- Title
- Transatlantic journeys: John Bill Ricketts and the Edinburgh Equestrian Circus
- Creator
- Baston, Kim
- Relation
- Popular Entertainment Studies Vol. 4, Issue 2, p. 5-28
- Publisher
- University of Newcastle
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- John Bill Ricketts is generally credited as the founder of American circus, setting up a circus in Philadelphia in 1793. This paper examines evidence from Ricketts’ early career in England and Scotland and argues that the successful transplant of the early modern circus form initiated by Philip Astley into America rested on Ricketts’ experiences with a small circus in Edinburgh, established by the equestrian performers George Jones and William Parker. Not only did this circus provide a repertoire and a business model which Ricketts replicated in his American circuses but, crucially, provided him with a network of experienced performers whom he subsequently employed. The first circus in America owed much to the first circus in Scotland. Kim Baston is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Drama at La Trobe University, Melbourne.
- Subject
- John Bill Ricketts; circus; equestrian; American circus; Edinburgh circus; James Jones; George Jones; Popular Entertainment Studies
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1447689
- Identifier
- uon:43215
- Identifier
- ISSN:1837-9303
- Rights
- © 2013 The Author
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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Popular Entertainment Studies
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Publisher version (open access) | 261 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |