on scenery, costumes, properties, pantomime, and dance (Brockett and Hildy 132), along with elaborate set pieces, flying effects, pyrotechnic displays, magic tricks, and swordsmanship displays (Brockett and Hildy 129–30). Any narrative dialogue served only to clarify what was unclear in the visual presentation.

The French Machine Play

In France, the role of the masque was assumed by the machine play, one of the most prominent inventions in French seventeenth-century theatre. Hartnoll and Found describe it as a "type of 17th-century French spectacle which made excessive use of the mechanical contrivances and scene-changes developed in connection with the evolution of opera" (Hartnoll and Found 290). French theatre had inherited simultaneous settings from Renaissance theatre, but it evolved through the introduction of sequential sets influenced by Italian stage machinery. Machinery had already been used in court ballet, but mechanical devices — such as those used for the descent of gods — did not reach the public theatre in significant numbers until the mid-seventeenth century (O'Regan 191).

These machine plays created vertical and horizontal movements previously unseen on stage. A god could appear to float down onto the stage, boats could move across it, and night, dawn, or ghosts could be represented (Lawrenson 92). Most were produced at the Théâtre du Marais. A notable difference here is that French machine plays reached the general public, whereas English masques in the early part of the century were performed mainly for royalty. Stage sets for court ballets and operas were naturally more elaborate and technically advanced than public designs, owing to royal subsidies.