Hippodrama

The Hippodrama, or "horse drama", was a very specialized 19th century theatrical version of the Equestrian Circus. It was genre of theatrical show evolved in England by Philip Astley at the beginning of the 19th century as a way to circumvent the restrictions of the the Licensing Act of 1737. In such dramas circus horsemanship displays are combined with popular melodrama theatre, using texts written specifically for the genre.[1]. Besides using established texts, the form was also used for patriotic plays based on various battles.

They were usually performed in specially constructed venues referred to as Hippodromes.

A number of these were done in South Africa over the years, inter alia by Astley's Circus, the Equestrian Gymnastics, **