When one thinks of theatre, one often thinks of live performances of unpredictability. It is a source of entertainment that changes from show to show; however, there are other types of theatres.
One type of different theatre is the mechanical theatre. The mechanical theatre is essentially the earliest form of a moving picture. It was the building stone for special effects. Artists would use pulleys, mirrors, and machines to create the desired effect.
Eidophusikon is an example of a mechanical theatre. It was created by Philip James de Loutherbourg in the 18th century. It opened in Leicester Square in February 1781. Unfortunately, it was destroyed, so we cannot see it today; however, we do know what it was about. Apparently it was about nature. It showed moving waves, a moving ship, volcanoes, moving skies, sunsets, and more!
There have been many people who have recreated Eidophusikon. One of my favourite ones was the Australian National University.
Eidophusikon Re-imagined from Darran Edmundson on Vimeo.
The audience can really tell how it might have looked, and how evolutionary it was.
Another artist that is redoing the well known theatre is Robert Poulter. There are pictures of his work here.
The Industrial Revolution would have had a great part in this. Now, the machines could be pulling the pulleys and moving mirrors; therefore, there could be more moving pieces; therefore, it could create a bigger effect. It would still have been time consuming because they would have had to figure out how to exactly time certain aspects of the scene. It is also likely that there would have been different people working on the theatre. The builders could be more interested in the mechanics as opposed to the art; however, the art would have been just as important. It would have taken hours to make each piece, especially the scenes that involved many figurines such as one that shows the social class system.
Mechanical theatre could also be used for examining the social class system. The best example I could find of this was in a video. It is talking about a Austrian theatre, but there were many theatres like this in Britain during the 17th to 19th century as well.
Although the narrator creates a negative connotation towards this theatre, it is very intriguing. In this theatre, the aristocrats made very few movements. I wonder how the aristocrats would have taken that because it would mean they were not the star of the show. As it states in the video, I am sure the royalty and leaders would have been very happy with it because it shows a society of order. They probably would have thought that after seeing the production, the lower and middle class people would strive to work hard, just like it is dictated.
This is not what happened. Instead of illustrating what the people were supposed to be doing, it emphasized that the workers were just under control, and they could not break free of their daily routines. The backstory of the creator having arms set to him to make this theatre could not have helped the situation either. It is interesting that the Prince would pick a Protestant to create such a spectacle. I think, it was most likely to teach him never to rise above authority, and that the people above him in the class standing could use him for their bidding as easily as they could kill him. I’m sure the British would have also used the Catholics to do there bidding as well as anyone who was not part of the Church of England.
The mechanical theatre brought mixed emotions. It created a new form of entertainment which enticed the population, but it also created a new form of propaganda much like the movies we see today.
Works Cited
BBC. “Mechanical Theater, Salzburg, 17th/18th Century.” YouTube. May 17, 2013. Accessed November 24, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L12a_NpQp3c.
Edmundson, Darran. “Eidophusikon Re-imagined.” Vimeo. January 1, 2012. Accessed November 24, 2014. http://vimeo.com/32698316.
“Mechanical Theater, Salzburg, 17th/18th Century.” YouTube. Accessed November 24, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L12a_NpQp3c.
Poulter, Robert. “Robert Poulter’s New Model Theatre.” Eidophusikon. January 1, 200. Accessed November 24, 2014. http://www.newmodeltheatre.co.uk/eidophusikon.html.
Poulter, Robert. “Robert Poulter’s New Model Theatre.” Eidophusikon. January 1, 2007. Accessed November 24, 2014. http://www.newmodeltheatre.co.uk/eidophusikon.html.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Philip James De Loutherbourg.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. August 11, 2014. Accessed November 24, 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349376/Philip-James-de-Loutherbourg#ref9066.
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