Philip Astley's 1786 Circumvention of a Parisian Theatre Regulation

Extract

Eighteenth century Parisian theatres operated under strict theatrical regulations. While licensed to produce a particular type of entertainment, each theatrical manager was admonished to not infringe upon the theatrical specialities of his competitors. In the 1770s, Philip Astley, an Englishman considered by most theatre historians the ‘father of the modern circus’, began offering his unique equestrian performances to Parisian audiences (see Plate I). Although he spent most of his time performing in London, Astley returned to Paris on a fairly regular basis. His London performances usually included clowning, juggling and acrobatics as entr′actes to the equestrian exercises. In Paris, however, juggling, tight-rope acts and the like were among the licensed specialties of Jean-Baptiste Nicolet, a noted acrobat with a long and popular history of performance both at the fairs and on the Boulevard du Temple. Frustrated by the narrowness of the license granted him, Astley devised a unique means of circumventing the regulation.