Melodrama

Melodrama became popular from the 1780s to 1790s and lasted until the early 20th century. The first drama in Britain to be labelled a melodrama was Thomas Holcroft's A Tale of Mystery in 1802.
Melodrama consisted of short scenes interspersed with musical accompaniment and was characterized by simple morality, good and evil characters and overblown acting style.

Poster for Arrah-Na-Pogue at the Princess Theatre

 Poster for Arrah-Na-Pogue at the Princess Theatre, lithograph, coloured ink on paper, published by Concanen, Lee & Siebe, London, 22 March 1865. Museum no. S.7-1983. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Arrah-Na-Pogue or The Wicklow Wedding first played at Dublin in the autumn of 1864. Dion Boucicault wrote himself the part of Shaun the Post, whose lively wit made him a London favourite at the Princess's Theatre when the play transferred there in March 1865. His wife Agnes Robertson played Arrah Meelish, known as Arrah of the Kiss from her method of passing a letter with escape plans to her foster brother Beamish in prison. Arrah is engaged to Shaun, but Beamish - now escaped - robs Feeney, a government inspector, and gives the papers he steals to Arrah. To save her, Shaun confesses to the crime. While escaping from his prison in Dublin Castle, he fights Feeney and flings him to his death. It was this 'sensation scene', with the ivy-clad tower scenery sliding down to represent Shaun's climb to the top, which was used for the posters.
Photograph of Maud Jeffries as Mercia

 Photograph of Maud Jeffries as Mercia in The Sign of the Cross by Wilson Barrett (1846-1904), W&D Downey Photographers, London, January 1896, Guy Little Collection. Museum no. S.145:436-2007. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The four-act historical tragedy, The Sign of the Cross first toured in the United States and was then brought to England, first in Leeds and then at the Lyric Theatre in London. The play is about Marcus Superbus, an old Roman patrician under Nero, who falls in love with a young woman, Mercia, and converts to Christianity for her. Eventually they both sacrifice their lives for love in the arena to the lions. Photography was a novel and exciting development in Victorian days. Most actors and actresses had studio photographs taken in everyday dress or theatrical costume for 'cartes de visite' and later 'cabinet cards'. Both were albumen prints made from glass negatives, attached to stiff card backing printed with the photographer's name. 'Cartes de visite', the size of formal visiting cards, were patented in 1854 and produced in their millions during the 1860s when it became fashionable to collect them. Their subjects included scenic views, tourist attractions and works of art as well as portraits. They were superseded in the late 1870s by the larger and sturdier 'cabinet cards' whose popularity waned in turn during the 1890s in favour of postcards and studio portraits. This photograph comes from a large collection of 'cartes de visite' and 'cabinet cards' removed from their backings and mounted in albums by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1952) who bequeathed them to the V&A. A collector of greetings cars, games and photographs, Guy Little was a partner in the legal firm Messrs Milles Jennings White & Foster and the solicitor and executor of Mrs Gabrielle Enthoven, whose theatrical collection formed the basis of the Theatre Collections at the V&A.
Poster for Bound to Succeed

 Poster for Bound to Succeed, Surrey Theatre, England, 1881. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Benjamin Oliver took the name George Conquest and with his son George (born in 1837) ran the Grecian Saloon, built in the grounds of the Eagle Tavern, from 1851 to 1879. Bound to Succeed or A Leaf from the Captain's Log Book was the first piece played in the rebuilt and refurbished theatre in 1877 when the Grecian was advertised as 'one of the largest and most beautiful theatres in London, and capable of holding nearly 5,000 persons'. According to the programmes it was 'an entirely New and Original Drama of London and Tasmanian Life' with scenes set in Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, and Tasmania Dock on the River Thames. It was co-written by George Conquest Senior and starred him as Christopher Wobbles, 'a neglected genius', and his son George as 'a nervous gentleman'. This poster dates from a later production, after the Conquests transferred to the Surrey Theatre in 1881, having sold the Grecian for 21,000 (more than 1 million today) to an aspiring impresario who soon parted with it, at a loss, to the Salvation Army.
Johnny Clarke in The Corsican Brothers

 Johnny Clarke in The Corsican Brothers or The Troublesome Twins, Globe Theatre, London, London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, 17 May 1869, Guy Little Collection. Museum no. S.141:388-2007. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Photography was a novel and exciting development in Victorian days. Most actors and actresses had studio photographs taken in everyday dress or theatrical costume for 'cartes de visite' and later 'cabinet cards'. Both were albumen prints made from glass negatives, attached to stiff card backing printed with the photographer's name. 'Cartes de visite', the size of formal visiting cards, were patented in 1854 and produced in their millions during the 1860s when it became fashionable to collect them. Their subjects included scenic views, tourist attractions and works of art as well as portraits. They were superseded in the late 1870s by the larger and sturdier 'cabinet cards' whose popularity waned in turn during the 1890s in favour of postcards and studio portraits. This photograph comes from a large collection of 'cartes de visite' and 'cabinet cards' removed from their backings and mounted in albums by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1952) who bequeathed them to the V&A. A collector of greetings cars, games and photographs, Guy Little was a partner in the legal firm Messrs Milles Jennings White & Foster and the solicitor and executor of Mrs Gabrielle Enthoven, whose theatrical collection formed the basis of the Theatre Collections at the V&A.
Artwork for the poster The Union Jack

 Artwork for the poster The Union Jack, Adelphi Theatre, London, 1888. Museum no. S.254-1998. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The Union Jack, a melodrama written by Henry Petitt and Sydney Grundy, and starring William Terriss. A portrait of Terriss is featured on the poster, drawn from life shortly before his assassination on 3 August 1893. Bruce Smith worked on The Union Jack at the Adelphi Theatre in 1888, before he moved to Drury Lane and got his nickname, 'Sensation' Smith. In this show he was already creating sets and effects with spectacular impact, including the Gun Deck of HMS Wellesley, Aldershot Camp, and Ethel's Boudoir. The Illustrated London News couldn't quite see how the title applied to the play, but admitted that it was 'both patriotic and nautical and the combination is attractive from the bill poster's point of view'. The eye-catching poster you see here proves the point. The reviewer also tried to summarise the plot, starting with the sailor hero, played by William Terriss: 'Jack Medway is arrested, tried by court martial, jumps overboard from his ship, is hunted by marines, accused of murder his sweetheart Ethel Arden is persecuted, locked up, wanders in the snow her sister Ivy is abducted', and so on ... The audience response to events was predictable - 'it was a treat to hear the hissing of the villains as they perpetrated audacity after audacity and came up smiling to be hissed again'.
Postcard showing a scene from Bad Girl of the Family

 Postcard showing a scene from Bad Girl of the Family, London, 1909. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The Bad Girl of the Family by Frederick Melville (1877-1938) was produced at the Elephant and Castle Theatre in 1909, followed by a Christmas season at the Aldwych. The hopelessly convoluted plot was typical of Melville's style but provided plenty of opportunities for hissing at the villain (Harry) and nick-of-time rescues for the heroine (Gladys). Bess Moore, the 'bad girl' (played in this postcard by Violet Englefield), has been seduced by Harry Gordon (Mr H Lane Bayliff), her employer's son. She goes to Lord Erskine's with a dress for his daughter, Gladys (Maud Linden). Being on the brink of financial ruin, Lord Erskine is forcing Gladys to marry Harry, although she loves a sailor, Dick Marsh. By means of a heavy veil, Bess takes Gladys' place at the altar, to Harry's fury. On the night Dick arrives home, there is a murder of which he is found guilty but in the nick of time escapes from Dartmoor and rescues his abducted Gladys from Harry's devilish clutches. It is, of course, Harry who is guilty of the murder and he is finally arrested.
Photograph of Act III of The Whip

 Photograph of Act III of The Whip, Drury Lane Theatre, London, 1909. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

This scene was the work of Bruce 'Sensation' Smith. From the bustling stables of scene one to the eerie recreation of Madame Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors - location of one of the crucial, if slightly improbable, plot developments - Smith's attention to detail was meticulous. However, in the final scene of the act, the designer responsible for so many remarkable spectacles surpassed himself. The Whip, the horse tipped to win the 2000 Guineas, was loaded into his horsebox at the station and the following scene then unfolded in continuous action. The train sets off. The villain of the piece is seen clambering along the running board and uncoupling the horsebox, which is left stationary. There is the thundering sound of an approaching express train as the trainer tries desperately to free his horse. The Whip is rescued in the nick of time as the following train rushes from the tunnel to shatter the horsebox to smithereens and career over on its side, gushing steam ... all in full view of the audience.
Printed music sheet for Uncle Tom's Cabin

 Printed music sheet for Uncle Tom's Cabin, Adelphi Theatre, London, 1852. S.350-2012. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery novel written by the American author Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1851. The book tells the story of the slave Uncle Tom, and the cruelties and harshness of his life. It was the first famous abolitionist work of fiction and became a stage play in 1852. The book stirred up great public feeling in the United States. Some even credited it with helping to start the American Civil War. Indeed, when Abraham Lincoln met Mrs Stowe in 1852, he said to her 'So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war'. The book was dramatised in 1852 and played simultaneously at theatres across America. This music sheet cover is from the dramatisation of the novel. After its American success, the play opened at London's Adelphi Theatre in 1852.
Sarah Bernhardt photograph

 Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) in Theodora, W&D Downey photographers, London, 19th century, Guy Little Collection. Museum no. S.137:106-2007. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Photography was a novel and exciting development in Victorian days. Most actors and actresses had studio photographs taken in everyday dress or theatrical costume for 'cartes de visite' and later 'cabinet cards'. Both were albumen prints made from glass negatives, attached to stiff card backing printed with the photographer's name. 'Cartes de visite', the size of formal visiting cards, were patented in 1854 and produced in their millions during the 1860s when it became fashionable to collect them. Their subjects included scenic views, tourist attractions and works of art as well as portraits. They were superseded in the late 1870s by the larger and sturdier 'cabinet cards' whose popularity waned in turn during the 1890s in favour of postcards and studio portraits. This photograph comes from a large collection of 'cartes de visite' and 'cabinet cards' removed from their backings and mounted in albums by Guy Tristram Little (d. 1952) who bequeathed them to the V&A. A collector of greetings cars, games and photographs, Guy Little was a partner in the legal firm Messrs Milles Jennings White & Foster and the solicitor and executor of Mrs Gabrielle Enthoven, whose theatrical collection formed the basis of the Theatre Collections at the V&A.