A History of Equestrian Drama in the United States

3  Early Productions of Equestrian Drama in England and the United States

During the early years of the nineteenth century, venues and companies called “circuses” were differentiated from theatres mainly by their focus on more traditionally “circus” style acts, including acrobats, clowns, and equestrians (although they might also produce more traditional plays). Circuses in the United States presented equestrian pantomimes of various types in the early years of the nineteenth century. These included simple, older, comic pantomimes such as The Taylor or Johnny Gilpin, and some newer and more complex, dramatic, and/or large-scale pantomimes. Pepin and Breschard’s circus presented dramatic pantomimes at this time; these focused more on action than ...