「中國節慶」與十八世紀倫敦的觀眾

The Chinese Festival and the Eighteenth-Century London Audience

本文探討1755年於倫敦上演的法國芭蕾舞劇「中國節慶」在大衛．蓋瑞克經營的朱里連劇場中引發的群眾暴動，主要探究其中蘊含的政治、社會與商業上的時代意義。英法兩國於七年戰爭中的仇恨、英國不同社會階層對異國演藝的迥異態度與階級鬥爭，以及倫敦幾家大劇院（朱里連、科芬園和國王劇院）之間的商業競爭，這些因素交互影響十八世紀倫敦觀眾的心態與文化產品的模式，故都可能是導致此次觀眾暴動的原因。本文以文化研究的角度，佐以劇場歷史資料證明：在這次暴動中，國際政爭成為階級鬥爭與商業競爭中所利用的主要策略。

To illustrate the political, social and commercial significance of David Garrick’s Drury Lane theatre, this essay investigates the riot at The Chinese Festival （1755） and explores three major factors that merged to result in the ballet riot: first, English national animosity against France during the Seven Years’ War； second, English class warfare between the aristocratic fans of exoticism and the jingoistic mob； and third, Drury Lane Theatre’s competition not only with Covent Garden Theatre but also with the King’s Theatre. All these factors entangle with one another to influence the spectatorship and cultural production mode in eighteenth-century London theatres. From the perspective of cultural studies, this paper analyzes the theatre records and historical material to demonstrate that, in the case of the 1755 theatre riot, English patriotism was employed as a strategy for class struggle and theatre rivalry.