Cataract of the Ganges, The

Cataract of the Ganges, The (1824). An equestrian melodrama by W. T. Moncrieff, it was presented at the Park Theatre in 1824, a year after its Drury Lane premiere. The highlight of the complicated plot came when its heroine, Zamine, rode her horse to safety by leaping over the huge waterfall. From the start its spectacle and not its story was its main attraction. The Mirror noted, “It is, indeed, a succession of splendid and gorgeous scenes, which beam upon the dazzled eye with almost magical effect. . .the beautiful horses, arrayed in all the trappings of eastern magnificence—the long processions—the chariots. . .the crowds which throng the stage, glittering in such princely apparel—all pass before the mind like a dazzling and glorious dream.” The play remained a staple for fifty years, especially in such houses as the Bowery, which catered to thrill‐seeking playgoers. A major revival succeeded as late as 1873 with John Brougham and Mrs. John Wood in the cast.