ABSTRACT
Looking for the emblems o f patriotism in the nineteenth century, one can find few more vivid sources than melodrama and music hall. Nowhere were the patriotic songs more plangent, the Union Jacks waved more vigorously, the Jack Tars and Standfasts more valiant for Britannia. But on closer look, this fervour has undercur rents, the icons are less simple than they appear. For the purpose of this short paper I will consider in particular two plays staged by theatres associated specifically with patriotic sentiments: Sadler’s Wells, which Dibdin made into the first home o f nautical drama and the paragon o f British valour, the sailor; and Astley’s Amphi theatre, run by the ex-soldier Philip Astley to display the greatness o f British military prowess. To sharpen the focus I have taken the plays from the period immediately following the Napoleonic wars, when Britain could be expected to be celebrating its triumph over Bonaparte and his armies.
