Steven Bennett

Dr. Tom Donahue

Theatre Topics

12/6/16

19th Century Realism

What is realism in the theatre? Simply put, it is a detailed analysis of everyday life.

Putting realism on the stage changed the way people viewed theatre and is now a popular

technique writers use in several forms of entertainment. We see it on television, in movies, and

on stage still in this present day. However, the use of realism took a long journey to get to this

point. Several writers and actors pushed for the use of realism in new plays until it was seen.

Once people saw these plays and loved them? The rest is history.

Realism began with experimental playwrights and actors that wanted to make theatre

depict the current state of society. Europe was in a revolutionary state in the 1800’s. Citizens

rioted for political and economic change, but they were usually silenced. Advances in technology

and science also encouraged change with the times because there was a better understanding of

humanity. Because of this new information, “The common man seemed to feel that he needed to

be recognized, and people asserted themselves through action.”1 Now, people use art in their

favor. Art is being used to show solidarity and to make sure everyone in society understands all

1
Trumbull, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre -- Realism."novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/realism.htm.
sides of the people. In other words, “Art—according to the realist view—had its purpose to

better mankind.”2

However, theatre had not made a huge jump to realism suddenly. There were small steps

and transitions people took that moved theatre to realism. Costumes and set pieces had begun to

look more realistic to life and the period of the play. First, the creation of box sets enabled for

more mobility in the creation of the play’s environment. For example, “box sets were

occasionally created for interiors by filling in the spaces between the wings with door or window

flats. Gradually, other units were added until the acting area was completely enclosed to create a

more realistic effect.”3 There could be any arrangement in a box set, so they began putting real

elements of, perhaps, a living room. For instance, paintings, furniture, or china. Interestingly,

designers built the set around the actors so they could make the set as closed in as a real living

room would be. In this way, the audience could see themselves in the characters on stage because

by chance the actors have a living room that looks like theirs. Represented below:

2
Trumbull, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre -- Realism."novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/realism.htm.

3
Brockett, Oscar G., and Franklin J. Hilly. History of the Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson Education,
2008. Page 285.
 In the early 19th century, actors began moving from the period of romanticism to realism

and began changing their views on social status in order to perfect their craft. To illustrate, one

of the first actors to make sacrifices for the sake of giving a realistic performance was Edmund

Kean. Actors before him were very vain and worried about fortune and fame, but Kean “did not

value grace and dignity; he was willing to cringe or crawl on the floor if he thought it necessary

to convey the proper effect.”4 So we see the beginning of actors being emotionally true to real

circumstances. Acting is becoming no longer physical. Audiences began to become attracted to

this new way of performing, but all this time realism was not widely accepted in theatre houses.

Even so, artists still continue to create their work. The playwright Edward Harrigan began using

farce and realism in his plays that were not accepted by critics of the time, but we see now how

innovative he was. Another playwright, James A. Herne wrote using “realistic visual detail” and

“sought fidelity to life.” William Gillette, as an actor, focused on “moment-by-moment

development of the action, he sought to create the ‘illusion of the first time’ regardless of how

often he had performed a role.”5 Another actor, Charles Fechter was famous for his performance

as Hamlet. Fechter was the one who “popularized a more realistic acting style.”6 Looking back,

we can see how these actors and playwright were simply ahead of their time. They had ideas that

theatre owners were not ready to accept, but people like Harrigan, Gillette, and Fechter were

using tools that are still being used to this day, so they were doing something right. Audiences

will soon see how their influence helped push realism into one of the most widely used tools in

modern-day entertainment.

4
Brockett, Oscar G., and Franklin J. Hilly. History of the Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson Education,
2008. Page 305.
5
Brockett, Oscar G., and Franklin J. Hilly. History of the Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson Education,
2008. Page 331.
6
Brockett, Oscar G., and Franklin J. Hilly. History of the Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson Education,
2008. Page 340.
 Now coming into the late 19th century, theatres would still not hold plays with realism

and mass audiences wouldn’t want to see them. Andre Antoine created the Théatre-libre for the

people who wanted to see new plays being done with realism. These ‘free theatres’ became

popular in many countries that produced and directed new works for small curious audiences.

Antoine’s theatres helped “showcase playwrights who could get no production anywhere else.”7

In this, he was a success, but these theatres brought no profit and they financially failed. Still,

even getting these plays out there and getting people to talk about them paved the way for the

greatest modern dramatists of our time to emerge.

Henrik Ibsen is known as the ‘father of modern drama’ and is most well-known for his

presentation of society with a philosophical and psychological analysis of humanity. Ibsen

“understand[s] human character and [has an] ability to make it come to life.”8 His plays, such as

A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler, were scandalous and rebellious for the time, but are now

known as some of the greatest plays since Shakespeare. His plays questioned people and made

them wonder about the social world they are living in. August Strindberg, following in Ibsen’s

path, did the same work with his plays (Miss Julie and The Father). Strindberg is best known for

his violence and psychological themes. Strindberg’s common theme in his plays were of “women

preying on man and destroying him. He poured all the violence of nature, and all the vigor of his

great art.”9 These two playwrights gave society a deeper understanding of life and humanity.

This new way of writing and performing realistically was new and exciting for audiences.

Following these playwrights, the next three great realists of the theatre emerged.

7
MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 1962. Page 124.
8
MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 1962. Page 132.
9
MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 1962. Page 133.
 In the last decade of the 19th century, Constantin Stanislavski opened the Moscow Art

Theatre exporting three great playwrights: Anton Chekov, Maxim Gorky, and Leo Tolstoy. First,

Chekov built characters in his plays, such as The Sea Gull, that were very honest. His characters

are “believable, poignant, touching, utterly human.”10 There’s a belief that through realism in

these plays audiences were touched emotionally because they could relate to the humanized

characters that were made so realistically. Gorky’s The Lower Depths and Tolstoy’s The Power

of Darkness are examples of their work and how they used realism to uncover the divides in

social class and the struggles from that. Gorky showed the dark side of the wealthy. He would

show a rich man dying with no help from his wealthy friends because they were too “cruel,

ignorant, corrupt, and contemptible.”11 Gorky humanized the rich and criticized the rich at the

same time. Tolstoy showed the tragedy in peasantry. He wanted to prove that in having a large

divide in classes progresses society in no direction. Through realism, these three authors could

make statements about society and move their audiences in a way they had never been before. It

allowed them to be authentic and blunt about society, all the while making art that stands the test

of time and still questions audiences today.

Theatre is ever-changing, growing with the times. Messages need to be said and people

are inspired through art. Realism was and is a way to move audience members on a deeper,

emotional level. All it takes is one person to pave the way for authors like Ibsen and Strindberg,

to open the doors for a tool still used in modern day writing – among television, movies, and

stage – transcending genre.

10
MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 1962. Page
136.
11
MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 1962. Page
136.
 Works Cited

Brockett, Oscar G., and Franklin J. Hilly. History of the Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson Education,
2008.

MacGowan, Kenneth, and William Melnitz. Golden Ages of the Theatre. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall,
1962.

Trumbull, Eric W. "Introduction to Theatre -- Realism." NOVA, NVCC, 16 Jan. 2009,

novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/realism.htm. Accessed 4 Dec. 2016.