{"numero_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_sha256": "90550b95a42955b47bb16f8e2b4956d77d7eb7a580717d86a3aefd6557d20a41", "source_tei": "https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/bluemountain-transcriptions/blob/main/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1926/07_01/bmtnaau_1926-07_01.tei.xml", "source_mets": "https://github.com/pulibrary/BlueMountain/blob/main/metadata/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1926/07_01/bmtnaau_1926-07_01.mets.xml", "url_numero": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01", "articles": [{"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c002", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c002", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "couv. 1", "page_fin": "couv. 1", "image_debut": 1, "image_fin": 1, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.2", "titre_corps": "[Sans titre]", "titre_sommaire": "[Sans titre]", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 1, "page_imprimee": "couv. 1", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.1", "debut_caractere": 696, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1280, "texte": "A REPRODUCTION OF HORWOOD'S\nCELEBRATED 18th CENTURY PLAN\nOF LONDON: (SECOND EIGHT PLATES).\nSOME FACTS AND DATES ABOUT\nLONDON THEATRES AND THOSE\nASSOCIATED WITH THEM.\nSTAGE AND THE COR-\nRAL THEATRE, by Klaus Richter.\nFORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN by R. J.\nBroadbent.\nADAVOYLE or How far may we go?\nTHE PEOPLE, AND THEIR THEATRE,\nin different periods and lands.\nINTRODUCING PUNCHER PRIMROSE,\nthe Authors' bane.\nAN 18th CENTURY OPERA REGISTER\nhitherto unpublished.\nON PROVINCIAL THEATRES in general,\nand, particularly, The Maddermarket of\nNorwich. I 1 fX\nTHE COLOSSUS, (continued) by Gordon Craig."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c003", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c003", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "couv. 2", "page_fin": "couv. 2", "image_debut": 2, "image_fin": 2, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.3", "titre_corps": "LITERARY CONTENTS", "titre_sommaire": "LITERARY CONTENTS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "couv. 2", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.2", "debut_caractere": 502, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1330, "texte": "LITERARy CONTENTS.\nIMAGINATION. . . . . . . , . E. G. C. & The Editor . . Page 87\nCALDERON'S STAGE . Klaus Richter. . . .89\nA FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN . . . . R. J. Broadbent , 98\nA FEW FACTS AND DATES ABOUT THEATRES\nAND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM . . c. g. e. . . . . 100\nTHE PEOPLE . . e.g. c. . . . . .104\nADAVOYLE . . . . . • , • • William McDougal . . 108\nPUNCHER /• m. . , . .109\nOPERA REGISTER FROM 1721 TO 1734. From an\nunpublished MS Francis Colman . . . .110\nREALLY, NOTHING REAL ...... Anon 112\nTHE CHANCES FOR AND AGAINST GOOD THEA-\nTRES in Provincial centres, & The Maddermarket, Norwich. Anon . . . . . .113\nDORSET GARDENS THEATRE . . . . . Anon . . . . . .115\n\" THE MASK \", A Review ...... Alan Noble Monkhouse . . .115\n\"THE COLOSSUS\", continued. ..... Gordon Craig. . . . .116\nBOOK REVIEWS. EDITORIAL NOTES & LETTERS."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c004", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c004", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "couv. 2", "page_fin": "couv. 2", "image_debut": 2, "image_fin": 2, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.4", "titre_corps": "ILLUSTRATIONS", "titre_sommaire": "ILLUSTRATIONS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "couv. 2", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.2", "debut_caractere": 1332, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1996, "texte": "ILLUSTRATIONS\nVIEW OF WHITHALL Showing the old Cockpit Theatre . Hendrick Danckerts . Plate 7, Face 87\nTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL Miguel March. . 8 8, Follow 94\nKEY TO THE DRAWING BY MIGUEL MARCH . . Klaus Richter . 8 9, ■ ■\nTHE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790. . C.Tompkins. . ■ 10, Face 110\n\" NASPO BIZARO *\\ TWO DESIGNS .... From the Book of\nAlessandro Caravia,\n1565 . . . ■ 11 & 12\nFollow 118\n' t •\nPLAN OF LONDON, 1792-1799 (The second eight sections). R. Horwood . . . 8 102\nDORSET GARDENS THEATRE . . . . Anon . . . . . . 115\nPLAN SHOWING OLD COCKPIT THEATRE . . Anon .117\n9B 11. \\ BPSI H £\nHead and Tail Pieces from old and modern Designs."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c005", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c005", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "[86]", "page_fin": "[86]", "image_debut": 4, "image_fin": 4, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.5", "titre_corps": "VIEW OF WHITEHALL. Being a portion of a painting by Hendrik Danckerts made between 1670 and 1677 (Norman, 1920). The Cockpit at Court, Charles IPs private playhouse, can be seen directly below the", "titre_sommaire": "VIEW OF WHITEHALL. Being a portion of a painting by Hendrik Danckerts made between 1670 and 1677 (Norman, 1920). The Cockpit at Court, Charles IPs private playhouse, can be seen directly below the", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "[86]", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.4", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 204, "texte": "Plate 7\nVIEW OF WHITEHALL.\nBeing a portion of a painting by Hendrik Danckerts made between 1670 and 1677 (Norman, 1920).\nThe Cockpit at Court, Charles IPs private playhouse, can be seen directly below the"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c006", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c006", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "87", "page_fin": "88", "image_debut": 5, "image_fin": 6, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.6", "titre_corps": "IMAGINATION", "titre_sommaire": "IMAGINATION", "signature_source": "E. G. C", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 5, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.5", "debut_caractere": 24, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1348, "texte": "MAGINATION.\n\nTHIS Foreword to the seventy-fourth issue of \" The Mask \" is\nwritten to the sound of drums, bells, and the shouts of people\noff stage.\nOver there a gathering of a hundred thousand people is crying\n>ut \" Viva il Duce \" as he speaks gracious and stirring words to them.\nMachines which have taken centuries to invent and develop are car-\nying the shouts and speeches to a million eaves-droppers listeners-in.\n[have a special apparatus installed here—it took a moment to invent\nit and it sprang fully developed from the inventor.... that unpatented,\n'ommon property called the Imagination.\nIt s practicality is doubtful to those who consider it too out of\ndate to procure. And indeed of what real use is it if it cannot be\niurned into a paying concern?\nCan Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Morg an, Count Volpi and our Chan-\nceller of the Exchequer, by coming together with a capital of a thousand\nmillions, form a world company and so exploit it? Can the instrument\nbe turned out by the million, and, selling at five pounds or five shillings\napiece, bring in a steady return of millions for the next twenty-five years ?\nIt has to be admitted that this is not possible. The instrument is\ntherefore not practical: for it is an instrument every man already pos-\nsesses but most men forget to use, and therefore is so much lumber."}, {"page_pdf": 6, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.6", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 693, "texte": "HOW strange then that there are a few who hold that in the use of\nthis instrument lies the solution to most problems; that a world\nalive to the power of the Imagination is a world more or less cured of\nits preposterous unrest—its materialism, its so-called \" reality \\\nBut there is no doubt that we are prejudiced, we few who like,\nand therefore use, the Imagination.\nPerhaps it is an instrument made too much of by some —as it is\nmade too little of by others. The butcher and the baker, those men\nof action, find it quite useless when making chops or bread: but I am\nhappy to be able to salute it once more as, doubtless, the most po-\nwerful thing in the world—and the best.\nGenova.\n\nE. G. C."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c007", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c007", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "88", "page_fin": "88", "image_debut": 6, "image_fin": 6, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.7", "titre_corps": "AND REALITY", "titre_sommaire": "AND REALITY", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 6, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.6", "debut_caractere": 695, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1519, "texte": "AND REALITY.\nALREADY contributions are being sought for the Stratford Theatre\nhere in America, and I am afraid the mischief is well under way.\n\" Committees arrive from Europe asking for help to restore buil-\ndings in England, in France, and in Belgium.\n'4 The Americans give because it is their habit\nEXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM AN AMERICAN IN CALIFORNIA.\nNOTHING FOR NOTHING AND DAM LITTLE FOR FIVE CENTS is\nan old saying.\nIt is Imagination in its most riotous mood which can assert that\nThe Americans give because it is their habit \".\nSome rare few Americans, Hindoos, English, Italians and so forth\ndo give, and our American correspondent in California may be one of\nthese, the rest BARGAIN.\nWe repeat \" Clear the Americans out of Stratford \".\nWe add, Stop this asking for on behalf of Shakespeare.\nWho started it?\nEditor,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c009", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c009", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "89", "page_fin": "97", "image_debut": 7, "image_fin": 19, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.8", "titre_corps": "CALDERON'S STAGE : OBSERVATIONS ON AN UNKNOWN ILLUSTRATION OF A THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AGE OF PEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA", "titre_sommaire": "CALDERON'S STAGE : OBSERVATIONS ON AN UNKNOWN ILLUSTRATION OF A THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AGE OF PEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA", "signature_source": "KLAUS RICHTER ; HENRY FURST", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 7, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.7", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3460, "texte": "CALDERON'S STAGE.\nOBSERVATIONS ON AN UNKNOWN ILLUSTRATION OF\nA THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AGE OF\nPEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA.\nTRANSLATED By HENRY FURST.\nBY KLAUS RICHTER.\n\nI. THE CORRAL THEATRE IN\nTHE 17th CENTURY.\nm mm i ■ ni ■ 11— »iin■— nwiimiw mi——n—w—w>niiwii>»n w ■ >wi mmmmmstmeammgammmmtf\n44 IV yino al mundo con tal\n1 aficion a las representaciones escenicas,\nque a los nueye anos ya hacfa comedias\nen la Corte de su padre ' \" ('). In 1621\nthis 4 4 theatre-prince \" ascended the throne\nof Spain as Philip IV. After the evil\ntimes of ecclesiastical interference and royal\nprohibitions the Theatre (2) celebrated under\nhis rule its finest triumphs. (P.;S.). 44 La\naficion a los particulares (private perfor-\nmances in the grandees' houses) fue ge-\nneral says Sepulveda; and a Dutch\nwriter who travelled through Spain in 1655\nand commented on the theatre of the\ncountry with spirit, narrates that the whole\npeople 44 es tan perdido \" for this amuse-\nment, that one can scarcely obtain a seat\nat a performance. (P.). Nor were the\nlater scruples of conscience and prohibitions\nof the Court as regards comedies and\ndecay of morals in regard, for instance,\nto the 44 libros de Lope de Vega, que\ntanto dano habfan hecho a los costumbres \"\nable in this century to make any change\nin all this (P).\nEvery Grandee who held himself of\nany account at all built in or adjoining\nhis retiro a private stage for the\nlates, which he organised for the Court\nor for other distinguished guests, and to\nwhich the people was admitted as well. (M).\nThe popular mania for their 44 compam'as\nde comediantes y volteadores \" (actors\nand dancers) was so great, that after the\nre-establishment of theatrical liberty, i.e.\nafter 1621, 12 \" compamas Reales o\nde titulo obtained recognition, whose\nnumber soon grew to 40 (P). That\n\" mostruo de la naturaleza, el gran Lope\nde Vega '*, as he is called in the 44 pro-\nlogo de las comedias \" of Cervantes, had\nreached the summit of his existence and\nPedro Calderon de la Barca was in the\nbloom of his youth. Theatre and festival\ndecoration was at its highest development.\nBances Candamo says of the Marques de\nHeliche, the 44 inspector superior de las\nrepresentaciones teatrales de Palacio\nthat under his intendancy the art of the\ntheatre (machinery and decoration) reached\nthe highest level of the century, which\nviewed with astonishment the achievements\n\n(1) That is how Ricardo Sepulveda, in his \" EI Cor-\nral de la Pacheca, apuntes para la historia del teatro es-\npanol Madrid, libreria de Fernando Fe, 1888, begins\nhis account of manuscripts of the time when princes them-\nselves were so glad to act.\nBesides this book I have also had recourse to the\n\" Tratado historico sobre el origin de la comedia y del\nhistrionismo en Espana \" by Casiano Pellicer, Madrid, 2\nvols., at the imprenta de la administracion del Real Ar-\nbitrio de Beneficiencia, 1804. And also to the \" Esce-\nnograffa Espanola \" by Joaquin Munoz Murillejo, Madrid,\nimprenta Blass, Soc. An., 1923.\nWhere ever it is possible, I limit my description to\nliteral quotations in these books from manuscripts and print-\ned matter of the time. References to these sources are\nabbreviated as follows: (P) for Pellicer, (S) for Sepulveda\nand (M) for Murillejo.\n(2) I shall not speak of the ecclesiastical processional\ntheatre with its performances of sacramental autos on the\ncars of the \" fiesta del Corpus \". Similarly I can but\njust touch upon the princely festival-theatre."}, {"page_pdf": 8, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.8", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3624, "texte": "of the Florentine scene-painter Cosimo\nLotti, who usurped in his art 44 todo el\nimperio de la naturaleza \". In fact the\ntheatre of that period may well lay claim\nto have usurped all the arts, so that we\ncannot easily decide, whether Juan Risco's\nmusic and Lotti's scenes were for Calde-\nron's poetry, or whether Calderon wrote\na libretto for the music and the scenes.\nThe magnificence of the performance of\n44 Circe o el mayor encanto Amor \" on\nthe night of June 23, 1 679, on the island\nof the big lake in the Retiro of Madrid\ncan hardly be imagined. Under the trees\nof the park, more than three thousand\nlights were mirrored in the water, around\nthe shores of which the eager crowd\nthronged, while the Court watched the\nsplendid spectacle from sumptuous barques,\n- a spectacle in which Lotti's skill vied\nwith Calderon's genius.\nOf the enchantment of the mise-en-\nscene a better impression can perhaps be\nobtained from the article by Julio Mon-\nreal in 44 La Illustracion Espaiiola y Ame-\nricana \" (b of 1880 on 44 Las Fiestas del\nBuen Retiro \" than from the well-known\nstage-design of the times of Felipe IV by\nFrancesco Ricci, preserved at the Biblio-\nteca Nacional in Madrid. Pomp and\nsumptuous display were the aims of these\nroyal feasts. The art of the painter, the\npoet, the musician and the actor joined\nin one of those baroque performances, that\npossessed an international European style\nand whose Spanish variety may perhaps\nsurprise the student of this period only\nby its magnificence and its good taste.\nThis is one thing, the gilded laurel-\nwreathed stage of the Spanish' theatre.\nIt is not all; not the truly living theatre,\nnot the dramatic dancing-play, which car-\nried the mimes of the ancients down through\nthe fairs of the centuries; which, in,\nits shabby poverty and contempt was\nnever in danger, as were the festival per-\nformances of the Church and the Courts,\nof suffocating under the pompous display,\nwhich merely consisted of a scaffolding and\na few buffoons, who at most ran a risk of\nbeing excommunicated or arrested for the\ntoo fantastic tenor of their life; that\nTheatre, eternally banned, eternally resto-\nred to favour, despised and admired, and\nwithout which Calderon would have been a\nmere occasional poet for Princes' festivals.\nIhe Theatre of the actors, whose\nkingdom is in the hearts of the entire\npeople and in the ambition of all artists,\nemerges towards the close of the 15th\ncentury from its inglorious and scarcely-\ndocumented past. (P). No longer mere\namusements for fairs, but real plays, at a\nvery early date in verse, were performed\nthroughout Castile, throughout Spain. The\ngreat Lope de Ruega, formerly a gold-\nbeater, the father of the Spanish comedy,\nplayed with his actors his own comedias,\nentremeses, coloquios pastoriles, dialogos 0)\nor perhaps also the eight comedies of the\nSpanish priest and poet Bartolome de\nTorres Naharro, then famous in Rome\nand Nap! es. Cervantes as a boy evidently\nsaw Lope de Rueda in Madrid and in\nhis prime still remembers his beautiful verses,\nadmires his greatness and 44 truth \". Pel-\nlicer compares him with Moliere, who\nlike him, and after him, almost alone\namidst a throng of mediocre letterati, rises\nabove the great mass of comedy-writers.\nLike Shakspere, Rueda lies buried in a\nSpanish Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral\nof Cordoba. (P).\nIn the Corral is the cradle of the\nSpanish Theatre. In the Corral were per-\n\n(i) See also Pellicer: \" un caballero francos\", who\ntravelled through Spain in 1659.\n(I) His Obra in the Real Biblioteca in the Escoria!\nare indicated by Pellicer, with a reprint of an example\nfrom one of his comedies."}, {"page_pdf": 9, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.9", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3727, "texte": "formed for the first time the improvised\nfarces of the strolling players as well as\nthe chiselled comedies of Calderon. In the\nCorral, the \" campestre mansion olorosa\ndel ganado \", the fragrant barnyard!\nEverywhere and always, the first natural\nstage for strolling players is the courtyard\nof country inns, or of the urban hostels,\nor of the great charitable fraternities. This\nwas at the same time an inn-yard and a\npublic refuge surrounded by the Casa-\ncocheras y tiendas (stables and booths).\nThe traffic in these caravanserais made it\nworth while for the strolling players to\nset up their light scaffoldings and display\ntheir arts. (P).\nCofradias (lay fraternities), who adminis-\ntered hostels, hospitals and asylums, took\nhold, in the interest of their institutions,\nof the monopoly of the performances (In\nMadrid in the 15 th century) (P). They\nplaced their Corrals at the disposal of\nthe \" autores o maestros \" (managers),\ngave the \" Companias de ma legua\n(wandering troupes) settled stations, in\nwhich they guaranteed them, at every\nTeturn, full houses, and thus obtained for\nthemselves regular and fantastically increa-\nsing revenues from the lease paid by the\nmanagers. In the second half of the 16th\ncentury there were in Madrid two regular\ntheatre-corrals and soon others appeared\nin the remaining cities and villages of\nSpain as well. (M;.\nAnd later still, even in . Calderon's\ntimes, we find these regular corrals, but\nnot yet any \" companias fijas de come-\ndiantes \", not even in Madrid itself. (E).\nThe length of the season depended on the\ngreater festivals. But for the greater part\nof the year, the maestros of the various\nalternating troupes are obliged to go with\ntheir companies, which generally consisted\nof three or four men, and a boy who\npassed the hat (S), to eke out a livelihood\nin the provinces (buscarse la vida pos\nciudades, villas y aldeas y aun por lor\ncortijos mas pobres (S, P).\nIn Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla,\nand finally in the smallest towns, an ever\nmore fastidious audience steadily increased\nin its passion for the theatre and for the\nperformance of complete Comedias de capa\ny espada, in whose three Jornadas (acts)\ngalant intrigue alternated with scenes of\nobscenity, and which were well spiced with\nLoas \" (eclogues) and \" Prologos) \" in\nthe style of the time. In these the poet and\nthe actor saluted the spectators and pleaded\nfor indulgence; they took the place, in\nan unlettered age, of our programmes O,\nwhich are often no less otiose. (P).\nConjurors and acrobats were never\nquite excluded from any of these stages.\nWe learn from the prohibitions and from\nthe sometimes \" striking \" protests of the\n\" Mosqueterfa \" (the rougher part of the\naudience) against the ecclesiastical and\ncourtly prudishness and care for their spi-\nritual welfare I 2), that the entractes were\noccupied not only by burlesque Entremeses\n(interludes) or honest \" danzas antiguas y\npermitidas but that there was a special\nrequest for the \" bailes (3) populares y\ntruhanescos \", those vulgar and contemptible\npopular dances, which, proceeding from\nSpain to Naples and Rome, have con-\nquered the whole world (P). The wild\nZarabanda, \"el pestifero baile **, the\naffined Chacona and the charming Segui-\ndillas modelled on the two, have often\nvied with the literary Muse of the Spanish\nTheatre and have filled it with ever fresh\nand vital blood and life. (S).\n\n(1) Whereas posters were customary since Cosme de\nOviedo (according to Roxas's \" viaje entretenido \").\n(2) Sometimes also on the part of bigoted actors\n(see Pellicer : memoir of the actor Ortiz), who were in-\nclined to die piously. (Pellicer : the Baltasara etc.)\n(3) A \" baile \" is a singable dancing strophe, which\nfollows certain rhythmical laws"}, {"page_pdf": 10, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.10", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3544, "texte": "All this hindered neither the refined\ngentlemen of the Court nor the severe\nlords of the clergy from liking to appear\nat these truly \" mixed \" performances,\nnor from inviting the actors, out of these\nsurroundings of pickpockets and lost women,\nto take part in their sumptuous festival\nperformances. (P). The actor and the\npoet are the link between the three forms\nof the Spanish stage. In spite of all prohi-\nbitions it was not easy to drive the actor\nfrom the courtyards and sacristies of the\nChurches. He was as skilled in the \" art\npompeux '' for the Courts, as in buffoonery\nfor the people.\nAs regards our theatre-corrals, they\ncan never in spite of the ever-growing\n\" theatrical season \" quite lose all trace\nof their original scope for the comfort of\nmen and animals. (P). For a Northerner it\nis not easy to imagine, how in one and\nthe same courtyard the coaches and the\nbeasts could be placed in their stables,\nthe muleteers lodged in their booths, the\nsellers of fruta y agua ** wander about\namong the audience and yet the theatre\nbe carried on with passion and properly\nenjoyed (P). All this went on in the\nopen air and by day-light (at about the\nsame hour as modern bull-fights). And\nyet all these apparent contradictions are\nso easily explained by the fatalistic non-\nchalance of the southerner in regard to\nall the obvious things of life. For him\nWorld and Representation do not—as for\nus—fall apart in contradictions. Even in\nMadrid the two famous theatres of the\nCorral del Principe and de la Cruz\nmust never have lost their character as\nhostels of the Cofradias, as hospital and\nas rest-house for muleteers and ox-drivers\nand as lodging-houses for pilgrims and\npriests etc. (P).\nThe Cofradias bought additional plots\nof ground for their Corrals, as well as\nthe surrounding houses, whose windows\nserved as natural boxes for the audience.\nAt no great expense they installed platforms\nfor the stage fforo o tablado) and stairs\nthat led to the dressing-rooms of the\nactors (vestuario). They built entrances\nand stairs to the window \" boxes \", as\nwell as Rejas (railings), balconies and\ngelosias \" for the protection of the\nspectators. They leased these Corral-\ntheatres for one performance, for the sea-\nson, later on for 2 or 4 years, to the\nimpresarios (autores o autoras) (P. S).\nThe sale-contracts for the houses, the\nbuilding-contract with the workmen, the\nreports of the building-commissaries with\nregard to damages and decay are—if we\nexcept prohibition and occasional law-suits—\nmore or less the only reliable and dis-\npassionate sources from which we may\nform an idea of the appearance of these\nlong-lived fields of art.\nThe Administrators of the Fraternities\nand the impresarios attached the greatest im-\nportance to the decoration of the aposen-\ntos (boxes) for magistrates, ecclesiastical\ndignitaries and great nobles (closed for\nthe ladies and provided with special en-\ntrances and stairs) whose parapets consi-\nsted of masonry; to the arrangement of\nthe stalls (gradas) for the \" more distin-\nguished \" part of the audience, which\nwere disposed over the floor of the patio\n(and therefore sometimes called tablado)\nand under * the galleries (corredores) ; and\nlast of all, to the leasing of the most\nluxurious boxes to the Grandees of the\nCourt.\nOn the other hand very little was\ndone for the actual stage and all that\nappertained to it. In the arrangement of\nseats for the audience it was not simply\na question of pleasure and comfort for\nladies and persons of quality, but this was\nwhat really paid the expenses of the"}, {"page_pdf": 11, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.11", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3840, "texte": "theatre. Not that there was any superfluous\nluxury. The boxes and the galleries were\noften decrepit enough to cause a modern\ninspector of works to tear his hair O.\nIt can be easily imagined how amidst\nthe lively interest then shown in the thea-\ntre, some theatre-maniacs occupied seats\nright under the stage, of which a Cabal-\nlero franees, who came to Spain in 1659\nwith the Marechal de Grammont, tells\nus that their use was almost hereditary\n(como un mayorazgo). One can also\nimagine, how the fat Padre Marca Ocana,\ndressed, in spite of all prohibitions, in\nsecular garb, and right under the legs of\nhis adored bailarina (dancer), used to fling\nhis gross quips at the actors on the po-\ndium or at the howling mass of the Mo-\nsqueteria (o Infanteria Espanola) those\nburghers and artisans of capa y espada,\nthose caballerors of the patio (P). They\nstood in compact groups around the ta-\nblados of the actors and filled, incorruptible\njudges, the whole corral with their masterful\noutcry (vide Moratin M, P). One can\nsee the learned gentlemen on their bancos\nsabios which later in an aesthete\ncraze for Tertullian became the \" Ter-\ntulia \". In the upper story we see the\nglowing eyes, the whirring fans and the\nheaving bosoms of the ladies, while over\nthe balustrades of still other galleries there\nlean gallant gentlemen, \" en gravedad y\ngolilla \", in gravity and ruffs, in order to\ncast a glance at the stage, or to exchange\none with their adorata, if they did not\nprefer, as did Padre Ocana, to take up\ntheir permanent abode amidst the Mo-\nsqueteria.\nBut what we can but most vaguely\nconceive, is a mere trifle. And this is\nconsidered to be well-known, and is passed\nover in silence by all documents. It is\nsuch a matter of course, that it is hardly\nmentioned. This is: the Theatre I Its stage,\nits platform, its backgrounds, decorations\nand other requisites! Last of all, the actor,\nhis costumes, his wigs, his acting and\ninter-acting! (M, P) 0).\nWe hear of the \" poverty of the\nscenic apparatus \", of a stair to the\ndressing-room of the actors. We know,\nthat <k outsiders \" were not allowed admit-\ntance to these dressing-rooms, by royal\ndecree. (S, P). But what this room was\nlike, how the stairs joined it to the stage,\nwhere the stage itself was, whether it\nleaned against a house, a wall of the\ncorral or stood free in the middle\nof the courtyard; whether it had any\nscenes, what they looked like, whether the\nactors dressed in the fashions of the day\nor wore fancy dress all this we can only\nguess, but we do not know. (M, P).\nOf course, we can desume from the\nproscriptions of the Censor, that the female\nfars antes (from farce) wore fairly indecent\nskirts and bodices, or, preferably, male\ncostume. It is well-known that confessors\nwere assailed by the scruples of gallant\ngentlemen, who could not remove their\neyes from the charming decolletes and\nover-short skirts; and that His Majesty\noften proclaimed to these ladies, that they\nmust pull their kerchiefs up to their chins\nand lower their basquinas down to their\nlittle feet. And last of all, we learn that the\nAlcalde was ordered to be present at the\nperformance of the comedies and to watch\n\n(1) Report of the Royal and Municipal Architect\nJuan Beloro on the condition of the Corral del Prmcipe\nin Madrid in 1660 (P)\n(2) Corral and patio, besides \" courtyard-\" ! Patio\nwith the specific meaning of floor surface between the houses\nand serving as \" stalls \" or \" pit\n(3) It need not be assumed, that the \" Bancos por-\ntables 99 (P), which are so often mentioned, were necessa-\nrily placed, as a special section, in the patio in the midst\nof the surrounding Mosqueteria. They were father the\nseating accomodation for the gradas y cortedores.\n(I) Reconstructions that endeavour to serve as a\nsubstitute for lacking pictorial representations, are neither\npleasant nor reliable."}, {"page_pdf": 12, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.12", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3939, "texte": "over the exact observance of the decrees,\nas well as over public decency in general.\nSo we cannot admit, that at the time\nof the sumptuous Marques de Heliche\nthese same actors, who enriched the festivals\nof the Court with their presence and were\ninvited by the nobles to their particulares\nafter the performance, were contented, in\ntheir so popular Corral performances, with\na poverty of costume which perhaps in\n1492 might have sufficed for their then\nless sophisticated audiences. (S, P). v).\nOf course in the limited platforms of\nthe Corral no great splendour of scenery\nand trasformations was possible. A platform,\nupon which it had to be possible to look\ndown on from above, on at least three\nsides, and whose surface we are told was\none yard above the ground, can not sup-\nport any lofty superstructures. I can readily\nbelieve, that the taste of Spanish artists\ndid not even attempt to vie with the su-\nperior resources of princely decoration in\nthis unsuitable field.\nAs with the costumes, so must we also\nrefrain from supposing that the acting was\nprimitive. Not only the testimony of\nRoxas and Cervantes, but also the\nardent interest of a Prince of Morocco, of\na Philip IV, who is said to have been\npresent in incognito at performances in the\nCorral de la Pacheca, and, lastly, the\ntheatrical craze of the Corregidor of Madrid\nDon Juan Armona supply sufficient\nproof of the high quality of this art.\nAnd yet, how little all these docu-\nments contribute to a plastic vision of\nCalderon's stage! How many distorted\nand contradictory ideas have they not\ngiven rise to! Or are we to believe the\nfable of writers of a later age, when they\nassure us that the prompter as he may\nhave done in the closed theatres of later\ndays! followed the actors around the\nstage from one side to another with viso-\nred cap, candle and book.\nThe candle at least was not required\nin the Corral theatres, since the perfor-\nmance took place by daylight and in the\nopen. That the Alcalde sat \" right on\nthe stage \" f1) with a clerk and two\nushers, that the Guitarrist was placed \" in\nthe middle of the stage \", when he ac-\ncompanied his \" Princesses \" (2), is\nhardly believable as a general characte-\nristic, and in Calderon's times quite unthink-\nable. And last of all, whether on ly the\ngalleries and the Gradashad tejadas (roofs),\nor whether, as has been asserted, the\nstage did as well, and even, in Roman\nfashion, the whole Corral was covered\nwith a huge awning, is after all a question\nof purely secondary importance. (P).\nIt is enough to recall the delightful\nblunder caused throughout a whole century\n(and one so near to us too) in our ideas\nof the mystery-stages, by the double mea-\nning of the word \" estage \" Or the naive\nlegend of \" written tablets \", which Shakes-\npeare is supposed to have set up before an\nalmost exclusively unlettered audience in\norder to explain the locality of his scenes.\nBefore Karl Theodor Gaedertz discov-\nered Johann de Witt's drawing in 1880\nand identified it as a picture of the Swan\n\n(1) Agustin de Roxas Villandrando, a great actor,\nff. 1600 ca., speaks in his 44 Loa de la Comedia \" of the\nshabby scenic apparatus of the times of Lope de Rueda ;\nhe says that then 44 a cloak, a clown, a stringed instru-\nment and a false beard \" were enough to make a play.\nIn his book 44 El Viaje Entretenido.... \" Madrid, Emprenta\nReal J 603, he enumerates his predecessors, who originated\nthe movement towards proper costuming on the stage\nand made but scanty use of false beards.\n(2) See note 12.\n(3) His manuscript 44 Las memorias cronologicas so-\nbre el origen de las representaciones de comedias en\nEspaTa \" (S).\n(1) Even if he may have had his place, later on\nin the closed 8 tier' theatres, in the proscenium. (P) (S).\n(2) Perhaps due to anj erroneous interpretation of\ninformation given by Roxas, who says of the impresario\nNavarro that he drew the music, which had formerly play-\ned out of sight, on to the open stage."}, {"page_pdf": 17, "page_imprimee": "95", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.17", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3323, "texte": "Theatre of London, it was impossible to\nform any clear idea of what the Shakes-\npearean theatre was like.\nWords are equivocal. They aim more\nat effects and atmosphere than at causes\nand appearances. These latter belong to\npictorial representation. But hitherto we\nwere absolutely -without any such represen-\ntation of a theatrical performance in a\nSpanish corral. As far as I know, there\nare not even any typical costume-pictures,\nor scene-designs, f1) for this stage—which\ncan be easily explained by the primitive\nstate of the scenic apparatus (see Roxas,\nP),—for which Calderon wrote plays that,\nas Goethe says, could be played on a\nbarrel.\nAccording to Murillejo the whole\nstage of the Corral consisted of a platform\none yard high, without any scenery besides\na cloth stretched out to serve as a\nbackground. It had open holes or trap-\ndoors (for apariencias: and\nstairs that led up to it. And yet after\nall there are a hundred nuances of the\nstages of a period, from the Metropolitan\nOpera House to the country-booth, from\nMadrid to Toboso.\nII. THE DRAWING BY MIGUEL\nMARCH IN THE BIBLIOTECA\nNACIONAL OF MADRID.\nTHE accompanying pen-and-ink-drawing\nis a copy made by me of a washed\nquill-drawing in sepia on paper, in the\nBiblioteca Nacional of Madrid. It is\npublished in the \" Dibujos originales de\nmaestros Espanoles \" (2) of August Me-\nyer, no. 40 of the first volume: Dibujo\nal pincel y espalto (?) Al. 17,7 cm,\n— ———-\nAn. 37,6 cm, Madrid. Biblioteca Nacio-\nnal. Citado: Barcia num 427 \".\nMeyer identifies the author as fol-\nlows : \" Miguel March (?). Nacido en\nValencia en 1637, muerto alii 1670,\ndiscipulo de su padre D. Esteban, quien\nlo fue de Orente y fallecio en 1660.\nand describes the subject of the drawing\nthus: \" Grupos de caballeros. Ala izquierda,\nen primer termino, unos novilios. El ca-\nracter de este apunte parece mas bien\nholandes que espanol. Es curioso ver que\nlos contornos de algunas figuras estan pan-\nzadas con una aguja para calcar el dibujo\nsobre la tela.\nThis is perhaps also the reason why\nthe margin is damaged, in one gap of\nwhich is written in ink, in another hand,\non the underlying paper, \" Miguel March \".\nI too recognise in this drawing the\nrepresentation of a few caballeros and\nnovilios. But in addition it seems to me\nto be an unexceptionable and very cha-\nracteristic representation of a theatrical\nperformance in a Corral in Calderon's\ntime 0).\nFor this affirmation the identification\nof the author is irrelevant, especially since\nthe costumes of the caballeros belong to\nthe seventeenth century, perhaps to the\nsecond half. Therewith Calderon's time\n(he died in 1 681) is sufficiently established\nfor our purposes. By the \" Dutch cha-\nracter \" which Meyer attributes to the\ndrawing, I think is meant simply the tenor\nof the technique, which cannot surprise us\nin a Spanish painter after such a long\nperiod of political union.\nIn the figures represented from No. 1 -6\nwe see actors performing on a platform\n(tablado) whose supports are clearly visible\nbetween the youth No. 7 who is leaning\n\n_ - —*\n(1) Unless one desires thus to consider book-illus-\ntrations to old Spanish editions of ancient play-writers.\n(2) The Hispanic Society of America. New York.\n1920,\n(1) All our observations can easily be controlled\nby consulting the excellent reproduction of the drawing in\nMeyer."}, {"page_pdf": 18, "page_imprimee": "96", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.18", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3652, "texte": "on the floor of the stage (about one yard\nfrom the ground), and the child No. 8.\nThe background of the stage is formed\nby a flat wall or scenic parapet, which\nstretches behind the actors from the right\nwall above the youth No. 7 straight to\nthe round tower-like superstructure on\nwhich the actor No. 4 is leaning as on\na stool. There may be another such\nplastic turret between nos. 2 and 3. f1).\nOn the stage, next to the actor no.\n3 who is speaking with lifted hand, at\nwhom many of the spectators in the stalls\n(Nos. 8-18) are looking, are a chair and\nan open box or coffer, with an arched\ncover. Behind the chair a flat wall is\nsuggested, of which it is not easy to judge,\nwhether, as it might seem from the per-\nspective of its upper corner, it represents\na further elevation (cover for entrance?)\nof the posterior parapet of the stage, or\nwhether as is done by the position of\nthe chair it is meant to indicate a divi-\nsion of the stage into two separate rooms.\nThe left room or space ends in an\nentrance-stairs, which is clearly indicated\nby the actor no. 5 who is just coming up.\nPerhaps the flat wall, left, behind the\nactor No. 6, who is standing at this en-\ntrance (no doubt on the top step of the\nstairs), is meant to cover the stairs that\nleads aslant towards the back.\nIt seems to me as though the artist\nhad wished to represent a simultaneous\nscenic action, in which, in consequence,\nall six characters are performing at once.\nFor the speaker No. 3 is pointing with\nhis hand towards the action at the stairs,\nat which the seated youth no. 4 admits,\nwith a gesture of invitation, the actor No. 5\n(who bears a burden which can not\nclearly be made out), whereas No. 6 (an\nolder man, dressed in popular garb) is\nstill discussing with No. 5 as to his\nadmission.\nAnd indeed it is significant that the\ninterest of the Mosqueteria is divided\nbetween the speaker No. 3 and the goings-\non on the stairs, towards which he is\npointing. No. 11,13, 14,15, 18 namely,\nwho all (with the possible exception of\nNo. 11) show by their faces and clothes\nthat they belong to the \" superior ** specta-\ntors, are looking at the speaker anxiously,\nwhereas the people (No. 7, 10, 12) are\nwatching with preference the events at the\nentrance.\nThe \" fancy-dress \" of the actors is\nclearly intended as theatrical costume and\nclearly recognizable even to the levelling\neye of our own century as a contrast to\nthe everyday and fashionable garb of the\naudience. No. 1 wears trunk-hose, perhaps\nwith a cod-piece, a jerkin with a goose-belly\nattached negligently, no doubt with a\ndesign to humour, a round cap and capa\ny espada. His thick nose, and long bare\nneck characterise his part egregiously.\nNo. 2, probably the \" grazioso \" or\nperhaps a girl disguised as a boy, is\nsplendidly characterised by his effeminate,\ndancing pose. No. 3, the \" hero \" of the\nplay, is fashionably clothed and in obvious\nrelation to the open coffer, which will be\na token for connoisseurs of the literature\nof that fertile period helping to identify\nthe play by means of this \" property \".\nNo. 5, too, whose burden apart from\nthe number of the characters and the na-\nture of the parts will provide a second\nmeans of identifying the play, is, with his\npotato-nose, his cap set awry over one\near, and his stuffed paunch, easily reco-\ngnisable as a commediante dell'arte.\nLet us now turn to the Mosqueteria.\nThe spectators in the are as clearly\n\n(1) If one imagines these two round constructions\nconcealed, here we should have two possibilities for the\napariencias de demonios, for which, because of the ab-\nsolute bareness of the tablado platform, there would be\nno possibility under the floor."}, {"page_pdf": 19, "page_imprimee": "97", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.19", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3340, "texte": "characterised as the actors on the stage.\nOn the right the young lad No. 7 with\nhis trunk-hose. Then the merry artisan.\nNo. 9 with long breeches, a workman's\nblouse, and a cap. The Chico No. 8, who\nwith his left hand holds on to that of his\nfather, and whose hair his father is caressing\nwith his right hand. The little boy is\ninterested neither in the speaker No. 3 nor\nin the goings-on on the stairs, but only\nin the droll man with the huge belly, the\nred nose and the dagger.\nThen comes the fellow in the plush\nbreeches (No. 10), who is marching with\ngreat steps towards one of the entrances,\nwhile the youth No. 1 1 inside of the\nbarrier is watching the action on the stage\nwith an almost passionate enthusiasm.\nThis enclosed space is clearly indicated\nby two barriers A and B (see ground-\nplan), which run slanting towards the\nstage. Compare: Caballero No. 17 who\nis leaning from within on the one end,\nwhile the youth No. 1 I is holding on\nevidently to the other side of Barrier A.\nBarrier B is almost hidden by the close-\nly crammed Mosqueterfa, only the lower\npart is clearly visible between the legs of\nCaballeros No. 19 and 20.\nThat the city, in which our drawing\nhad its origin, was a place of some im-\nportance, is proved by the crowd of well-\ndressed caballeros (No. 1 6-22), who are\nstanding at the feet of Thalia as evident\nhabitues of the theatre and fling their jests\ninto the tumult of the patio. The great\nmass of the spectators, the ladies, the clergy\nand the dignitaries, sat and stood, as we\nknow, in the corredores and in the apo-\nsentos of the houses that surrounded the\nIt must have been from one of these\naposentos or corredores on the right side\n(seen from the audience) that our artist\nsaw and drew this scene. That is clearly\ndemonstrated by the marked perspective.\nThe young caballerono. 22 is gracefully\ndoffing his ample sobrero to one of the\ncorredores de las mujeres, or to the ce-\nlosia of a grandee, whereas the Mozo\nno. 23 behind him is calling something\nup to a Ventana high up and to the\nright of the painter straight opposite the\nstage.\nThe peasants or cattle-merchants (Nos.\n25 and 26) behind the young cattle, the\nsmall group (No. 28-32) vhich is discussing\na bargain or the latest talk of the town,\nare as little disturbed by the performance\nas the stalls and the actors are by them.\nWhether the page-like youth (No. 27) is\nthe \" boy who passed the hat \", is left\nto our imagination.\nO campestre mansion olorosa del ga-\nnado y de los comediantes! O charming\nnonchalance of the Southerner in regard\nto all the obvious things of life!\nIt is unnecessary to add more. Anyone\ncan see that this is the picture of a\nreal performance. And the skill of the\nartist in characterisation proves that we\nare watching the performance of a come-\ndy and not one of the equally popular\nfeatures of the Corral, such as a dance,\na conjuror's show, acrobatism, etc.\nIn conclusion: I trust that the learning\nof Spanish philologists will soon be able\nto identify the play which is being per-\nformed. When thus the last hiatus in the\nexplanation of this pictorial representation\nof a corral in Calderon's time shall be\nfilled, I shall feel happy in having given\nto the Spanish people, for whose country\nand qualities I have so great a sympathy,\na fresh testimony, by means of this dis-\ncovery, of the time of their glory."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c010", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c010", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 14, "image_fin": 14, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.8.1", "titre_corps": "THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL", "titre_sommaire": "THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL", "signature_source": "Miguel March", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 14, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.14", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 168, "texte": "Plate 8\nTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL.\nPen-and-ink copy made by Klaus Richter of a drawing in the Biblioteca Nacional of Madrid by Miguel March, 1637-1670."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c011", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c011", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 15, "image_fin": 15, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.8.2", "titre_corps": "KEY TO THE DRAWING OF THE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL", "titre_sommaire": "KEY TO THE DRAWING OF THE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 15, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.15", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 143, "texte": "Plate 9.\nKEY TO THE DRAWING OF THE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL.\na a Artist's point of sight.\nA A' Barriere.\nB Barriere.\nX Stage."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c013", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c013", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "98", "page_fin": "99", "image_debut": 20, "image_fin": 21, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.9", "titre_corps": "A FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN", "titre_sommaire": "A FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN", "signature_source": "R. J. BROADBENT", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 20, "page_imprimee": "98", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.20", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3141, "texte": "A FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN.\nBY R. J. BROADBENT.\nTOM ELLAR was a prince among Har-\nlequins, but his life, like the garb he\nwore, was a chequered one. His name\ndoes not appear to be in any biogra-\nphical dictionary; but it is evident that\nhe had brains in his head, as well as\ntalent in his heels. He was born in 1780\nand made his metropolitan debut at the\nRoyalty Theatre on Easter Monday in 1808.\nTwo years later Ellar was engaged for\nthe production of the pantomime, 4 4 The\nMountain Witches; or Harlequin Miller \",\nat the Crow Street Theatre, Dublin. There\nwas an aquatic bower, with a display of\nfireworks, large cisterns having been erected\nand pipes laid through the theatre, under\nthe direction of Signor Belzoni, the afterwards\ncelebrated traveller. The scene, however,\nfailed and the orchestra, fearful of being\ninundated, took to flight, leaving Ellar,\nGomery, the clowij, and Bessie Dyke, the\ncolumbine, to finish the pantomime in the\nmidst of a splendid shower of fire and\nwater. Bessie Dyke subsequently married\nThomas Moore, the celebrated Irish poet.\nThree years after his Dublin engagement\nEllar commenced his career at Covent\nGarden Theatre in a pantomime called\n\" Harlequin and the Swans The fol-\nlowing year he made his first appearance\nat Sadler's Wells in \" The Rival Genii;\nor Harlequin Wild Man\". London and\nprovincial engagements followed until about\n1839.\nBut who can be found to write of\npantomimists as Charles Dickens wrote of\nGrimaldi ? When he learned that the\ndeparted clown had left some memoirs of\nhis life behind him he was in a perfect\nfever - of exitement to peruse the manu-\nscript, which he afterwards edited for his\nfriend, Bentley, the publisher.\nThe great novelist's ardent love for the\nwearers of the motley became known to\nEllar who thought that his autobiograpy\nwould form a necessary companion to that\nof Grimaldi, and with this good intent he\nsought the aid of the inimitable delineator\nof Pickwick.\nIt is the privilege of genius to influence\nthe fate of others, and with a breath, to\neffect that service which the less gifted\ncan only perform by pecuniary sacrifice.\nTo Dickens Ellar ventured the hope that\none who so triumphantly advocated in his\nwritings the exercise of kindly feelings\nwould not be unwilling to prove that the\npreceptor loved the practice of his own\ndoctrines.\nEllar was the last of three pantomi-\nmists, who had occupied not an obscure\nniche in the Temple of Fame. Grimaldi\nwas dead. Barnes died just as the tardy\nhand of charity was opened to him, and\nbefore he could taste the cup which came\ntoo late to save him. Ellar was left in\nloneliness and old age to contemplate a\nsimilar fate.\n\" I have thought \", he wrote to Dic-\nkens, \" that an autobiography of myself,\nenlivened with the vast fund of original\nanecdote which I possess of every star in\nthe theatrical profession, would, under your\nauspices as the nominal editor, contribute\nto avert the stern destiny with which I am\nthreatened. You have performed the same\nact in editing the memoirs of Grimaldi,\nto rescue the dead from oblivion; may\nI then hope that you will not withhold\nits repetition, when it is to preserve the"}, {"page_pdf": 21, "page_imprimee": "99", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.21", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2456, "texte": "living from destitution. The lustre of your\nname will have power to brighten my last\ndays, and render the close of a laborious\nlife a happy one \". Days and weeks went\nby, but no answer came from \" Boz\nand when it did mature the reply was in\nthe negative, and the autobiography was\nlost to stage literature. Curiously enough.\nDickens knew Ellar's nobility of heart as he\nhad recorded the following story of the Harle-\nquin in \" The Memoirs of Grimaldi Du-\nring the run of the pantomime \" Baron\nMunchausen; or The Fountain of Love \",\nproduced at Co vent Gardem on Decem-\nber 26, 1816, the men who held the\ncarpet in which the pantomime characters\nwere caught when they jumped through\nthe scenes, deliberately failed to catch Ellar\nin his flight through the \" moon \". To save\nhis head he fractured one of his hands,\nbut rather than any of the men should\nbe dismissed (one of whom had a wife\nand half-a-dozen children dependent on\nhim) Ellar declared the mistake was acci-\ndental !\n\" This praiseworthy resolution \" wrote\nDickens, \" which prevented several men\nfrom being thrown out of employment, was\nTendered the more praiseworthy by Ellar's\nhaving no earthly doubt that the mistake\n\"was intentional, and by his knowing per-\nfectly well that if he had fallen on his head\nin lieu of his hand he would most pro-\nbably have been killed on the spot '.\nMeanwhile, Ellar eked out a precarious\nexistence by playing a guitar in the streets,\nand as a singer and dancer in public houses.\nAnd this happened to one who had been\na favourite at the principal metropolitan\ntheatres. For season after season had the\nagile movements of Ellar, and the glitter\nof his spangled jacket, delighted parents as\nwell as children.\nThackeray, however, in one of his\ncharacteristic studies, drew attention to the\nindigence of poor Ellar: \" Harlequin El-\nlar \", he wrote, \" prince of many of our\nenchanted islands, was he not at Bow\nStreet the other day in his dirty, faded,\ntattered motley—seized as a lawbreaker for\nacting at a penny theatre, after having\nwell-nigh starved in the streets, where\nnobody would listen to his old guitar?\nNo one gave a shilling to bless him, not\none of us who owe him so much .\nIn 1842 Ellar, on the recommendation\nof M. Corri, the musical composer, was\nengaged to play Harlequin at the Adelphi\nTheatre. This engagement brightened the\ndecline of his days with some prosperity;\nbut his heart was broken, and in a few\nmonths he died in his sixty-second year."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c015", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c015", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "100", "page_fin": "103", "image_debut": 22, "image_fin": 41, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.10", "titre_corps": "PLAN OF THE CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER : THE BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK AND PARTS ADJOINING:SECOND HALF OF THE PLAN WITH A FEW FACTS AND DATES ABOUT THEATRES AND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM", "titre_sommaire": "PLAN OF THE CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER : THE BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK AND PARTS ADJOINING:SECOND HALF OF THE PLAN WITH A FEW FACTS AND DATES ABOUT THEATRES AND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM", "signature_source": "R. HORWOOD", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 22, "page_imprimee": "100", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.22", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4113, "texte": "PLAN OF THE CITIES OF\nLONDON AND WESTMINSTER.\nTHE BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK AND\nPARTS ADJOINING:\nTHE SECOND HALF OF THE PLAN\nWITH A FEW FACTS AND DATES\nABOUT THEATRES AND THOSE\nASSOCIATED WITH THEM.\nBY R. HORWOOD. 1792-1799.\nPLATE 3 A\nHYDE PARK.\n\"Kynaston (the actor who played\n\" female parts) at that time was so\n\" beautiful a youth, that the Ladies of\n\" Quality prided themselves in taking\n\" him with them in their coaches, to\n\" Hyde Park, in his theatrical habit\n\" after the Play; which in those days\n\" they might have sufficient time to do,\n\" because Plays then were us'd to\n\" begin at four o'clock : the hour that\n\" People of the same rank are now\n\" (1740) going to dinner. Of this truth\n\" 1 had the curiosity to enquire, and\n\" had it confirmed from his own mouth\n\" in his advanced age. \" (0\nBROMPTON.\nThis used to be one of the favou-\nrite residences of actors and singers.\nMICHAEL'S PLACE.\nMiss Pope, the actress, (1742-1818)\ndied at No. 17 Michael's Place.\nBROMPTON CRESCENT.\nCharles Incledon (1763-1826) died\nat No. 13. The crescent was built\nafter 1799 and occupying the ground\nsouth of Michael Place and west of\nMichael Grove.\nBROMPTON SQUARE.\nGeorge Colman, the younger (1762-\n1836) died at No. 22, not shown on\nthis plan but exactly opposite the en-\ntrance to Michael Grove.\nBROMPTON ROW.\nJohn Reeves, the comedian (1799-\n1838) died at No. 46, and was\nburied in Brompton churchyard.\nST. GEORGE'S PLACE. St George's\nHospital.\nJohn Liston, ((c) 1766-1846) died\nat No. 14, fronting the Park.\nPLATE 3 B\nPIMLICO.\nSTAFFORD ROW.\nRichard Yates, (1706-1796) died\nhere. This actor's great-nephew was, a\nfew months after, on August 22nd,\nkilled while endeavouring to effect an\nentrance into the house from the back\ngarden.\nIn the same row died Mrs. Mary\nAnn Yates the actress (1728-1787);\nshe was one of Garrick's best disciplined\nleading ladies.\nEATON SQUARE.\nGROSVENOR PLACE.\nIn 1807 Mrs. Abington, (1737-\n1815), one of the greatest but most\ntroublesome of English actresses, was\nliving at No. 19 in two rooms. None\nof the Theatrical fraternity attended\nher funeral, which, as one thinks of it,\nseems uncommonly thoughtful of the\nfraternity.\nPICCADILLY.\nPICCADILLY TERRACE.\nIn 1815, by March 17th, Lord\nByron is living at \" No. 13, Piccadilly\nTerrace \", the Duchess of Devonshire's\nhouse, \" she being in France \".\nNear Hyde Park Corner was No,\n138-139, the Duke of Queensbury's\nHouse. In the 139 half lived Lord\nByron in 1815. (?) Presumably No. 13\nof the Terrace was No. 139 of the\nwhole street known as Piccadilly.\nHERTFORD STREET.\nAt No. 10 Richard Brinsley Sheri-\ndan lived in 1800.\nCHESTERFIELD STREET.\nBeau Brummel lived at No. 4 ; in\n1810 he removed to 22 South-street,\nnorth of Chesterfield House.\nPlate 2 A &B).\nHALF MOON STREET,\n\" Yesterday, James Boswell, Esq,\n\" arrived from Scotland at his lodgings,\n\"in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly,\nsays the \" Public Advertiser \" of\nMarch 24th, 1768.\nPeter Cunningham remembers Ma-\ndame D'Arblay (Fanny Burney) living\non the 'east side of this street, in the\nlast house (that is No.l) overlooking\nPiccadilly. \" Her sitting-room was the\n\" front room over the shop, then a\n\" linendraper's, now (1850) a turner's,\n\" shop. \"\nMrs Pope (nee Younge) the actress,\n(1744-1797) died 'n this street. Michael\nKelly visited Mr. and Mrs. Pope here\nin 1793.\nCLARGES STREET.\nLady Hamilton was living at No. 11\nfrom 1804 to 1806,\nEdmund Kean (1787-1833) was\nliving at No. 12, from 1816 to 1824.\nMrs. Abingdon lived at the house\nat the corner of Clarges-street and\nPiccadilly about the year 1770.\nMiss O'Neill (1791-1872), later\nLady William Becher, lived on the\nwest side of Clarges-street, a few doors\nfrom Piccadilly.\nSTRATTON STREET.\nNo. 1 was the mansion of Mrs. Coutts\nwho was formerly Miss Harriet Mel-\nlon (1777-1837). She married Coutts\nthe banker in 1815, and afterwards\n(1827) married the Duke of St. Al-\nbans, and thus, writes Leigh Hunt,.\n\" brought back the dukedom to the\npoint from which it set out the\nstage\". She bequeathed the house and\nmost of her wealth to Miss Angela\nBurdett Coutts (1814-1906), youngest\ndaughter of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart.\n\n(i) Colley Gibber*"}, {"page_pdf": 23, "page_imprimee": "101", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.23", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5485, "texte": "It was at No. 17 of ths same street\nthat Sir Henry Irving lived in 1899\nand till his death in 1905. His body\nlay in state on the eve of the Funeral\nat the old house of the Baroness Bur-\ndett Coutts.\nDEVONSHIRE HOUSE.\nThis mansion was recently destroyed.\nIt was here that the collection of old\nEnglish plays, formed by John Philip\nKemble, was kept. It had been bought\nfor £/ 2000 at his death in 1823, by\nthe Dukeof Devonshire, who, it is said,\nadded largely to the collection.\nARLINGTON STREET.\nThis street lies on the south side of\nPiccadilly.\nAt No. 5, on the east side, died\nSir Robert Walpole in 1745. He\nleft the house to his son Horace, who\nlived in it until 1779.\nST. JAMES'S.\nST. JAMES'S STREET.\nAn English poet unfortunately now\nforgotten, one Byron, (1788-1824)\nlived in lodging 3 at No. 8 in 1811.\nJames Gillray, the caricaturist, (1757-\n1815) lived at No. 29 over the shop\nof Miss Humphrey, the print-seller\nand publisher. From 1811 he was\nimbecile, and in 1815 committed sui-\ncide in this house by leaving from a\ntop window.\nPARK PLACE.\nIn 1836 Charles Kemble is living\nat No. 1 1.\nBURY STREET.\nIn 1818 Thomas Moore is lodging\nat No. 24. In 1814, according to Lord\nByron, Moore was living at No. 33.\nBoth houses are on the west side of\nthe street.\nCrabbe, the poet, writes in his\n\" Journal\":\n\" 28th June, 1817. Seek lodgings,\n37, Bury-street. \" \" Females only vi-\nsible .... My new lodgings a littte my-\nsterious \".\nST. JAMES'S PLACE.\nAt No. 22 lived Samuel Rogers,\nbanker and poet, from 1808 till his\ndeath in 1855.\nThe house was the scene of many\na meeting between Rogers and Sheri-\ndan, Lawrence, Moore, Godwin, Scott,\nByron, (the forgotten poet), Sydney\nSmith, Wordsworth, and some fifty\nother artists, writers, musicians and actors.\nOnce Shelley called for a loan\nfor Leigh Hunt: ....was refused....\nWilliam Blake (1757-1827) not re-\nported to ever have been seen there:\nthis pleasant old Rogers, banker and\npoet, \" had not heard of him \".\nMrs. Robinson, the actress, (1758-\n1800) lived here \" in a small house\ncirca 1798.\nKING STREET.\nST. JAMES'S THEATRE.\nIn 1835 the architect Beazley (1786-\n1851) built \" a small neat theatre \"\non the scuth side of this street where\nthe letter K of the word King is\nplaced ; for Timbs says that it occu-\npied the site of Nerot's Hotel, num-\nber 19; adding that the interior of the\nTheatre resembled that of the Palace\nof Versailles. It was built for Braham\nthe singer (1 774?-1856) at a cost of\n£ 50,000 and £ 8000 for the site.\nRachel acted in this playhouse in 1841.\nST. JAMES'S SQUARE.\nOn the west side, says Cunningham,\nlived Madame Davis (flourished 1663\nto '69): Madame Mary Davis, briefly\nMoil Davis, <c the dancer, and mis-\ntress of the King She was doyvn\non the rates book as living on the\nnorth side, and paid £5.0.0. presu-\nmably per year.\nPALL MALL.\nAt No. 79 lived Nell Gwynne\nfrom 1671 to 1687. Later the house\nwas the cradle of the Society for the\nPropagation of the Gospel in Foreign\nParts.\nIn 1671 Evelyn saw Mrs Nellie\n•• Looking out of her garden on a\nterrace at the top of the wall\" and\ntalking to King Charles.\nClose to the Opera House (King's\nTheatre, Haymarket) Mile. Guimard\nin 1786-87 takes the House numbered\n10 Pall Mall (0.\nIn 1793 Michael Kelly also lodged\nin this street, and in Suffolk Street,\nHaymarket, close by.\nIn June 1763 Casanova, oncoming\nto London, takes a house of three\nstories at a rent of twenty guineas a\nweek : leaving it he goes to Soho in\nFebruary 1764. (q. v.)\n■mm. —tmmmm i i i i—wmmmmwm in n mi mi\nPLATE 3 C\nHAYMARKET & PALL MALL.\nOPERA HOUSE.\nFirst built by Sir John Vanburgh in\n1705 it was burnt down in 1789.\n(R. Lowe says 1788). A new buil-\nding designed by Michael Novosielski\nwas opened in 1791 (x), and in 1816-18\nit was altered and enlarged by Nash\nand Repton, It was again destroyed in\n1867. In 1872 it was rebuilt: in\n1892 demolished. A thorough history\nof this Opera House is needed.\n\" ORANGE\" COFFEE HOUSE.\nThe 44 Orange \" Coffee House or\nPrince of Orange Coffee House, oppo-\nsite King's Theatre at the south east\nextremity of the Haymarket,\nCasanova visited it in 1763 and\nfound there Vincenzo Marinelli.\nSPRING GARDENS.\nColley Cibber lived here in a house\nnear the Old Bull Head Tavern from\n1711 to 1714.\nTHE COCKPIT PLAYHOUSE.\nThe Cockpit Playhouse stood\nbetween Downing Street and St. James's\nPark. It was the private theat-e of\nCharles 11. To me it seems obvious\nthat the designs by Inigo Jones re-\nproduced in the Architectural Record,\nVolume XXXII, page 263 et seg. and\nin the \" Architectural Review \", in\n1925, are for this Theatre (2).\nLOCKET'S.\nThis was a famous ordinary, which\nstood on the site of Drummond's\nBanking-house, at Charing Cross.\nJevon, the actor and dramatist, de-\ndicates his Devil of a Wife (4to 1686)\nto his friends frequenting Locket's or-\ndinary.\nWHITEHALL.\nSCOTLAND YARD.\nHere lived three Theatre architects:\n(1) Inigo Jones: and here died his\nsuccessor Sir John Denham, the poet\nof Cooper's Hill: here lived (Denham's\nsuccessor) (2) Sir Christopher Wren; and\nhere, in a fantastic house, immortalised\nby Swift in some ludicrous lines, lived\n(3) Sir John Vanburgh.\nVanburgh's house was designed and\nbuilt by himself, from the ruins of\nWhitehall, and was destroyed by fire\nin 1697.\nBANQUETTING HALL.\nThis was designed by Inigo Jones\nand used for the Masques of Ben\nJonson and Jones : it is here marked\nChapel, being converted into one in\n1724 by George I.\n\n(i) See \" The Mask Vol. XI. No. 4,\nPP 174-175-\n(1) See plate 10.\n(2) See plate 7."}, {"page_pdf": 24, "page_imprimee": "102", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.24", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5899, "texte": "WESTMINSTER.\nDOWNING STREET.\nHere was \"a neat little Theatre \"\nowned by the Blake Delavals about\n1762. 1 should like to hear something\nof this little playhouse.\nGARDENER'S LANE.\nWenceslas Hollar, the engraver\n(1607-1677) died here.\n\" The rewards of all his diligence,\n\" now that he had reached to the\n\" verge of his seventieth year, were\n\" such and so insufficient, that they\n\" could not prevent the assault of an\n\" execution upon him at his house in\n\" Gardener*s-lane, Westminster, He de-\n\" sired only the liberty of dying in\n\" his bed, and that he might not be\n\" removed to any other prison but his\n\" grave\". (0 Not a bad engraver\neither.\nGREAT GEORGE STREET.\n\" Lord Byron's body lay in state for\n\" two days, at No. 25 in this street,\n\" then the residence of Sir Edward\n\" Knatchbull, now the Institution of Civil\n\" Engineers. 1 remember the funeral, and\n\" saw the coffin carried to the hearse.\n\" The street was blocked up by specta-\n\" tors from a very early hour \". (2)\nTOTHILL STREET. LINCOLN HOUSE.\nHere in 1664 lived Sir Henry Her-\nbert, the inspector of plays under\nCharles 11.\nHere Betterton was born in 1735\nST. MARGARET'S.\nNicholas Udall (1505-1556), author\nof Ralph Roister Doister, one of our\nearliest English comedies, is buried here,\nand also Wenceslaus Hollar, the en-\ngraver (1607-1677).\nBetterton was baptised here.\nWESTMINSTER ABBEY.\nPOETS' CORNER.\nHere is the Monument of Edmund\nSpenser (1552 ?-15 59), author of \" The\nFaerie Queene \", erected at the expense\nof Anne Pembroke, Dorset, and\nMontgomery, and renewed in 1778 at\nthe instigation of Mason, the poet.\nSpenser died in King-street, West-\nminster, \" from lack of bread \", and\nwas buried here at the expense of the\nEarl of Essex.\nA monument to Shakespeare, who\nis supposed to be buried in Stratford\non Avon, was erected here in the\nreign of George 11, from the design of\nKent; when Pope was asked for\nan inscription, he wrote:\n\" Thus Britons love me, and preserve\n[my fame,\nFree from a Barber's or a Benson's\nname. \"\nThis proved in the nineteenth century\nto be not quite incorrect on three out of\nfour points. Close to the monument of\nShakespeare is a slab in the pavement\nto Henry Irving (1838-1905).\nThere is a monument to Michael\nDrayton (1563-1631).\nIn the south Transept were buried\nSheridan, Garrick, Henderson, Dave-\nnant and Nancy Oldfield.\nA tablet to Ben Jonson was erected\nin the reign of George 11., a century\nafter the poet's death.\nIn the cloisters are buried Betterton,\nMrs. Bracegirdle and Samuel Foote.\nThe body of Byron, now a forgot-\nten poet, was refused admission to the\nAbbey.\nPLATES 3 C & 4 C\nMARSHAM STREET.\nBetween 1737 and 1740 Mrs.\nCharke, daughter of Colley Cibber,\nlived here, Had her little faults, was\nnot after money, and for this reason\nhistorians should pay her far more at-\ntention than the Guimards, Clives, Clai-\nrons and Co. who were commercial:\nthe historians honour them too much.\nLAMBETH.\nMARSH STREET.\nAt No. 29, \" near the Turnpike \",\nwhere the railway arch crosses the\nWestminster-road) lived, in 1787, Fran-\ncis Haward, one of the best of our\nEnglish engravers. His \" Mrs Siddons,\nas the Tragic Muse \", after Sir Joshua,\nwas engraved in this house, and will\nperpetuate his name.\nASTLEY'S AMPHITHEATRE, West-\nminster Bridge Road.\nIt is no new fault of modern English\nHistorians when one contradicts the other\nabout the far off matters relating to the\ntheatres of Shakespeare's time; for the\nHistorians of yesterday did just the\nsame thing about Astley's Amphitheatre.\nBrayley, 1824; Cunningham, 1850;\nTimbs, 1867 ; and Haydn, 1878 even\ndisagree when the first circus was built.\nOne say 1770, others says 1773, ano-\nther says 1774. They disagree about\nother and later facts.\nAs the Shakespeare drama and the\nAstley Circus are never doubted to\nhave been as perfect examples of play\nand ring as our island has ever seen\nit is entirely the fault of the insipid\nor pompous people for whom they\nwere created that the record of\nthem is lost or so inexact. Of lesser\nthings one would not expect to see\nrecords.\nHad they been a serious people they\nwould without any excess of earnestness\nhave recorded all about the buildings,\nperformers and performances. Instead\nof leaving it to casual reporters the city\nwould have seen to it. It is the city\nwhich is insipid and pompous, not the\npublic. The public has only to enjoy;\nthe city has a duty to perform.\nIn Shakespeare's and Astley's case\nthis duty was not performed. Records\nmight easily have been printed so that\nin case of fire some copies would be\nhanded on to other centuries.\nWhether precise records are kept\ntoday of all the Dramatic performances\n1 do not know. The most precise re-\ncords exist of the Italian Theatre.\nTHE SURREY THEATRE or Royal\nCircus, in Blackfriars Road.\nThis was opened in 1782 by Messrs\nHughes and Dibdin, in Qpposition to\nAstley. The interior was rebuilt in 1799.\nIt was burnt down in 1805, (Baker\nsays 1803). Rebuilt by Cabanal junior,\nthe architect, in 1806. Destroyed by\nfire in 1865 and rebuilt the same year.\nHALFPENNY HATCH, Neptune Place.\nHere in 1770 Astley first exhibited\nequestrian performances, without a li-\ncence, before he took the ground on\nwhich to build his amphitheatre.\nWESTMINSTER BRIDGE ROAD.\nIn 1788 Apollo Gardens (or Temple\nof Apollo) were opened opposite the\nAsylum. They were suppressed about\n1793. The proprietor was Walter\nClaggett, once lessee of the Pantheon.\nIn 1792 Fantoccini were being shown\nhere.\nIn 1835 was the Dramatic Authors'\nSociety's head quarters in this road at\n9 Griffeths Buildings ? In 1836 was\nit at 2 Agnes Place, Waterloo Bridge\nRoad ? Can any reader inform me on\nthis point?\nHERCULES BUILDINGS.\nIn 1793 William Blake removes\nfrom 28 Poland Street to No. 13\nHercules Buildings on the east side,\nstaying there until 1800 (0. He writes\n\" The Tiger\" 1793-94.\n\n(1) Oldys.\n(2) Cunningham.\n(i) In 1863 No. 13 becomes No. 63\nHercules Road: in 189 c it becomes No. 23."}, {"page_pdf": 41, "page_imprimee": "103", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.41", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5366, "texte": "In 1794 0) James William WaJlack\nis born on August 20th in these Buil-\ndings; the number uncertain. He was\na son of William Wallack an actor at\nAstley's Amphitheatre.\nPLATES 3 E\nSOUTHWARK.\nBANKSIDE.\nIt seems that four theatres were in\nthis bit of ground or very near it. To\nbegin to retell why, would take two\nvolumes. One volume to state what\nhalf the authorities surmise, and another\nto refute these authoiities and to say\nwhat, in all probability, may have been\nthe precise number of theatres and\nwhere possibly each one stood. The\nbooks I have read on the subject are\none clatter from beginning to end;\nonly is Mr. George Hubbard reasonable,\nbecause all he has to say he confines\nwithin forty-four pages (large type) and\nhelps with a quantity of plans. Plans\nmay be useless as some writers assert.\nI prefer them to an overdose of patter.\nIf anyone knew about these buildings\nall would be well. He would then\nstate in thirty or forty lines what he\nknew and the Muse of History would\nsmile again. As it is she weeps over\nthe whole affair.\nIt is said that the following were the\nfour Theatres and the dates of buil-\nding : Rose, 1584: Swan, 1598 ;\nGlobe, 1599: Hope (circa) 1613.\nI gave three whole days to the search\nfor some precise and authoritative state-\nment worth hearing; not one emerged.\nLet us pass on to simpler matters.\nTHE CLINK.\nA prison and liberty in Southwark.\nThe site is now covered by the railway\nlines from Cannon Street Station. A\nnumber of celebrated beings were allow-\ned the captivity of the Clink, among them\nbeing William Haughton, the dramatist\n(flourished 1598), and John Duke the\nplayer, (flourished 1590-1609); he\nlived in Hollywell street.\nTHE LIBERTY OF THE CLINK.\nAmong well-known inhabitants were\nPhi! jp Henslowe (...?-16i6) the theatre\nmanager, who lived here from 1577\ntill his death. Also, so it is said, Ed-\nward Alleyn, the actor, (1566-1626),\nbut this is not certain.\nST. SAVIOUR'S.\nAmong those buried in the church\nare; Edmond Shakespeare \" player \"\n(~..— 1607), buried December 31 st\n1607. 41 Presumably the brother of\nWilliam #\\ (0\nLawrence Fletcher, an actor, (flou-\nrished 1595 to 1603), buried Septem-\nber 12th 1608.\nPhilip Henslowe, the theatre mana-\nger, buried in the chancel, January 16th.\nJohn Fletcher, dramatist, (1379 to\n1625), buried in the church, August\n29th, 1625.\nPhilip Massinger, dramatist, (1583\nto 1640) was buried in the churchyard,\nMarch 18th, 1640. (2)\nPLATE 3 G & 4 G.\nROTHERHITHE.\nGeorge Lillo (1693-1739), author\nof \" George Barnwell \" and other plays,\nwas a jeweller and lived here in 1735.\nROGUES LANE.\nIn Rogue's Lane is St. Helena\n(Gardens) opened in 1770.... music\nand dancing every evening ; it had a\nsmall open air Theatre with boxes and\nstage by 1775.\nPLATE4 A\nRANELAGH.\nThis was a place of public enter-\ntainment opened April sth 1742.\nThere were several buildings some\ndesigned by Capon; so says Timbs.\nWilliam Capon of Drury Lane was\nborn 1757. 1 can find no mention\nof an earlier Capon.\nThe site was that of the gardens of\na villa of Viscount Ranelagh, at Chel-\nsea, The principal room, the Rotunda,\nwas, it is said, erected by the architect\nWilliam Jones, and the word 44 erected \"\npoints to his manual labour : that\nhe designed it is obviously doubtful;\nhis name is not recorded in the Oxford\nConcise Dictionary of Biography. The\nroom was 185 feet in diameter, with\nan orchestra, tiers of boxes all round,\nand in the centre a huge coal fire. The\ncoup d'oeil, Dr. Johnson declared,\n44 was the finest thing he had ever\nseen.\nThe aim was to have a place in\nLondon rather like the Parisians had\nin the Foire de St. Germain and the\nFoire de St. Laurent,\nCADOGAN PLACE, Sloane Street.\nThe last London residence of Mrs.\nJordan, the actress (1762-1816) was,\nabout the year 1812, at No. 3, (in 1850\nit was No. 30), at that time the third\ndoor from Pont-street. Here John\nTaylor dined with her and Mrs.\nAbingdon.\nPLATE 4 B\nLOWER BELGRAVE PLACE.\nAt No. 27 Allan Cunningham the\npoet, father of Peter Cunningham F.\nS. A., author of the 44 Handbook of\nLondon (1849) lived from 1824 to\nhis death in 1842.\nPLATE 4 C\nVAUXHALL GARDENS.\nIn 1661 these Gardens went under\nthe name of The New Spring Gardens.\nEvelyn visited them July 2nd, 1661.\nIn 1732 Mr Jonathan Tyers reopened\nthem after he had altered and improved\nthem : Admission I shilling from 1 732 to\n1792. Music, Theatre, refreshments,\nfireworks, marionnettes, everything you\ncould wish for was included, and in\n1859 all was ended. 1661 to 1859 is\nno short run. But how some people\nmust have missed it when it was gone.\nPLATE 4 D\nLAMBETH.\nKENNINGTON.\nA Manor in Lambeth, where our\nKings had a palace from a very early\nperiod till the time of Hery VII.\nAlleyn, the actor, and founder of\nGod's Gift College at Dulwich, was\nLord of this Manor, buying it in No-\nvember, 1604, for £1065, and selling\nit to Sir Francis Calton in 1609 for\n£2OOO.\nNEWINGTON BUTTS.\nSomewhere here was the Theatre of\nthat name in Shakespeare's time. Here\ntoo is the Elephant and Castle Thea-\ntre, built in 1872, reconstructed and\nreopened in 1902.\nAnd here the end. c. g. e.\n\n(0 Concise Dictionary of National Bio-\ngraphy, Oxford, says j791 ? Hornblow\nsays 1795,\n(1) Sir Edmund Chambers.\n(2) See \" The Mask >\\ vol. XI, No. 3.\nPage 142. Compare the list of the Italian\nand French actors who were also privi-\nleged to lie at rest under the roof of St\nSaviour's in Paris."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c025", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c025", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "104", "page_fin": "107", "image_debut": 42, "image_fin": 45, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.11", "titre_corps": "THE PEOPLE", "titre_sommaire": "THE PEOPLE", "signature_source": "e. g. c", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 42, "page_imprimee": "104", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.42", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4211, "texte": "THE PEOPLE.\n\nKABUKI. THE POPULAR STAGE OF JAPAN\nby Zoe Kincaid. Macmillan,\nRUZZANTE. Alfred MOT tier. J. Peyronnet & Cie.\nParis. Francs 35.\nTHE HISTORY OF THE LYRIC THEATRE,\nHAMMERSMITH. Nigil Playfair. Chatto & Windus.\n/ 6/— net.\nA feeble Theatre is a danger spot to a\nNation. A Theatre is strong or weak\nin as much as each individual masters his\nown weaknesses or allows them to spread\nlike weeds. At present there are too many\ntheatrical weeds in all the English Theatres.\nIf this inability to discern between weeds\nand fine plants is careless of a great nation\nit is a curious fact that often it is the great\nnations which have encouraged the stupider\nartistes, rewarded them, flocked to see them\nand made heroes of them.\nThereby making fools of themselves.\nIt is not as though the traditions of the art of\nthe Theatre were at all vague unknown.\nThey are very clearly written down, and any\nnation which disregards them can but blame\nitself if, through indifference, it is foolish enough\nto suppose that a feeble Theatre is a blessing,\na strong one a danger.\nBut what of the People and their desire\nfor a fine Theatre?\nHave the English People or the French\nPeople any such desire ? have they a high\n\"standard, and do they grow cross that this\nhigh standard is today no longer honoured.\nWell, we, the People, prefer to credit\nourselves, the People, with the best inten-\ntions, and we hope things will be all right\nin the end, for he's a jolly good fellow any-\nhow, and some of us are better off with the\ntheatre as it is and we don't want to stir things\nup lest we lose our jolly good old percentage.\nIt's that isn'it it ?\nAnd if anyone is to lose anything in the\nprocess of putting our Theatres to rights, I am\nsure those of us who have known what it is\nto lose and go on losing everything these last\nthirty years will not be unsympathetic to those\nnew to the idea, who are in dread lest by\nkeeping straighter they might lose thirty pieces\nof silver.\nFor my part I can hardly conceive of our\nnew Theatre minus these good sports as we\nall like to consider them. They have always\n\" done their best brought their \" business\nacumen \" and a \" sporting spirit \" to the work\n(so we hear), and since they have \" worked \"\n(so they say) I cannot see how the stage of\ntomorrow can do without them.\nIt's a business like anything else, this\nmatter of running theatres ; and to attack and\nblame men because they run the theatres and\navoid financial failure, is preposterous; to wish\nthem even great success is nearer the mark ;\nbut to insist on it all being done with a little\nmore style and without a loss of status to the\nnation is perhaps to hit the bull's eye.\nWhen in 1747 the Comte de Clermont\na Conde turned his fancy in the spring\ntime of that year to thoughts of the stage, he,\nbeing a third-rate nature with a fourth-rate\nmind, turned them in the wrong direction.\nPoets, actors, actresses, dancers, gathered round\nhim; he built a private theatre; and after\nsome eight years built another; and Cardi-\nnals, Princes and tout 'Paris said the thing\nwas marvellous, the poets divine, the actors\nand actresses superb, and the dancers ad-\nmirable. They were just the very worst ima-\nginable ; but all was decked out very hand-\nsomely and the whole thing some how filled\nthe bill. They all played up to the Prince\nwho played down to them. Lanjon, the\ndivine Lanjon was he not the poet-director:\nMile. Le Due, the superb Le Due, was\nshe not the actress also \" vaguement danseuse\n/> / »» %\nopera ?\nThen came the Revolution.\n* * it * *\nTHE able men who succeed with the The-\natre in England and France seem unable\nto do this except at the expense of their na-\ntions. The able men of the Theatre are al-\nways heard asking \" What is to be done? If\na People wants tosh, loves sickly sentiment,\nadores risky plays, flocks to feeble operetta\nand clamours for concubines, shall we not\nsupply them ? \"\nThis is considered a very sensibile way\nof looking at the matter, but is, as a matter\nof fact, the very worst.\nI won't deny that able men do ask and\nreply in these words. It surprises me to see\nhow willing they are to play to a crowd\nof flashy people : a People always is ready to\nplay up : and I deny that the People of England"}, {"page_pdf": 43, "page_imprimee": "105", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.43", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4703, "texte": "and France are the fatuous idiots that our\nable theatrical managers take us to be.\nIf in other lands we find the People iden-\ntical in most things with the People of France\nand England, if we go round the world and\ndiscover that elsewhere they have noble laws\nand upright lawyers, that their religions are\nbased on practical and spiritual principles,\ntheir courts or Republics filled with honou-\nrable and spirited men, their press incorrup-\ntible and good-natured, their drainage ad-\nmirable, their systems for control of traffic,\nshipping, customs house, hospitals, lighting,\nheating, coal or gas or electric supplies func-\ntioning, railways excellent; in fact if we\nfind abroad the same perfection which we\nfind in England and France, how is it that\nwe cannot expect the same perfection in our\ntheatres : why should our theatres be one of\nthe few loose bolts in an otherwise perfectly\nrivetted vessel ?\nAnd suppose there is not all this perfec-\ntion at home or anywhere else ?... let us\nsuppose it for a moment. Why should we\nnot make perfect those things which are per-\nfect abroad since examples are ready to hand,\nand all we have to do is to adopt the prin-\nciples which led to those perfections ?\n\" Easy enough to talk and write about \"\nyou will say, \" but difficult to achieve \".\nBut a reason you never give.\nYou put it all down to the fault of the\nPeople that is to say, to all our faults,\nfor we are the People all of us. We\nJudges, high and low ; Priests, high and low;\nwe Politicians, 'Statesmen, Jockeys, Organ-\ngrinders and Policemen, Cooks and Coun-\ntesses, Writers and Bailiffs, Butchers and\nPainters, Actors and Journalists : we, all\nof us, are the People.\nAnd you seriously ask us to admit that\nwe prefer a dull and mechanical theatre such\nas we have today to one where all the gayest,\nfreshest principles of Theatrical art flourish?\nIt is preposterous. And it must come to an\nend, this modern Theatrical system : we must\nreally rouse up and mend.\nMiss Zoe Kincaid in her book on the\nKabuki or Popular Stage of Japan sets be-\nfore us more completely than is usual in such\nbooks, all that we need to know of a superbly\norganized theatre; and by organization I do\nnot merely refer to the business part of the\nachievement. Since we have gone a little into\nthat matter above, let us now go a little into\nthe matter of the Art of the Theatre.... a lit-\ntle can surely offend no one.\nIt is that which we must organize , set\nin working order; but before we might as\nwell enquire what it is—what stuff, what\nmaterial, what elements we have to work in.\n1 have touched on this matter in several\nbooks which you may or may not have done\nme the honour to read; and so I will not\noverflow those banks. Let us go on.\nYou will find in Miss Kincaid's book\nthat what I J:old you in my books was true.\nThat certain things are important to our stage;\nother things, those which we nurse and pro-\ntect, a drag on it, and, it would seem, fatal.\nThe Japanese Stage has always had very\nremarkable actors (2. It has also had a very\nremarkable Doll Theatre.\nBecause the Theatrical Nobob of today\nconsiders a Doll a baby's victim, a si lly old\nthing of rag or wax, it does not follow that\nsound men and women in other lands are not\nto look on a Doll as something with possi-\nbilities for the Theatre. In Japan they did\nand still do.\nA mad idea, what? and quite exaggera-\nted: you think so, I am sure.\n. Well, get this book and read how it\ncame about that for eighty years the Doll\nTheatre dominated the Stage of Japan and\nfor the time put all actors in the shade and\nenlisted the greatest dramatist Japan has known\nin its service. For this puppet stage Chika-\nmasu, . the Shakespeare of Japan, wrote his\nplays. Impossible, you say. Preposterous,\nyou declare. If you will read you will dis-\ncover it an ordinary fact.\nBut the Doll Theatre did not act ungene-\nrously in its victory, for it inspired the actors\nwho in future based their style upon that of\nthe Puppets. The actors then slowly began\nto regain their power; this they seem to have\nabused, and in 1802 the Puppet theatre\ndwindled and almost disappeared after having\nallowed the actors to derive their whole style\nand all their ideas from it.\n\n(1) By we I do not mean you, dear reader. You are\ntoo weak to do anything and to attempt and not to succeed\nis what too many braves are doing today in Paris arid Lon-\ndon and Kew York. By we I mean We the Nation,\n(2) \" We are never ashamed of being caught gazing at\nPunch n wrote Albert Smith.\ntl Mr Windham, when one of the Secretaries of State,\non his way from Downing Street to the House of Commons,\nwas seen to stop and enjoy the whimsicalities of Punch wrote\nJohn Timbs, F. S. A. The italics are ours. Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "106", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4480, "texte": "Today the Puppets are recovering some\nof their lost strength and thrive at Osaka.\nBut we will not linger to talk of great\nachievements such as Chikamasu and his\npuppets: let us however stop for half a moment\nto consider whether the ordinary Theatre of\nJapan the Kabuki could hold some-\nthing for us which we do not reckon with\nwhen reorganizing our French and English\nTheatres. Something not all (l).\nMasks are not used in the . These\nare preserved for the No, which you have\nread all about since you are sure to have\nbought Arthur Waley's book published by\nKnopf in 1922. So masks need not irritate\nyou. But for the life of me 1 must not dis-\nclose what is used, for I am perfectly certain\nyou would be irritated by the entire list. You\nare, we are, in a state of irritation, and un-\nless things today are precisely as stupid as\nour stupidity demands, we shall protest, spit,\ncurse, throw \" The Mask \" in the fire or\nnot even buy \" The Mask\nIf \" The Mask \" says or reports from Japan,\nChina, India, Italy or Spain anything not\nabsolutely traditionally hide-bound and dull\nas a narrow mind wants it, people will say\n\" The Mask \" talks rubbish and will squeak\n\" fiddlesticks\nThe dull narrow mind tolerates Mr. Play-\nfair and his excellent attempts to compromise,\nfirst because Mr. Playfair does it all at such\na little expense that he can't be driven away,\nand secondly because he is of such an obsti-\nnate little nature, and third and lastly because\nhe is kindly towards amateurism. There is\nthat to fear and you know it, and Mr. Playfair\nknows it and plays it for all he is worth.\nHe in his smaller way does just what\nNapoleon refused to do in a greater wayi he\nlets loose the amateur just as Napoleon refused\nto let the mob loose. Napoleon knew that\nthe mob would rally to him for a short time;\nbut he also, knew how despicable was that\nsame mob: Playfair probably does not believe\nthat the Amateur has hidden forces behind\nhis sheep-like countenance, and of course he\nmay be right.\nJudging from Mr. Playfair's book, \" The\nHistory of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith \",\nthe Amateur rather likes his freedom.\nIt is better than most Annals for it is\nshort—five years and one hundred and sixty-\nfive days, inclusive of Sundays, is the epoch\ncovered by this \" History \".\nIt adopts some of the faults of other such\n\" Theatrical Histories \": it especially ducks\nto that fault of quoting letters from men and\nwomen to say how good they found Mr.\nPlayfair's work, and criticism from papers\nsaying how bad they found it.\nAll that part of the \" History\" might\nhave well been omitted by Mr. Playfair and\nreserved for some little pamphlet to be used\nas propaganda. It spoils the handsome volume\nwhich Messrs. Chatto & Windus have produ-\nced with their usual care.\nIt is clear from the text of this volume\nthat Mr. Playfair is doubtful as to whether\nthe entire public is with him. The\nI should say.\nBut one thing is perfectly evident alls\nthrough: it is that the little manager is con-\nvinced in his bones that the People of Eng-\nland does not care for things to be too excel-\nlent. As I have said, I am one who holds-\nthat they want many things to be first class,,\nwhereas second class and third class stuff\nthey'll take if cheap enough, gettable by a\nnot-too-long train trip, and if served up in a\npseudo-artistic manner.\nIt's a pity they will take these second and\nthird class goods but what would you ?\nWho wants to see the purveyors of them star-\nving in Strand or Hammersmith? Who wants\neven to see them fail; the more success they\ncan squeeze out of things the less trouble all\nround. I meant that's the theory, isn't it ? Is\nit a very practical one? for the purveyors very\nbut on the old Nation it's 'ard, werry 'ard.\nMr. Playfair goes into a few details as to\nhow much some of his supporters made out\nof the \" Beggar's Opera One of them,\nMiss Wilson, who prepared some charming\ndances, put in £ 2000 (only £ 500 was\nactually put down), and reaped a profit of\n£ 17,000. Why he tells us this, I, for the\nlife of me, cannot guess. What does it matter?\nI wonder how long £ 17,000 would take\nto collect in Japan on the strength of any\nJapanese play known to man.\nit seems that the People are very gene-\nrous all over the earth; —for something good\nthey will pay—if not too high a price—; but\nwhen they pay for something middleclass they\n\n(i) The Russian Theatre you so much admire, may it not\nderive from the far East? Why derive from a copy why\nnot from an original, if you can't create ?"}, {"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "107", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.45", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4202, "texte": "get something queer thrown in with the tic-\nkets : when they pay for something very\nsplendid they get another sort of thing thrown\nin extra. The first thing is a certain com-\nmonness ; the second is something distin-\nguished.\nAs with books, music, pictures, so with\nTheatricals: all these things are very cunning\nin their influence on the People. Journalism\ntoo. And as each man produces the best he\ncan, we must try and tell ourselves that this\nis what Mr. Play fair has done, and perhaps\nwe may in time have to admit that this really\nis what the English People called for in the\ntwentieth century.\nThat it is less than the Italian People de-\nmanded in the sixteenth century, M. Alfred\nMortier makes quite clear to us in his admi-\nrable, very scholarly work, Ruzzante.\nAs with Kabukuthe drama initiated by\nRuzzante was the Popular Drama, and was\noriginally the invention of actors. Some-\ntimes known as Angelo Beolco, sometimes\nas Ruzzante, this Paduan was born in 1502\nand died in 1542, thereby preceding the\nJapanese popular drama (l) by about sixty-six\nyears.\nUnless talk of the Lyric Theatre, Ham-\nmersmith, has driven it out of your mind,\nyou will remember that Shakespeare was\n•also an actor; at least so they say.\nThere is no doubt about Ruzzante, whose\n•comedies surpassed those of Plautus, and\nwhose acting was better than that of Roscius.\nHow this last fact is known (but it is)\n•no -one has been able to say. They say,\ntoo, that it was Ruzzante who was the first\nto introduce masked characters on to the\nItalian stage. In 1530 he was giving six\nprose comedies in five acts in which the\nactors all spoke different dialects; one Pa-\nduan, one Venetian, another Florentine, and\nthe rest Bergamesque, Bolognese, and Greek\nmixed with Italian: which serves as some\nkind of evidence that the People to whom\nthese actors played were not a single group\nbut were actually the People.\nInstead of preparing a local titbit to flatter\nthe Paduans, instead of running a single play\n34,567 nights in succession,... a truly bril-\nliant feat reserved for duller people to achieve..\n«\nRuzzante and his comrades seem to have done\ntheir best to provide endless plays and to\nsupply the whole nation with them, travelling\nround Italy to serve them. As our English\nprovincial players often did and do still more\ntoday. Mr. St. John Ervine is not wrong\nwhen he said that some hope for the En-\nglish stage lies in the provinces.\nHe said so; whether he still so\nand is doing anything in the matter, heaven\nonly knows; a short while back he was saying\nthat the Old Vic was the same ' some hope \\\nIn Italy actors were all over the place,\nnot huddled in towns, not flocking to the\nagents to look for a job, not striking for a\nminimum wage and not being extravagantly\npaid for the exhibiting of inferior talent.\nWhat they found pleased, was the humanity\nof the simpler People, the rustics. They did\nnot represent all rustics as oafs: they felt all\nthat Shakespeare felt when he wrote the fo-\nrest scenes of \"As You Like it \", and this\nthey would interpret as they sang madrigals\nand other songs, enchanting the Academicians\nor the Princes at a Banquet or on a stage.\nOur notion was not theirs nor Japan's,\nfor our People do not demand (so it would\nseem) as much from our actors as did Italy\nand Japan. Our People know better than to\nask for water of an empty brook; in fact our\nPeople are extremely gracious and obliging,\nit being misrepresented to them that there is\nnothing doing.\nIt is a sign of the times that one of our\nleading dramatists is a dramatic critic and\none of our managers has to write the History\nof his own Playhouse.\nIn an age rich in talent, Ervine, being a\ndramatist, would be spared the critical task,\nand Playfair would have found plenty of his-\ntorians to advise him not to make any record\npublic for at least another twenty years.\nSummed up, then, these three books of three\nlands give us a good idea of what is what\nin the Theatre. The first, \" Kabuki \", gives\nus a thrill, the second, \" Ruzzante \", gives\nus pause, and the third from Hammersmith\ngives us away.\n\n(i) Their No drama, an almost Greek thing without the\nGreek horror, had existed fronGthe middle of the fourteenth\ncentury.\n\ne. g. c."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c027", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c027", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "108", "page_fin": "109", "image_debut": 46, "image_fin": 47, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.12", "titre_corps": "ADAVOYLE : MODANE. DOGANA. MAY 10. 1926", "titre_sommaire": "ADAVOYLE : MODANE. DOGANA. MAY 10. 1926", "signature_source": "WILLIAM McDOUGAL", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 46, "page_imprimee": "108", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.46", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4398, "texte": "ADAVOYLE.\nMODANE. DOGANA. MAY 10. 1926.\nBY WILLIAM McDOUGAL.\nI was living so near what I supposed to be\nthe hub of things, that I came to be unable\nto tell whether or no this war, now ended, had\nmade the earth a place to live in happily,\nand to let others live as happily which\nmeans, possibly, safe for democracy.\nHad I been a bit further off 1 might have\nbeen able to see this clearer and quicker.\nBut then i was not permitted to go further 0ff....\nlest I should fare worse or fare well. People\njust wouldn't let me; they said \" you mustn't,\noh you can't\", which made me often feel\nfifteen years old and helpless.\nYet 1 am of age. I have been of age\nthese fourteen years. I am not quite stupid\nexcept* in parts I know one or two things;\nbut what I do not know when I hear these\nmustn'ts would seem to be the things worth\nknowing ; and 1 can get no satisfactory answers\nabout these things.\nThis one for example: is the earth now\na place to live in and to let live and may\n1 go and see it or mustn't I? From what I\nhear 1 mustn't: so 1 have just done it. 1 have\nescaped to Paris and am on the way South.\nI want to go in the direction of Persia but I\nam again told 1 must go home and work for\nmy country. But then I know 1 mustn't do that\nbecause my sole reason for taking a fancy\nto see Persia is .that when I am at home 1\nget no work to do. I have been there eight\nworking years and my kind of work is of no\nuse to anyone. I find I cannot pay for the rent\nof a small house and at the same time have\nanything over to pay for my wife's yearly\ndress or my own yearly suit, and the children\nare growing taller year by year.\nwhat to do? 1 am not a genius: I do\nnot possess great intellect. My work lies in\nthe Theatre. 1 am not at all lazy: I enjoy my\nwork: 1 have a bit of talent: kind friends say\na good deal: unkind ones say 1 am the grea-\ntest bit of talent on earth: unkinder ones even\ncall me \" master \" down in my little town.\nI would say of myself that 1 am quite a useful\nartist, able to do most things which have to be\ndone in a theatre, and able to do these\nadequately. I wanted to work in London,\nbut now 1 want to see Persia; because I\ndon't want to be doing nothing, and to stay\nin London would mean having nothing to do.\nBefore 1 got to London 1 lived in Edin-\nburgh. One day, after for eight or nine weeks\nweighing my words, I said \" 1 want to go to\nLondon \". 1 was told I mustn't. 1 had come\nto Edinburgh from Paisley where 1 was born.\nThe day before I left Paisley I was told 1\nmustn't go to Edinburgh. So you see that all\nalong the road from my little house in Kil-\nliecrankie Street to London 1 have been told\nI mustn't go anywhere but must stay where 1 am.\nAnd I begin to think there must be some\nsense in this general persuasion towards loca-\nlism. If 1 had stayed at home in Paisley I\ncould have still read all the books and newspa-\npers and gone to the theatre, and played golf\nand been as happy as 1 am now. Probably\nso. 1 should have read all about Mr Barrie\nin Thrums, for he too would have stayed in\nThi urns and never have become Sir James:\nI could have read his books too: Peter Pan\nwould never have been written, but other plays,\nof his would have been sent off in manuscript\nto Paisley and put on the stage there (pos-\nsibly by me) for the Paisleyites. Barrieisms\nmight even have seemed to us a bit foreign;\nwe would have probably felt that our theatre,\nshould only echo Paisleyisms to be successful-\nThen 1 should have been able to see repro-\nductions of the works of Pryde, the great\nScotch painter, who had remained in his na-\ntive city of Edinburgh. There would have\nbeen something a little overwhelming to us\nin his work on reaching Paisley because we\nshould have found it strange and Foreign.\nEdinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat would\nhave meant so little to us, they would have\nseemed so beneath our notice in Paisley. Still\nhe would of course have painted other subjects;\nthe gloom of Prince's Street on Sunday after-\nnoon painted by him would probably have\ntouched a responsive chord in our hearts.\nWe should have felt that anyhow, far away\nover the mountains, there lived others like us,\nif not of us and the Scotch mist there and\nhere would have united us but of course\ndistantly.\nWalton too: he would have been somewhere\nin the Highlands: and Bain who went to Ceylon,\nisn't he a Scotsman: well, he'd not have been\nallowed to go to Ceylon: nor Dr. John Bulloch"}, {"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "109", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3127, "texte": "to Tallis Street. We should all have been\nnow in our \" old Scotland \" presumably em-\nployed. Why did we all go ? why did some\nonly reach London and stick there (utter fo-\nreigners by the way): how did 1 get to Mo-\ndane and Bain reach Ceylon ?\nWe Scots are not the only foreigners in\nLondon. What is Augustus John doing so\nfar from his home in Wales? What is Orpen\ndoing?... he should by rights be hard at work\nin his own Ballyhocky or wherever he really\ncomes from. Where is George Moore? He\nwas in America. Why? and in London ioo.\nAnd Hall Caine, whose home is the Isle of\nMan.... he lived in London and then at\nSt Moritz. 1 daresay, that if I had the talent\n(and a copy of ' Who's Who'), I could dis-\ncover that some half million men of genius\nor talent had left home, left their villages or <\ncities and wandered up to London, then to\nParis, then to Italy, then to Turkey and to\nthe East or into A.merica.\nBut the fact that there was no work for\nthese men to do at home is not the only\nreason, and not the main reason, for their\nleaving their villages and travelling afar. There\nis another reason today. Steam and Electricity\nhave been discovered. I announce this as though\nI, being in Modane and hearing the screams\nof 130 trains, was the only one to know of it.\nBut others know this too. Even Londoners\nknow it. Yet the fact is forgotten by them\nwhen wondering how it is that Bain is in\nColombo and Beerbohm in Rapallo. Beerbohm\nshould of course by rights be in the little\nvillage of Hoop-my-zoom near Rotterdam; but\nhe once sent a telegram and then he took a\ntrain, and after this, enjoying modern inventions\nas do few others, he began to look for a\npleasant place to dwell in where he could\nlive and let live. But it seems he mustn't or\nshouldn't. If this be so, then Barrie should not\nbe in London; Pinero should be returned\nto San Alcazor in Spain; Grein to Emmerich\nand I to Paisley.\nIn fact only ambassadors should be allowed\nout of the villages, and these only when sent\nout. Any suggestion on their part, any wiry\npulling by their wives to get themselves to\nParis or Constantinople or Roma, ought not\nto be permitted.\nIt being at last recognized that the train,\nthe telegraph, the steamship and the other\nmodern inventions have urged us and made\nit possible for us to leave all our native heaths,\nwe now come to a second point. Which is,\nHow far may you wander and how far not?\nComic papers like Punc would of course\nprohibit anyone going further than a joke will\ncarry. It might any day make another subtle\nand very funny allusion to Adavoyle station\non the Great Northern (as it did recently)\nwhich would be utterly lost on anyone so far\noff as Shanklin or Alderney. That would be\ndisastrous: so from Punch's point- of view\n(always young and jolly) every Englishman\nmust be somewhere within call of Adavoyle.\nUnfortunately I have to admit that I don't\nknow where that pretty place is, and there\nwe have it in a nutshell. A joke lost a\nmiss-fire among us and all for not being on\nthe spot .... being out of touch. far\n<may you or mayn't you go seems to be de-\ncided. You mustn't go beyond the ends\nof the village."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c029", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c029", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "109", "page_fin": "110", "image_debut": 47, "image_fin": 48, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.13", "titre_corps": "PUNCHER", "titre_sommaire": "PUNCHER", "signature_source": "f. m. f", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "109", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 3129, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4040, "texte": "PUNCHER.\n\nWITH so many bright people governing\nthe nations so well, and the Bourse,\nand the theatres and the Wembley Exhibi-\ntions, one can live and enjoy this admirable\nlife calmly enough ....provided one lives in\nthe right spot.\nI am just now settled in Majorca one\nof the prettiest of islands.\nHere, if one is lucky, an occasional comet\nwill flash into sight; such a star came in last\nweek. Puncher, his name: Puncher Primrose\nin full. Self-made : 300.000 Hollars a year\nincome. He began to send out sparks right\naway.\n\" Say, buddy \", he cried, \" but this is\ngreat just to stand here and shake you by\nthe hand \".\nThen, before one could even think of\nwhat to say, he dashes to the bookshelf.\n\" Why think o' that \" says he, drawing out\na book with the action of Uriah Heep turned\ninto a little cow-boy; \" Look-a-here, Fran-\ncoises \" says he, \" I bought a copy of this\nbook of his (it was X. Y. Z's book) in New"}, {"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "110", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.48", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1635, "texte": "York. Fie says in it that he is sceptical as to\nwhether fourteen people will ever read it. Why\nFrancoises, you kid, I my copy to over\nforty of 4em and every jabber-feller loved\nthe darn stuff ....one of 4em cried over it\n....yes, cried, Francoises\nHe looks at me, and I hardly know whe-\nther to cry or laugh.\n44 I've got the book at home\" says he,\n44 and this next year I mean to lend it to\nfifty-two more of 4em ....one a week \".\nHe had to go after two or three hours and\nI didn't urge him to stay. As I closed the\ndoor on him (for good and all, I said), I\nrealized that I was lucky to live where I\nlive, because, were I in my old house at\nNoisy-le Sec, more such Primroses might crop\nup at any moment. So I turned on two ex-\ntra electric lights and felt better, and even\nsat ruminating on what he'd said.\nHe had practically admitted that he, the\nrich lolly-boy from the States, had not been\ngenerous enough to buy other copies of my\nfriend's book for his friends had not urged\nthem to buy copies, but had\nvented that by lending round his single copy.\nHe had cheated my friend X. Y. Z. and his\npublishers out of <£ 40. 0. 0 and was off back\nhome to cheat them of another 52. 0. 0\nwithin the next twelve months.\nOh you Primrose!\nI read some years ago in 44 The Mask \" of\nan actor having bought a copy of that maga-\nzine and the whole theatre asking for the\nloan of his copy. 44 After you've done with\nit\" was, if I remember aright, the title of\nthe article.\nI should like to lend Puncher Primrose\nround to every member of the Society of\nAuthors. There would be, I feel, very little\nPrimrose left after they had done with him.\n\nf. m. f."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c031", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c031", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "110", "page_fin": "112", "image_debut": 48, "image_fin": 52, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.14", "titre_corps": "OPERA REGISTER : FROM 1712 TO 1734. BY (FRANCIS COLMAN) THE FATHER OF GEORGE COLMAN. (THE ELDER) BRITISH CONSOL AT LEGHORN", "titre_sommaire": "OPERA REGISTER : FROM 1712 TO 1734. BY (FRANCIS COLMAN) THE FATHER OF GEORGE COLMAN. (THE ELDER) BRITISH CONSOL AT LEGHORN", "signature_source": "FRANCIS COLMAN", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "110", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.48", "debut_caractere": 1637, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3313, "texte": "OPERA REGISTER.\nFROM 1712 TO 1734.\nBY (FRANCIS COLMAN) THE\nFATHER OF GEORGE COLMAN.\n(THE ELDER) BRITISH CONSOL\nAT LEGHORN.\n\nTHE Register seems not to have been published, and\nhas lain undisturbed in t\ntwo centuries.\nThe compiler of it was passionately fond of Opera.\nThe strange thing is that while Francis Colman died in\n1733 the Register goes on to 1734.\nWe shall publish the entire MS in the next few\nnumbers of \"The Mask printing it as it is Written,\nfaults and all. Editor.\nrT,HE Stage & Scenes at ye Opera Thea-\nI tie In ye Haymarket, having been altered\n& emended during ye vacant Season, They\nopen'd ye House Novr ye 26th (I) 1712 with\na New Pastorall Opera called\nThe Faithful 1 Shepherd\nye musick composed by Mr Hendel.\nye parts performed by following Singers.\nSignor Cav. Valeriano Pellegrini, ye first\ntime of his performing on this Stage.\nSignor Valentino Urbani. '2) returned again\nfrom Italy.\nSignora Pilotta Schiavonetti. (3)\nSignora Margarita Del'Epine.{4)\nMrs Barbier.\nMr Loveridge.\nall sung in Italian.\nThis was not by Subscription, but at ye\nusuall Opera Prices of Boxes 8s Pit 5s Gal-\nlery 2s. 6d.\nThe Scene represented only ye Country\nof Arcadia.\nye Habits were old.—ye Opera Short.\nNov. 29th Saturday, ye same perform*d\nagain:\nDec. 3 Wensday. Do\nDo 6 Satr Do.\nDec. 10th Wensday was performed a\nnew Pastorall Opera called.\nDorinda.\nThe Musick of this is taken out of Se-\nveral! Italian Operas by Nic° Haym\n\n(1) Grove's Dictionary says Nov. 21. Ed,\n(2) He sang the part of Silvio. Ed.\n(3) I cannot trace her* Ed.\n(4) Grove says \" the first italian who sang in England\nie, in 1692. She married Dr, Pepuseh and died in England\nin 1746. Ed.\n(5) As \" Egeo Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "111", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.51", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3212, "texte": "In this Signora Margarita had no part,\nother Singers ye Same as in ye former,\nye Same Scene & Habits also & ye\nne prices. & was performed 4 times on\nOpera dayes snccessively.\nDec. 27th ye Faithfull Shepherd perfor-\nd again.\n31 Dorinda.\nJanry 3 Do.\nneither of these two Opera's produced full\n>uses. Mr O. Swiny ye Manager of ye\nieatre was now setting out a New Opera,\nsroick. all ye Habits new & richer than\nformer with 4 New Scenes, & other De-\nations & Machines. Ye Tragick Opera\nis called\nTheseus.\nYe Musick composed by Mr Hendel.\naestro di Capella di S. A. E. D'Hannover.\nThe Singers,\nil Sig.r Valentino.\nla Sig.ra Margarita, ed la Sua Sorella.\nil Sig.r Valeriano.\nla Sig.ra Pilotta.\nMrs Barbier.\nye Opera being thus prepared Mr Swiny\n>uld have got a Subscription for Six times,\nt could not.—he then did give out Tickets\nhalf a Guinea each, for Two Nights ye\n>xes lay'd open to ye Pit. ye House was very\n1 these two Nights.\nJanry (1): 1 Oth Saturday. Theseus ye first\ntime 7* Gui.\n14. Wensday Do ye 2nd V 8 a\nGuin—\nafter these Two Nights Mr Swiny Brakes\nruns away & leaves ye Singers unpaid\nScenes & Habits also unpaid for. The\nngers were in Some confusion but at last\nncluded to go on with ye operas on their\nm accounts, & divide ye Gain amongst\nsm.\nJanry 17th. Sat: They perform'd ye Opera\nleseus at ye usuall Opera prices.\nJanry ye 21th. 24th & 28th ye Same\nain.\nye House was better filled at this than\nye former Two Opera's, having perform'd\nnow Six times Successively—for variety on\nnry 31. Sat they perform'd Dorinda.\n:b. 4. Wens. Theseus again\n7. Sat. Dorinda\n11. Wens. Theseus\n14. Sat. Theseus again\nLent. 17. Tuesday Ditto\n21. Saturday. The Faithfull Shepherd.\nThe Singers wth much difficulty got a\nSubscription for a New Opera called\nErnelinda.\nMonr John James Heidegger, managed\nboth this & ye former Opera for ye Singers\n& ye Subscription was for Six Nights paying\n10 Guin for 3 Tickets each Night, they not\nto give out above 400 Tickts a Night.\nThe Singers were Sigr Valentino: la\nSigra Margarita, la Sigra Pilotta: Mrs Bar-\nbier: Sigr Valeriano :la Sigra Vittoria Al-\nbergotti(2) newly arrived &ye first time of her\nSinging on this Stage—she is a Romana.\nThis Opera was first perform'd on\nFebry. 26th Thursday Ist Ernelinda\n28th Saturday 2d Do\nMarch. 3 Tuesday 3d Do\n7 Satr 4th Do\n10 Tuesday sth Do\n14 Sat 6th Do & last night of\nye Subscription.\nThe House was very full all these Nights.\nye D. D'Aumont ye Fr. Ambassador was\nevery night at Ernelinda during ye Subscription.\nMarch 17th Tuesday. Theseus.\n21 Satr Dorinda, wth ye Addi-\ntion of a Serenata of 8 Airs\ncomposed by Sigra Albinoni.\n24 they gave out in ye printed\nBills that they would revive\nye Opera Rinaldo, but by\nsome accident it was put off,\n& no Opera perform'd this\nday.\n28th Sat: Ernelinda, for ye Benefit\nof Sigra Pilotta, ye part of\nSigr Valeriano, was perform'd\nby Sigr Pietro Guacini, newly\narriv'd from Italy, ye Pit &\nBoxes open'd together a 7a\nGuin a Ticket, ye House\nwas very full this night.\nApril 4th this being Passion week no\nOpera was perform'd.\n11 th Sat. Ernelinda for ye Benefit\nof Sigr Valentino, in ye same\n\n(1) 1713. (Ed.)\n(1) Valeriano received £ 650 for the season. (Ed.)\n(2) Can find no trace of lier. (Ed.)"}, {"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "112", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1320, "texte": "manner as on ye 28th past:\nonly Sigr Valeriano perform'd\nhis own part.\n15th Wensday. Theseus, was de-\nsign'd to be perform'd, but\nfinding they could not get\nCompany sufficient, it was\nput off untill the\n18th Saty Theseus was perform'd\ntho a thin House.\n25 Apr. Saty for ye Benefit of Sigra\nMargarita, was perform'd ye\nTwo first Acts of Dorinda.\nwith ye Addition of ye fol-\nlowing Acts out of Severall\nOperas.\nI Con vezzo lusinghiero, from\nc. I-,., „ ) ye Opera of Hamlet\nbigra rilotta \\ d • l i j r t\n5 f rna che la doglia, rro ye\nI Opera of Hercules.\nI Del Fallo su'l camin. from\n/> • ir i » ) Clotilda.\noigr Valentino < to, • a • j-i ..\n5 I 1 i otrmgo, o mio duetto\nv from\n, I E vano ogni pensiero. from\n1 Amore m' infiamma col\n\\lampo d'un sguardo fro\nSigra Margarita \\ Camilla.\nI Love wou 'd invade me\nf from ye Opera of Tho-\n\\ myris.\n[ Di se senti, su'l bel Volto.\nr» i . ) from Antioco.\nis. ai icr \\ ume ajaj-0> Arcier ben-\nv dato from Hercules.\n( Solo pieta vi chiede, 1' inna-\nSigra Mannina I mora to Cor. from Etearcus.\n( Di luci adorno.\nConcluding with ye Chorus\nof Clotilda.\nMay ye 2d Ernelinda for ye Benefit of\nSigr Valeriano.\n9 Rinaldo was revived for Mrs Bar-\nbier's Benefit. She perform'd\nye part of Rinaldo.\n15 Theseus for ye Benefit of Mr\nHendel ye Composer.\nHere ended ye Operas for this season.\n17 13."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c032", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c032", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 49, "image_fin": 49, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.14.1", "titre_corps": "THE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790", "titre_sommaire": "THE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790", "signature_source": "C. Tompkins", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.49", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 144, "texte": "THE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790.\nFrom an unpublished drawing in the British Museum stated to be by C. Tompkins and drawn in 1802.\nPlate 10."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c034", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c034", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "112", "page_fin": "113", "image_debut": 52, "image_fin": 53, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.15", "titre_corps": "REALLY, NOTHING REAL", "titre_sommaire": "REALLY, NOTHING REAL", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "112", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 1322, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3404, "texte": "REALLY, NOTHING REAL.\nAT 4 o'clock. we w (l) in\norder to give him an account of our\nlt visits to Bressant (2) and Delaunay, (3)\n\"He manifested, on hearing of what took\n\" place, great indignation, his voice, usually\nso unctuous, trembled tviih anger.\nWhat! do you mean to tell me that\n\" Delaunay said.... but I had arranged his\n\" holiday, so as to have him back\nmiddle of September on purpose.\n\" ' Mark y°il this* Nothing in the thea-\n\" trical World is real. The attempt to -\n\" ceive is itself false ' \".\nDe Goncourt on Edouard Thierry, 1565.\nAND M. Edouard Thierry ought to know\nsince he was administrator of the Fran-\ncaise for twelve years.\nI mmmmmmmwmmnmMwmfmwMMwm—* ruirn mr~ 11 11111 inr TrrwM~nrirrnnniiirriWMmTnTWTmnmim 11 iwininfininnwiiiy ibi w biim 11 m■ i w\nUNDER the headline \" What is right with\nthe Theatre\" Mr. Arthur Bourchier\n\" the celebrated Actor-Manager\" released\ninto a London Journal, begins cheerfully;\nbut before he has completed his first twenty-\none short lines he is found telling us what\nis Wrong with the theatre.\nIf there is one silly pose in the Theatre\nworld sillier than all the rest, it is when the\nactor or manager pretends that there is no-\nthing wrong with the Theatre. The next\nin order of silliness is that pretence that he\nalone can find the true fault —if any: and\nthe third stupidity is that he pretends that he\nis so prejudiced against this one very little\nfault.\n£ s. d.\nMOST actors and managers object upon a\nsound basis of commonsense. While\nthey say \" this is bad for \"we see clearly\nmi « •\nthat what they arre trying to say is \" This is\nbad for busines\nThen why not say it?\n*\n\n(1) Eduard Thierry (1813-1894), Administrator of the Co-\nrn edie Francaise from 1859 1871: his days were spent in\nhaving to hear the complaints, arrange the differences, and\nprovide for the wilful absence of all the actors and actresses\nof that troupe,\n(2) Bressant, actor; (1815-1804).\n(3) Delauay, actor; (1826-1903).\n(4) These actors had behaved to the De Goncourts in an\ninsufferable manner about playing or not playing in the bro-\nthers' new piece. Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "113", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1034, "texte": "Mr. Bourchier is like most other actors or\nmanagers.\nMr. Bourchier says :\n\" 1 submit that when our art is made an\nadjunct of the Stock Exchange both the\npublic and the art are going to suffer \" ;\nwhich sounds noble but is typically Betty\nm. Martin.\nWhat he is trying to say is that it's bad\nfor business not Sir Martin Harvey's busi-\nness not Sir Gerald Du Maurier's business,\nbut Arthur Bourchier's business.\nMr. Bourchier objects to monied men run-\n, ning theatres.\ni Lord Rothermere who ran ' Polly \", back-\ned it with his legion of papers and lost\nthousands trying to make it a success, is de-\nlighted to open his columns to Mr. Bourchier.\nMr. Bourchier immediately slams the door in\npoor Lord Rothermere's face.\nConsidering that a journal is every bit as\ndifficult to run as a Theatre, it seems a bit\nunsympathetic of our Bourchier \" the cele-\nbrated Actor-Manager\". But all is but\ni ' seems in that world: remember what\nTnierry said, Lord Rothermere, and don't\n* go near theatres until things wake up and\nbecome a bit more real."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c036", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c036", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "113", "page_fin": "114", "image_debut": 53, "image_fin": 54, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.16", "titre_corps": "THE CHANCES FOR AND AGAINST GOOD THEATRES IN PROVINCIAL CENTRES IN ENGLAND : WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE MADDERMARKET THEATRE OF NORWICH", "titre_sommaire": "THE CHANCES FOR AND AGAINST GOOD THEATRES IN PROVINCIAL CENTRES IN ENGLAND : WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE MADDERMARKET THEATRE OF NORWICH", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "113", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 1036, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3201, "texte": "THE CHANCES\nFOR AND AGAINST\nGOOD THEATRES IN PROVINCIAL CENTRES\nIN ENGLAND, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE\nMADDERMARKET THEATRE OF NORWICH.\nJ had often heard of Nugent Monck as being\nan extremely able man in theatrical things.\nI had heard this from dramatists who are al-\nways to be relied on to recognize those who\nhave helped them. It appears that Monck\nhelped his dramatist, and of course the fact is\na feather in the cap of any stage director.\nAnd so I wanted to discover more about\nhim. I found it extraordinarily difficult. One\ncannot always get away for a trip to Nor-\nwich where his Maddermarket Theatre is\nplanted ; and besides, there is danger in one's\nown impressions\nBy that I mean that one may have too\nlow a standard of theatrical work and come\nback raving to the skies over wonderful Mr.\nMonck ; or one may have rather too exalted\na standard and be bitterly disappointed.\ny - T|U I*\nthis danger I saw could be avoided if I\ncould obtain impressions from those who had\nbeen to see the Norwich performances and\nfrom those who had worked in the Theatre,\nand from some true East Anglians. Two\nEast Anglians I asked were very satisfied\nwith what Mr. Monck had achieved and were\nentirely for the Maddermarket. On the strength\nof this I was about to solicit a testimonial on\nbehalf of this playhouse from the church of\nNorwich, but pulled up sharp when 1 heard\nthat the good pastor, vicar, or bishop of Nor-\nwich, which ever he may be, was \" indif-\nferent ; I wondered then what to think. I\neven wondered what was wrong with my\nfeelings that they should be so hurt—as hurt\nthey were. East Anglians and their spiritual\npastor and master should be in harmony, I\nthought, and that harmony should link them\nto Shakespeare, and that again should bring\nthem together in their special theatre which\nis so entirely devoted to Shakespeare.\nSo I puzzled what sort of place this could\nbe—it is 1926, of that I am sure where\nits great spiritual leader, the pastor fido of\nthe flocK, was indifferent to such an honest\nand such an intelligent wish to exert every\neffort to achieve a good playhouse, to play\ngood plays, to the bettering of the good spi-\nrits of old Norwich."}, {"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "114", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.54", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3659, "texte": "npHERE is a very sweet and, to my mind,\nX perfect, elderly lady living near Norwich.\nI will not snapshot her and put her publicly\nbefore you because she is far too beautiful\nfor us to spoil;—but since snapshots are made\nof every famous man and woman today (and\nshe is assuredly one of the famous ladies of\nEngland) I may be excused for making a\nsketch of her in my own way—not for a fee\nand not for publicity's sake, but solely for the\nsake of the artists and their little Theatre in\nNorwich.\nThis lady has the heart of a saint in the\nperson of a Jenny Lind. She seems to be\nsinging as she talks, and what she says, even\nthough it be only what is writ down for her\nto say in the \" libretto \" of a charming life,\nseems to pervade the room, park or Theatre\nwhere she alights (for there is something of\nTaglioni as well as Jenny Lind in her), and\nto spread goodness.\nBy that 1 mean downright Christian good-\nness of the sweetest, most old-fashioned kind.\nEven sour-faced scandal mongers, when\nblessed for two minutes by being near her,\nlose twenty of their wrinkles and cease their\nvillainous chatter for twenty seconds after-\nwards. What a miracle.\nOrdinary actors who are favoured with a\ntwo minutes audience (and really there is some-\nthing queen-like about this lady) become like\nordinary beings and forget the artificiality of the\nprofession in the presence of this irrisistible\nlittle piece of truth.\nAnd this lady had visited the Maddermar-\nket Theatre.\nOn hearing that 1 said to myself \" The\ngood fairies will now recognize the spot—\nsome will for ever haunt it \".\nWhen I was in her presence she spoke\nof the little playhouse with pleasure.\n1 was only once in Norwich.... I regret\nto say that I am ignorant whether it possess\na Cathedral or merely a large church or two;\nso 1 am equally ignorant what the title of\nthe head of the Norwich church may be.\n1 am ignorant but not at all indifferent about\nthis. May 1 advance this as my apology for\ntaking the liberty of asking whether the church\nof Norwich makes our little Maddermarket\npeople happy.\n1 do not know the faults of the Madder-\nmarket, but I can see one or two virtues;\nand these are the cardinal virtues :—loyalty\nof the workers to their leader, the aim to do\ngood things, the labouring incessantly, the\nconstant striving under a tireless director not\nat all eager for gain or for an exaggerated\npersonal success.\nThese virtues seem to me, it I remember\naright, to be the very ones- held up by the\nChristian church as great virtues. What en-\ncouragement then does the Church of Nor-\nwich give to its Theatre? 1 haven't the fain-\ntest knowledge, but, as 1 say, I have heard\nthat ' indifference ' towards the plucky little\ngroup is the only recognition the church has\nso far been pleased to give.\nNow it seems to me that if this is true, if\nthe place where love for fellow-man is sup-\nposed to blossom all the year round, is unable\nto do more than offer grudged indifference,\nthen even though the most ideal theatres in\nthe provinces of England should play their\nparts perfectly, it would be of no avail if\nChristianity is unkind. Especially true is this\nof England.\nFor there are certain centres where Thea-\ntres are trying to provide happiness for the\nhardworking inhabitants, and indifference ought\nnot to be the dull note struck by any leader\nof even the most heavenly choir.\n1 have thought it could do no harm to\ntouch on this matter of the attitude of church\ntowards these theatres which have an aim so\nfar from the commercial one, because perhaps\nthis fact is not fully appreciated.\nNow to turn to some consideration of the\nTheatre, its director, its methods and its re-\npertory.\n(To be con"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c038", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c038", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "115", "page_fin": "115", "image_debut": 55, "image_fin": 55, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.17", "titre_corps": "DORSET GARDENS THEATRE : 1671-1720. DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN", "titre_sommaire": "DORSET GARDENS THEATRE : 1671-1720. DESIGNED BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 55, "page_imprimee": "115", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.55", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1410, "texte": "DORSET GARDENS\nTHEATRE. 1671-1720.\nDESIGNED\nBY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.\n\n(i)\nTHIS was the position of that famous new playhouse\nwhich the Duke's Servants opened in 1671, the\nyear of their leaving the Lincoln's Inn Theatre.\n®J I wonder whether our agitators in London ever\nstop in the midst of one of their agitations to consider\nthat we actors didn't mind in the very least being called\nServants, and that we're not sure that we *ve gained any-\nthing by being knighted. We *d have preferred to have\nbeen born Dukes, but, not being able to arrange that, we\nthought it best not to sink to the level of door mats\nso we jolly well followed the Duke.... positively without\none cringe. And we are an agitated set of beings too\nthat's the odd thing : we have to be its's part and parcel\nof our calling ; but it really didn't harm us to be called\nservants. Some may recall the phrase so often employed\nby Irving towards the Public; \" Your affectionate and\nloving servant\": it's so deucedly useful to us to have\nsome one we can serve.\nIt gives everything a certain zest. And then to escape\nhaving ninety nine masters by having one what an\nescape. It's a risk, of course, but it's not ninety nine risks.\nTo serve some one who made obvious errors now and\nagain that was a good deal in those days - in 1671 :\nBut we have advanced beyond that —* we are free at last.\nHOW AWFUL.\n(i) See 14 The Mask n. Vol. XII, No. 2, Page 62."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c039", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c039", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "115", "page_fin": "115", "image_debut": 55, "image_fin": 55, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.17.1", "titre_corps": "SOMETIMES CALLED THE DUKE'S PLAYHOUSE", "titre_sommaire": "SOMETIMES CALLED THE DUKE'S PLAYHOUSE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 55, "page_imprimee": "115", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.55", "debut_caractere": 1412, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1596, "texte": "SOMETIMES CALLED THE DUKE'S PLAYHOUSE.\nPortion of Strype's Plan of the Ward of Farringdon Without.\nLondon, in 1720, when the Dorset Gardens Theatre. opened\nin 1671, was still standing."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c040", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c040", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "115", "page_fin": "116", "image_debut": 55, "image_fin": 56, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.18", "titre_corps": "THE Mask : A REVIEW FROM THE WEEKLY MANCHESTER GUARDIAN APRIL 16th, 1926. REPRINTED BY KIND PERMISSION", "titre_sommaire": "THE Mask : A REVIEW FROM THE WEEKLY MANCHESTER GUARDIAN APRIL 16th, 1926. REPRINTED BY KIND PERMISSION", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 55, "page_imprimee": "115", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.55", "debut_caractere": 1598, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4907, "texte": "THE MASK\nA REVIEW FROM THE WEEKLY\nMANCHESTER GUARDIAN\nAPRIL 16th, 1926.\nREPRINTED\nBY KIND PERMISSION.\n\" HfHE MASK \" has taken to reproducing old plans of\nA London, Paris, Rome, and the April number has eight\nplates (eight more will follow in the July number) of a\nvery interesting plan of London by R. Horwood (1792-\n1799), The editor forestalls the inquisitive reader who\nmight think that \" The Mask \" is becoming an archaeolo-\ngical magazine by explaining that the cities. have had a\ngreat influence upon the theatres and those connected\nwith them ; doubtless the converse is equally true. \" The\nMask \" is nothing if not historical, and its object is to\nmake history live. Mr. Gordon Craig has got together\nan astonishing number of references to actors, authors, and\nothers in connection with the plan, and they make good\nmixed reading. Possibly some of them are apocryphal, for\nto history is attached a mighty fringe of legend which is\nsometimes almost as good. If all this is not quite relevant\nto the theatre, we may take it as good in itself and ex-\npand our conceptions of \" The Mask's\" functions.\nIt is still a magazine of the theatre and it continues\nto provide the stimulating and even the provocative. A\nrun through its pages suggests that there are very many\npeople interested in the theatre, anxious to do their best\nfor it, and unable to agree with one another about the\nbest way. There is an article here by Mr. Ashley Dukes,\nreprinted from the \" London Mercury,\" which makes one\nquite uncomfortable, so much seems to be going wrong.\nPerhaps things are going pretty well with him, but that\nisn't enough; he is troubled about these realists, both actors\nand authors. I fancy it is comparatively easy to get into\n\" The Mask \" anything that denounces or depreciates rea-\nlism. Of course it is not easy to define it, and I think\nthat those who are classed as realists must read with some\namusement the tale of their ideals or their limitations.\nWhen anything about realism appears in \" The Mask \" I\nalways feel that it is aimed at me, or at least that 1 am\ninvolved in it. Of course this isn't so, but I have some-\ntimes tried to induce Mr. Craig or his friends to explain\nprecisely what they mean. Perhaps they are too polite or\ntoo kind to do so. If it is wrong to write these so-called\nrealistic plays and novels we must give it up. It will be\na bother for those of us who can't do anything else;\nBut let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer,\nEre we will eat our meal in J ear, and sleep\nIn the affliction af these terrible dreams.\nThat shake us nightly.\nor at least as often as \" The Mask\" comes out. And\nthe curious thing is that I can read Mr. Dukes or Mr.\nCraig or Mr. John Semar and agree with most of what\nthey say. Yet I cannot arrive at their conclusion that I\nought not to exist. It appears that Mr. Craig complains\nof Mr. Shaw for thrusting other dramatists off the stage.\nBut as I understand them these enthusiasts want to thrust\nme off—to S3y nothing of better men. Perhaps I mis-\nunderstand ; perhaps they don't mean that it would be a\nbetter world without Shaw, Galsworthy, Granville-Barker,\nand the rest. I can understand the contention that there\nis too much realism in the theatre and that the proportions\nshould be readjusted; but I cannot understand anyone who"}, {"page_pdf": 56, "page_imprimee": "116", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.56", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3518, "texte": "thinks our lives should have been enriched by something\nbetter than the men I have named at the cost of their\ntotal extinction. Let us say, for instance, that to plays\nwithout words, involving all possible beauties and niceties\nof production, we give a half of the theatres, to poetical\ndrama three-sixteenths, to miscellaneous fantasies three-\nsixteenths, to melodrama three-thirty-seconds, and to\nrealism one-thirty-second. Oh, let us have our thirty-\nsecond! Though, by the by, of course there isn't any\nsuch thing as realism.—\nThings seem to be going wrong everywhere. I have\nnever been to the Old Vic, I am sorry to say, but I\nthought that, without being an ideal affair, it did bring an\nappreciable Shakespeare before a great number of people\nwho were stimulated and amused by him, But—no. It\nseems that this is all wrong, and that the Sadler's Wells\nscheme is all wrong too. I don't clearly get at the rea-\nsons why they are wrong, but they are, and \" the work\nof Henry Irving, Sir Squire Bancroft, Sir John Hare,\nSir H Beerbohm Tree, and Sir George Alexander did\nmore for national education than six Old Vies could ever\ndream of doing. \" I have great admiration for several of\nthose actors, but it never occurred to me that Sir George\nAlexander had anything to do with national education.\nI can't think that it often occurs to Mr. Craig. I some-\ntimes wish that I was a millionaire ; I think I should give\na trifle to the Sadler's Wells project, though \" The Mask \"\nassures me that it would be \" a silly thing to do \". But\nwhat duffers these millionaires are not to go into the thea-\ntrical line! Why doesn't one of them put 000\ninto Mr. Craig's hands, do his best to help, and go down\nto history in his company ?\nPerhaps Mr. Craig is tired of receiving compliments.\nThe most piquant thing in this \" Mask \" is a correspon-\ndence— perhaps only the beginning of a correspondence—\nbetween Mr. Bernard Shaw and Mr. Craig. It seems\nthat Mr. Craig set it going in the January number, and\nnow Mr. Shaw controverts the accusation or suggestion\nthat he takes up too much of the stage and pushes other\npeople off. Incidentally he says to Mr. Craig: \"In the\nnineteenth century they did not know what you were talk-\ning about: today they may not know much better *, but\nyou are the most famous theatre man in Europe \". This\nis rather a nice thing to have said about one, though\nMr. Craig might retort that fine words butter no parsnips.\nMr. Craig's rejoinder to the letter is a little disappointing.\nIt might have opened out some interesting questions of art\nand morals and social affairs. Mr. Craig leaves these for ano-\nther day. Unfortunately Mr. Shaw addressed him with\nsome familiarity, and Mr. Craig takes up space with a\nrather round-about reproof. The real clash has yet to\ncome, but evidently these distinguished men will not agree\nvery well. Then, too, there is this *' sentimentally idiotic \"\nproposal about Stratford-on-Avon and the interesting sug-\ngestion that Mr. William Poel can do all that is necessary\nwith a quarter of the money that it is proposed to raise.\nOH, \" THE MASK \" KEEPS US ALIVE\nI am a humble admirer of \"The Mask \". I once wrote\nsomething about it that was quoted—l was going to say,\nfor years. Now Mr. Lennox Robinson and Mr. St. John\nErvine have said handsome things and cut me out. 1 am\nrather jealous and would like to get back again.\nWELL \" THE MASK \" IS GOOD FUN,\n\" THE MASK \" BELONGS TO THE GREAT WORLD.\n»\nI wish I could think of a first-rate epigram about it.\nALAN NOBLE MONKHOUSE."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c041", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c041", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "116", "page_fin": "117", "image_debut": 56, "image_fin": 57, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.19", "titre_corps": "THE COLOSSUS", "titre_sommaire": "THE COLOSSUS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 56, "page_imprimee": "116", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.56", "debut_caractere": 3520, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6496, "texte": "THE COLOSSUS.\n\nIwas pleasantly occupied writing these brief chapters on\nMr. Bernard Shaw for a book on \" The Propaganda Theatre \"\nwhen the Colossus hammered at the door, and, crying out\n\"the Philistines are upon ns \", fell upon me; two seconds\nlater, panting, shaking me by the hand, and cheery as ever,\nhe was saying \" I congratulate myself we have had a\nsplendid victory And off he went, and I heard him saying\nas he went down the street to everyone he met \"We have\nstormed the Theatre.... we have had a splendid victory\".\nNot over the Theatre: for the Theatre is where it was....\nintact.\nOver the Philistine, I hope, over the one and only Phi-\nlistine.... the Colossus himself.... Goliath, (ie, the Conspicuous)\n\" And he had a helmet of brass upon his head \".\n\"I BEING FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE ARTS,\nBernard Shaw.\n« The Sanity of Art ». 1907.\nI said in my first note on the Colossus that I did not\nread anything Mr. Shaw writes because he prevents me.\nIt was this line about being familiar with the arts\nwith all of them too at which I lingered so long that\nI forgot to read any more that day.\nTo know something of an art seemed to me good :\nto know much of any one art seemed even better: to\nknow a good deal of several arts might perhaps do: but\nto be familiar with them all seemed ridiculous. And to\nannounce it as something to be proud of is so queer.\nI have never known of any artist who said so, did\nso, or dreamed of pretending to \" be familiar with all\nthe arts\nSUA WISHNESS.\n\" Don't spell it with a v Samuel don't spell it. with a v \",\nI am well punished for saying Mr. Shaw is dull that\nbell in my valley is always now reminding me of all\nthat 's Shawish. Daily I think of him ; I might be a disciple\nof his, or in his camp. You can say Shakespearean, Georgian,\nbut you can't say Shavian for long, spite of the Oxford\nDictionary. *\nShawish is the word ; even Shavish is too elegant.\nFor elegance is smooth, natural, easy, as a rule; and what\npertains to Shaw, if honest, is essentially inelegant and\nutterly towzled. That he reaches out for elegance is true,\nbut he never achieves it.\nHe admired Henry Irving from top to toe. I have\nonce before (in 1904) pointed this out. He is indeed\none of Irving's disciples, but not one of his apprentices (0.\nYet, should you read Mr. Shaw's \" Dramatic Opinions \" first\npublished in the \" Saturday Review \" from 1895 to 1898,\nyou would not at first be struck by any apparent admi-\nration of Irving. You might notice what you take to be\na Shawish dislike for him a dislike pitched in rather a\nhigh voice, and this might prevent you from supposing\nhim to be a true Irvingite.\nDisciples must be followers,... or difficult:—and Shaw\nwas the difficult disciple. Not that he bothered Irving to\nany appreciable extent; but he was seen to be in diffi-\nculties about Irving; he did so admire and yet he did\nso wish him out of the way.\nHe marvelled at his address, and, like a wise fellow\n\n(1) Pinero was an apprentice, Martin Harvey too."}, {"page_pdf": 57, "page_imprimee": "117", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.57", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2419, "texte": "he practised, at all sorts of meetings, to hold the head like\nthis, to let the left arm rest gracefully on the hip, the\nright one in the first position, and to shoot out his words\nso as to reach the back row of the lecture room ; to keep\nhis feet from shuffling and his tongue from talking bal-\nderdash.\nAlas, this he was utterly unable to do.\nSomething virgin-like in Mr. Shaw, that sterling honesty,\nmade a heroic effort to resist the temptation to do as\nothers have done before him and will do after him. But,\nwhen he stood up to speak, it was always as a smart\nyellow-liveried journalist, never as a wise man, that he\nspoke.\nHe entertained some, even most, of his listeners, who\nnaturally came to hear him because of that veiy Shawish-\nness which he made a virtue of since he would not rid\nhimself of it.\nIt was this touch which seems to have struck Count\nTolstoi that other socialist who, they say, (' let them\nsay '), gave up all he possessed. I recall seeing a long\nletter from from Mr. Shaw to Count Tolstoi, and the reply\nprinted side by side in an Italian newspaper in 1919 or 1920.\nI forget when the letters were written, but I recall that\nMr. Shaw's was very long and Count Tolstoi's was very\nbrief. Tolstoi seemed to regret Mr. Shaw's perkiness. Well,\nit certainly does not become a Colossus,\nMr. Shaw on the other hand never objects to perkiness\nhe is a sweet-tempered man, and, to the perky, the cheap\nand the familiar, he has ever given a kindly welcome.\nIn fact he revels in all that. For it means something\nto him it means up-to-dateness, go, the cream\nof somethingistic.\nFrom his writings you would expect him to be loose\nin his carriage, comic in his gestures, and without know-\nledge of the first, second and third positions of the dancer.\nBut Irving taught him what an immense aid is a fine car-\nriage, a noble gesture and the art of the dancer, and he\ndecided to see whether he could not achieve a smattering\nof all three. He achieved that.\nAnd I cannot look at Mr. Shaw standing to address a\ncrowd of people without admiring it all. He does it\nadmirably, but it is all put on and graceless. It is some-\nthing learnt and applied according to a book of rules.,..\nStill, it is of a piece with his work. And what he\nsays when he rises to speak is what grieves those who\nhave always tried hard long ago to forget the very things\nhe struggles so Shawishly to remember. Gordon Craig.\n(To be continued)."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c042", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c042", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "117", "page_fin": "117", "image_debut": 57, "image_fin": 57, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.19.1", "titre_corps": "GROUND PLAN SHOWING THE COCKPIT THEATRE", "titre_sommaire": "GROUND PLAN SHOWING THE COCKPIT THEATRE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 57, "page_imprimee": "117", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.57", "debut_caractere": 2421, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2577, "texte": "GROUND PLAN SHOWING THE COCKPIT THEATRE.\nFrom Fisher's Plan of Whitehall (c. 1663-1670) engraved by Vertue.\nSee also the Frontispiece Plate 7, face page 87,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c043", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c043", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "118", "page_fin": "122", "image_debut": 58, "image_fin": 66, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20", "titre_corps": "BOOK REVIEWS", "titre_sommaire": "BOOK REVIEWS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 58, "page_imprimee": "118", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.58", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6559, "texte": "BOOK REVIEWS.\n\nDRAMA TIC THEOR YIN SPAIN,\nedited by H. J. Chaytor M. A.\nLIFE IS A DREAM by Calderon,\ntranslated by Birch & Trend 2/6.\nTHE BANKSIDE STAGE-BOOK,\nH. W. IVhanslow,Wells Gardner,\nDarton & Co. 4!—.\nMR. Chaytor prints for us slices of\nSpanish, a language few of us\nknow, and so I have to turn to my\nold and trusted friend Barrett H. Clark\nbefore 1 can discover what it really is\nthat Lope de Vega is trying to say.\nIn Mr. Clark's \" European Theories\nof the Drama \" you get it in English;\nhere 'tis all Spanish. Perhaps this\nbook is wholly for students of the\nSpanish language, but would a transla-\ntion of the Spanish slices placed at the\nend of the little book have done any\nharm ? I, for one, would have been\npleased to learn what it is that Molina\nsays about the \" ignorancia \" of Dona\nSerafina in \" The Orchards of Toledo\";\n(Mr Clark helps me to the word orchards\nbut says nothing about Serafina).\nWhat a pity it is that in the process\nof becoming M.A, Mr. Chaytor lost\nsome common sense: what a pity that I,\nas representing ordinary artists outside\nall universities, in not becoming M.A\nhave not such learning as his. Cannot\nlearning and mother-wit come closer\ntogether somehow .... some day?\nThey come closer in Mr. Birch and\nMr. Trend's translation of \" Life's a\nDream \", and Mr. E. Le Bas helps a\ngood deal with his stage plan and\nhis two illustrations.\nI will not compare his work with\nthat of Mr. Terence Gray or Mr. H.\nW. Whanslaw but no doubt the three\nwill be classed together by the amateurs.\nI find Mr. Whanslaw and his book\nsuperficial, and Mr. Gray pretentious,\nthough both of them are tidy. Mr. Le\nBas seems to be at ease in a castle\nor a dungeon (the two designs in the\nplay book) and puts on no side. I think\nhe is rather too fond of platforms and\ns'eps, and I would suggest to him that\nthe use of two flights of convex steps\none behind the other is an error. If\nthe front steps are to be convex let\nthose behind them be concave. And a\nwell-shaped arch is always finer to see\nthan an ill-shaped one. I once made\na model with an arch in it and I, too,\nmade it as Mr. Le Bas does, low and\nsprawling, and only after a long journey\nto India did I discover on coming home\nto London how ugly my arch was. I\nthen broke the model, gave up scene-\nries, and Fleet Street claimed me. But\neven here in this little Wine Office\nCourt Inn, the arch is shapely, not\nsprawling. But I wish Mr. Le Bas good\nluck and lots of practice.\nAs for Calderon's masterpiece, it\nremains to this day unknown to the\nEnglish stage presumably for lack\nof a suitable translation.\nIt seems incredible, but so it is ;\nfor, if a good translation existed, Mr. J.\nB. Trend would know of its existence,\nhe being a Spanish scholar who has\nlived in Spain, has written \" A Picture\nof Modern Spain \" (1921) and trans-\nlated Spanish masterpieces and been\nSpanish correspondent to the Athe-\nnaeum \" in 1919.\nAssisted by Mr. Birch, one of the\nmost successful producers of an Amateur\nCompany of Cambridge University, he\nhas made my existence decidedly richer,\nfor I have come near the Calderon\nmasterpiece at last.\nI cannot pick faults in their work\nwhen under so great a debt to them\nfor the little glimpse they have given\nme of it; all I can do is to suggest to\nthose who will buy this play at once\nthat they race throught it at top speed.\nAs it progresses get quicker and quicker\neven to a hurried skip now and again.\nTaken slowly it might weary. I rather\nthink you'll be pulled up suddenly\nsomewhere between pages 50 and 60.\nWhen I came to the passage at which\nI stopped, and which I believe it\nimpossible to pass without twice reading,\nit was about 12.30 at night, I had\ngone to bed at a quarter-to-twelve and\nhad fancied sleepily I would read Act I.\nbefore putting out the light. I read\nthe whole getting faster and faster\nand skipping the jerky bits for there\nare a few of these.\nIt is assuredly a most wonderful play\nand 1 would give much to know\nSpanish,... and then to see it performed\nin Spain and await that magic passage\nbetwixt pages 50 and 60.\nI know no situation of such power\nin any other drama ; it sets one tingling\nall over. When I came to it I stopped\ndead and experienced something\nwhich I cannot express but which put\nme in a state of astonishing happiness\nand it was 1230 at night, I seemed\nto enter that state and place and time\nwhere there is neither sleep nor waking,\nand yet where there assuredly is happiness.\nNot often can one speak of a thing so\nvery rare. I tasted it last night as I was\nstopped between pages 50 and 60.\nTaken apart from the rest of the\nplay one would pass this passage. Placed\nwhere it is, it is a miracle and arresting ;\nit dazzles. Calderon is indeed something\nwe thought non-exisient a magician:\nall that is complicated and contradictory\nhe draws into his play: one cannot see\nhow he will possibly put it in order :\nhe does the most daring things all\nthat is impossible and all that is quite\nordinary here crowd together : and with\nan ease that is astonishing.\nI have seen Pirandello somewhere\nreferred to as not unlike Calderon.\nBut Calderon is certain, he has no\ndoubts, and he is a professional dra-\nmatist and gives us the impression of\na master working with extreme ease.\nPirandello is rather the reverse.\nThe plays by Pirandello are trans-\nlated into English within five years of\ntheir being performed, Calderon's are\nstill looking for some one with time to\nwaste for it would he money lost, me-\nthinks (if life is a d ream) for any poor\ndreamer in England to give a few\nyears to the translation of his many\nmasterpieces, for \"to win a friend\nor two \" in England against hi\nwaking is perhaps out of the question\n\nTHE CHARTERHOUSE OF\nPARMA. Marie-Henri Beyle (de\nStendhal). 2 vols. Chatto &\nLondon 15/—. Boni & Liverighl,\nNew York• $ 5.\nTHIS translation has appeared in both\nEngland and America, and Mr. C. K.\nScott Moncrieff who is responsible for\nit is to be felicitated on what must be\nquite the best translation that is or\never will be. Only do I object to the\nrather too frequent use of the phrase\n*' hell for leather\nBut what a trifle is this compared\nwith the hundred perfections of his work.\nThe highest praise is the simple old\none —it really does not read like a\ntranslation.\nAs for the book, it ranks with all\nthe finest lying in the world; one can\nsay no more than this.... that is a novel.\nTo lie, and to lie like truth and keep\nit up to the end.\nWhat Nietzsche meant, what Taine,\nby calling the author \" the great psycho-\nlogist of the century \" and \" the last\ngreat psychologist of France \" I can-\nnot say."}, {"page_pdf": 63, "page_imprimee": "119", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.63", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6946, "texte": "I suppose they were thinking hard\nat the time of reading; or, writing too\nlong after reading Chartreuse de\nParme, they either hated the whole\nart of the novelist or had forgotten\nwhat it was they had felt they had\nhad to say.\nBy dint of thinking some more, and\nafter certain long and searching queries\ninto the looking glass, these tough old\noracles decided that he was a psychologist.\nWhat a conclusion!\nWhat if he is a psychologist?... who\ncares whether Vitruvius was a carpen-\nter ?\nThe truth is, that this Stendhal,\nthis terrible fellow, was one of those\nrare things so seldom found today even\nin Chelsea or Montparnasse; a thing\ntoo useless for words, and not a cosa\ngrata at court ; that thing which begins\nwith an A, has an s in it, and is not\nan ass, because of two ts and an r,\nand an i: but I have received orders\nfrom headquarters that the thing is not\nto be mentioned in \" The Mask \" more\noften than is absolutely necessary be-\ncause it makes the wives of a few\ninfluential if industrious linendrapers\nthat cross. And indeed it is hardly\nnecessary to say what Stendhal is, for\nit is clear to you.\nHe was that, and there is no more\nto be said about it; he was abnormally\nthat, there is no doubt.\nI wish I had ten thousand pounds\nto erect a memorial to him, and on\nits base engrave chapters of his book.\nIt would be a monument worthy of him.\nAnd I would ask our three best poets each\nto write a verse. These I would have en-\ngraved there too, by Gill, and Johnson and\nby Baccigallupo. And our best prose wri-\nters would be asked for three lines,\njust to show how often three lines of\nprose can be more perfect than even\nthree lines of the best poetry. Not\nhaving ten pence, I fear that Mr. Wells,\nMr. Shaw and Mr. Scotson Umbridge,\nwhose head popped round the corner\nof my door the moment I mentioned\nthe ten thousand pounds and the prose,\n....I fear that these great writers will\nbe out of that job.\nBut magic (if you know what 1\nmean) still rules all things; and the\nmonument is going up even without\nthe help of that inadequate ten thou,\n\n* mw—wm 111 Hi II mi—l mill mi I ufii—wi ■■■■! iw n m iMWßinwnwwmiinrwinr~ iTrmirfTnii i i i«i>iiiiniiinr«w»mw\nLITERATURE IN THE THEA-\nTRE by W. A. Darlington. Chap-\nman & Hall. 12/6 net.\n■ mimmmmmssmmammmßaammmmmammmm n rnim—— ■ mi——»\nAS everybody in London knows,\nMr. Darlington is the Dramatic\ncritic of the \" Daily Telegraph and\nthis new book of his forms a compa-\nnion volume to his earlier one, \" Through\nthe Fourth Wallpublished in 1922,\nand all but one of the essays have al-\nready appeared in either the \" Fort-\nnightly Review \" or the \" Daily Te-\nlegraph \".\nHere we find chapters on the Bro-\nthers Capek, on Personality and Tem-\nperament, on Stage English, on \" What\nthe Public Wants on various books\non the theatre, and many like subjects.\nThe author is a quiet and steady\ncritic without any pretentions. The\nnimble capers which George Jean Na-\nthan cuts are not for him...: in fact\nMr. Darlington does not approve of\nMr. Nathan... and considers him out\nto \" flout and annoy \". Yet the Nathan\nmethod seems to achieve something.\nWhen dealing with a rigid pose of\nindifference, the provocative method has\nits uses.\nOne thing that strikes us in Mr.\nDarlington's new book, as it did in the\nlast, is that he appears to have prac-\ntically no interest in the important part\nof the newest movement in the Thea-\ntre. It seems as if it would be hard\nfor a man to write 207 pages, treat\nof a good many theatre books and\ntheatre problems, and never find it\nnecessary, for instance, to have a word\nabout the foremost figures in that\nmovement, ...Mr. Gordon Craig, Stani-\nslawsky, Reinhardt, even if it were only\nto oppose or disapprove these men.\nThat is where Mr. Darlington's weak\nspot is revealed. And it is very weak.\nAs the dramatic critic of one of the\nleading English dailies it is his business\nto know a little better as to what's what\nand who's who, and to say something\nto his audience on that which is vital\nand progressive in every movement in\nthe theatre.\nFor the \" Daily Telegraph \" is a\ngrand old journal, and it might seem\nto people not a little unworthy of such\na journal that its columns were not\nmore able to cope with the work of a\nman who is described as England's\ngreatest man in the Theatre \",... Gor-\ndon Craig, and this description we\ntake from the \"Daily Telegraph\" itself.\nIt's not Mr. Darlington's word ; it\nis merely the opinion of '* the greatest\nproducer of Scandinavia, Johannes\nPoulsen, acclaimed the greatest actor\nDenmark has ever produced\".\nThis also from the \" Daily Tele-\ngraph \".\nIt may interest our readers to have\nthe full statement by Mr. Poulsen in\nthe *' Daily Telegraph \" as reported\nby Mr. Hayden Talbot:\nStarting off by saying that \" in all\nGreat Britian and in all the United\nStates the theatre is in the hands of\nmerchants \", he came at last to Shaw:—\n\" Shaw is a contrast merchant.\n'' Tell him it is pouring cats and\n\" dogs—and he will prove it is a beau-\n\" tiful sunny day. He will prove it\n\" with a kind of superficial brilliance\n\"and satirical wit that passes for genius.\n\" England's greatest man in the theatre\n\" on the other hand is considered by his\n\" fellow-countrymen to be quite mad.\n\" I refer to Gordon Craig. There is\n\"an artist. But England will have\n\" none of him. But what else is to\n\"be expected of a nation which\n\" counts any kind of expression of\n\" emotion bad form \". (')\nNow Mr. Darlington might have\nhad the thought to say that;—but it\ntakes more than thinking;—it requires\ncourage, conviction, and a true love of\nthe British Stage.... and rather less fear\nof some of its servants.\n(l) The Daily Telegraph. December\n24th, 1913.\n\nTHE NEW SPIRIT IN THE\nEUROPEAN THEATRE. Huntly\nCarter. Ernest Benn. 25j —.\nIF the author is to be trusted to re-\nport faithfully about this new spirit\nin the European Theatre, then this\nparticular flame is a very violent one.\nAnd, unlike a good red herring, it\ncannot claim to be more brilliant than\na rich dull black.\nThe author laughs at Stanislawsky:\nhe asserts that his group was \" useless\nfrom the start\" because presumably\n(for all we know) it couldn't be\nbrought to pander to Bolchevic propa-\nganda.\nWell, that settles the book for me;\nit decides it as utterly bad and\nfalse.\nI am not at the moment a special\nadvocate for Stanislawsky, Tchekov,\nChaliapine or any Russian. In fact I\nam anti-foreign these days. On seeing\nit announced that the ever-charming\nMadame Rubenstein had passed the\nfrontier and was performing at La\nScala in Milan, I marvelled.\nWhen I read in our very patriotic\njournal the \" Daily Mail\" of the won-\nders of the new Russian Restaurant at\nNice, I took another glass of red wine\nand said nothing : but on seeing the\nartistic Mr. Carter busy with his boom-\ning of Russian goods and hearing\nh m chattering about the new spirit in\nRussia I thought of some of the sly\ndigs at our English stupidity I had\nheard when I lived in Russia. The\nsly Russian bear would know how to"}, {"page_pdf": 64, "page_imprimee": "120", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.64", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6921, "texte": "do this and that, said these excellent\npeasants dressed up as Russian middle-\nclass gentlemen.\nNo one who wishes to see Europe\ncome to its senses will want to read\nthis book, for it is crazy about Bol-\nchevism and Russia; the author finds\ncommonplace and hideous things \" beau-\ntiful \" and lakes himself even more\nseriously than usual. He began his\ncareer well in going to see the Euro-\npean Theatre fifteen years ago, but he\nhas not stopped to study any of the\nthings he has seen. He has no feel-\ning and no wit. I won't say he went\nto look at it all in the poke-the-nose-\ninto-it way of Paul Pry, but since he\nbegan his studies he has not advanced\nat all. He lacks self-discipline.\nHe is old-fashioned ; he belongs to\nthat order of mind which has a paltry\nlittle fixed idea (and that a dark one)\nand hunts this all the year round, like\na cat running round after its tail. It\ncan't be good for the health.\nHe also reveals a certain wild con-\nceit, for he seems to say on every page,\n* / alone know what is good in The-\natre and I alone can tell you what\nhas to be done\".\nNow he is an able journalist, this\nman, but he is that and nothing else.\nHe has an unerring instinct in no-\nsing out what is rotten in Russia.\nThis he reveals to us in his book as\nthough it were excellent, and keeps on\nspeaking of the Labour party.\nHe is full of reading and the phrases\nof the day, but he is ignorant, this\nMr. Carter: let me add that it is the\nvery last thing he suspects himself of\nbeing.\nI am surprised that he was able to\nfind a publisher willing to spread the\nBolchevic damnations, for they are not\nmere stupidities.\nTill recently I always credited a\ncertain Moscow Theatre with having\nrepresented Mr. Chesterton's play about\n\" Thursday\" honestly. I now learn\nthat they have distorted it and made\nit serve the propagandists\nA theatre which takes a side, which\nsells itself to any kind of propaganda\nwhatever, is a contemptable theatre.\nHold what opinions you like, but\nhold them in when you turn to your\nworkmen's tools, which should -never\nbe the slaves but always the servants :\nhow ? by obeying the old laws,\nnot of time, wages, and so forth, but\nthe laws of the good craftsman who\ntakes his orders from one man only,\nthe artist.\nAnd if today the artist is not ho-\nnoured by the state, while the theatre\nmanager (seldom an artist) is honou-\nred what of that ? It is a grave\npity but what of that ? Patience!\nand shuffle the cards.\n\nDOSTOEVSKY by Andre Gide;\n( Translated from the French).\nDent & Sons. 6/ net.\nMSAMSSAMMMMMMMTMMMBMTMMMMMMMMSSAMMMMMMSAMTAMAAMMMMMMTKM 'I I> N N 1110 ■IMW N N HIM\nI cannot find in the history of man\nany proof that, when the artist is\nstill in the stage of conflict and strug-\ngling with problems, he produces works\nof art which are of value. .. for, beset\nwith doubts and fears, his vision can-\nnot act: when deceived by prejudice\nhe finds all things grey and out of\njoint and the situation is even worse:\nonly when he is firmly persuaded may\nhe be said to understand.\nMany have admired the writhings of\nLaocoon many still do : if you are\none I put it to you that you do not\nlike them daily.... that twelve hours\nof unrelieved Laocoon is not what you\nlike.\nAnd what I read of in this book\nby the fine French critic Gide is ra-\nther too much like unveiling a new\nLaocoon, this time alive and wriggling.\nM. Gide writes here as he writes\nalways, easily to all appearances....\nand that is the marvel. To remain\ncalm before this Laocoon, this tied\ndown but struggling mass called Do-\nstoevsky, who is ever despairing, ever\ncrying out \"Yes - life is difficult \"\nis a remarkable feat.\nThe Russian \" gravely \" saying that\nlife is difficult is just what I always\nfeel the Russian should try to stop\nsaying. Compare the Italian's eternal\n\" Pazienza \" and his electricity and his\nmuscle.\nBut do you live in five months\nsnow or rain and seven months bad wea-\nther as the Russian describes his climate ?\nIf you do, then you have probably\nfound the days short, the nights long,\nand at night you have read Poushkin\nperhaps. Poushkin we like, do we\nnot, because he doesn't say \" Yes, Life\nis hard \" : he positively remembers who\nhe is. A Russian, and Pouskin at that.\n\" I have a story \" Dostoevsky writes\nto Shakhov, \" not a very long one.\nI had already thought of writing it\nthree or four years ago, the year my\nbrother died....\"\nNow what does it matter whether\nhe had thought three, four, or even\nfive years of writing the story, or\nwhether it did happen to be the year\nhis brother died or six months later ?\nIt seems that we have come to read\ninto all these Russian details a lot of\nsignificant somethings which they real-\nly do not possess. They remind me\nof those sphinx-like glances of modern\nyoung ladies, soaked in sentimental\njazz, which mean absolutely nothing.\nWhen Dostoevsky delivers the goods\nthey are doubtless extraordinary, but\nthey are so gloomy, so eternally griz-\nzling, sighing, moaning, being sorry for\nself and others; murder - bedsides -\nidiots - Christ - rebirth - disgrace -\nfloods of tears - psychology - tears -\nsofas - sledges - snow and very bur-\nning feet.,., torment over writing, over\nthinking, over sights by day, by night,\n- Tolstoi - tea - torment - debts -\nChrist - misery\nI don't want so much of Russia or\nRussians. I hear that it's only Rus-\nsians who can write plays, act them,\nsing, dance and decorate restaurants\nand mean something all the time. I\ndelight in what is excellent in the\nwork of Russians, but all that glitters\nis not gold, and we must not go on\nraving as we do about Tchekov, Tur-\ngenieff, Russian Ballet, Piskkoff, Pookoff,\nTairoff, and the Russian restaurants\nin Paris and Nice as though we were\nwithout any ability to achieve for\nourselves in the rest of Europe and\nsome day in New York.\nYet why say some day ? Only yes-\nterday New York had it in her po-\nwer to have created the best Ballet of\nthe century for she had the creator of\nit and didn't know how to treat the\nsituation.\nEngland, France, too. They pos-\nsess creative artists and stubbornly re-\nfuse to take the trouble to learn how\nto use them.\nWell, if they wake up one day to\nfind the lands overrun with a Russian\nweed they will not blame anyone but\nthemselves will they ?\nBut couldn't they wake up and make\ngood about their own artists ?\n\nTHE THEATRE, AN ART AND\nAN INDUSTRY, by H. R. -\nhour. The Labour Publishing Co. 2)6.\nTWO introductory notes, the first by\nMiss Sybil Thorndike, the second\nby Charles B. Cochan, tell me that Mr.\nBarbour is \" a practised writer who\nknows the theatre by personal experience\nfrom the various angles of actor, dra-\nmatist and critic and that the Actors\nAssociation selected Mr. Barbour as\ntheir oracle.\nSo not knowing Mr. Barbour's work\nI looked him up in \" Who's Who \"\n(1926) also in \" Who's Who in the\nTheatre \" (Fifth Edition) ; and lastly\n\"Who's Who in Literature\" (1926) and\nfound no mention of him or his work.\nBut while that puts me at a disadvan-"}, {"page_pdf": 65, "page_imprimee": "121", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.65", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7110, "texte": "tage it does not prevent me from seeing\nthat he is an able man, and an honest one.\nHe sincerely endeavours to discover\nwhat is wrong with the English Thea-\ntre so as to help towards getting things\nmore shipshape. \"Le roi est mort; ou\nest le roi ? \" are rather queer words\nfor this rather Socialistic student to use\nbut they are merely put in for the\nsake of Theatrical effect, and he soon\nforgets them, and wanders away from\nthe question.\nHe doesn't seem to think very much\nof Mr. Bourchier or Sir Gerald du\nMaurier, Sir Frank Benson, J. L. Sachs\nor M. Darewski.\nMiss Thorndike and Mr. Casson seem\nto him to \" havd the courage of their\nart \" and \" Mr. Playfair, too, has cou-\nrage \". He does not seem to be quite\nsure of our old chief Henry Irving; he\ndoes not seem to know precisely what\nit was Irving stood for. He likes Com-\nrade Lugg and would like to see the\nActors' Association and the Stage Guild\nunited. For all I know they may by\nthis time be united....l don't believe it\nmatters very much if they are or not,\nMr. Barbour will probably study the\nTheatre from a fresh angle some day ;\nhe will write a better book if he does,\nbut meantime 1 have only one fault\nto find with Mr. Barbour, and that is\nthat he doesn't answer the question he\nputs himself, \" Ou est le roi?\"\nKings of the stage I have always felt\nwere a bit of a joke. Elliston was\nthe stage king for a time. Let us pass on.\nLet us substitute for king the word\nspirit. The spirit of the stage is a bit\ndead but long live the spirit.\nMr. Barbour, in an article in \" The\nNew Age \" (November 6th 1924)\n(about the time the book I am reviewing\nappeared) wrote of two men as fol-\nlows :\n\" In our own age and country two\n*' men have arisen who in similar yet\n\" dissimilar ways have contributed a\n\" most significant quota to the great\n\" world-theatre. Gordon Craig, the su-\n\" preme exponent of the new dramaturgy,\n\" a more or less voluntary exile from\n\" the country which, if it has not rejected\n\" him, has, at least, not allowed him to\n\" extract many plums from the Thea-\ntrical pie, prosecutes his researches\n\" into the more abstract and tenuous\n\" aspects of theatrecraft. He has added\n\" many a cubit to the stature of thea-\n\" trical exellence and the repercussions\n\"of his theory and practice on the\n\" theatres of the world are abundantly\n\" and universally visible. He who runs\n\" may read the lesson that Gordon\n\"Craig has taught the regisseurs of con-\n\" tinental and American playhouses \".\n\" Another contributor of no mean\n\" order is William Poel, whose work\n\" is no less important for all that it h\n\" less immediately evident, less definable\n\" in terms of literature and design, less\n\" spectacular. To William Poel's re-\n\" construction of the principles of Eli-\n'• zabethan stagecraft, to his methods of\n\" presentation, and to his practice of\n\" enunciation the English theatre is\n\" under a great obligation. Like Craig,\n\" Poel is possessed by the demon of\n•• experiment, relentless in his self-dis-\n\" covered academism, determined on\n\" the prevalence of his researches and\n\" theories \"•\nNow here is the answer to his cry,\n\" Le Roi est mort oil est le Roi \".\nChange the title Roi to spirit, and the\nreply is, Poel, Barker, Drinkwater, and\nCraig, for in these four men resides\nmore of the spirit of the Theatre at its\nbest than in the rest,\nAnd I am surprised that Mr. Bar-\nbour did not arrive at this obvious\nconclusion. Possibly he looked for one\nman....for he spoke of King. But what\ncan one man do with a stage in the\npredicament our English stage is in\ntoday? What can a single Theatre do?\nBut (and this is a graver question) what\ncan our English performers do today\nand tomorrow if there are no standards\nfixed, no one flag flying from four or\nfive theatres round which to rally. You\ncan't rally round a box office.\nHad I been Mr. Barbour I would\nassuredly have told my readers that\nthe solution to many of the difficulties\nof our English Stage is to establish\nfour theatres, to place Poel, Barker,\nDrinkwater and Craig at the head of\none theatre each; to support these four\ntheatres with sufficient funds (England\nis quite wealthy enough for that, and\nit is a canard, this put-up cry of\nPoor England), the support to be\nlasting even as the talent of these\nmen lasts and does not give out. (A\nlittle confidence for such confidence if\nyou please); for these four theatres to\ncall to them all the best performers,\nnot for a living wage but for something\nbetter, ....good terms, good work, good\nparts to play; ensemble to be the watch-\nword. Competition between the four\nif you will, but fair play all round.\nEach theatre to have its own Drama-\ntists who are part and parcel of the\ntheatre and not to be tempted away :\n(here Barker and Drinkwater being\nplaywrights have the advantage of the\nothers); and the theatres not to be too\n4\nnear one another.\nIn fact London might have the four,\nbut it would be better, if they were\nnot all in the one city.\nThis done, I do not doubt for a\nmoment that in five or six years our\nEnglish theatre would be considerably\nstrengthened.\nBut it will take some persuading to\nget these four men to undertake such a\ntask. They have already shown us what\nthey can do, so all we have to ask\nthem is to go on doing it and doing it\nbetter : but we must support them.\nThat we shall do no such thing I\nwill not prophesy but 1 sometimes\nwonder whether England very much\ncares what kind of Theatre it has.\n\" Whatever comes along is best\nis that the notion of the Englishman ?\nI don't know that it's far wrong.\nWere I one of the four I think I\nshould distinctly prefer not to have to\nsacrifice the rest of my life to any such\nungrateful task.\nFor, without the enthusiasm of the\nwhole Profession, what kind of joy is\nthere in agreeing to shoulder such a\nburden ? And what sort of enthusiasm\ndoes the Profession show to any of\nthese four—or to anyone else ? The\nProfession has gone to seed; it cul-\ntivates its weeds carefully : of the cul-\ntivation of anything of value it is strangely\nand unpleasantly ignorant.\nThe next time Mr. Barbour or anyone\nelse writes such a book let him search\nhis conscience and not shirk the issue.\n\nSECRETS OF A SHOWMAN by\nCharles B. Cochran. Heinemann.\n25/ net.\nEVER since this book appeared in\n1925 1 have been trying to dis-\ncover what exactly it was about.\nTo this moment I cannot say.\n1 should imagine that it is about a\nshowman could I but discover who is\nthe showman.\nCochran is but the modern equivalent\nof the genuine old article he is an\nimpresario ; to be a real showman you\nmust have a show.... and it must be\nunmistakeably your show. Cochran has\nno show of his own. So he does not\nrank with Dijaleff, Sanger and Buffalo\nBill, all of whom have had shows of\ntheir own big and prosperous shows.\nHe belongs to the more \" refained \"\ngroup of those who run other peo-\nple's shows, and from this book, it\nwould appear, has been ever ready to\ndeal in anything you like or want,\nexcept success.\nIt's hard luck on a man of affairs\nto fail, for all we look to him for is\nfinancial success.\nEveryone (I mean \" everyone who\nknows \") seems to have urged Cochran\nto do this, that and the other and"}, {"page_pdf": 66, "page_imprimee": "122", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.66", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2570, "texte": "being, I gather, a very good natured\nman, he did what he could to please\nthem all; this he seems to have done\nthe more easily owing to a natural\naptitude to do this, that and the other.\nHe could run a Bernhardt for a short\nseason and the Dolly Sisters intermi-\nnably ; Carpentier and Cowboys now\nand again with the Russian Ballet, and\nHoup-la with Duse, and Bat Caba-\nrets, and see nothing stupid in that\nsort of a programme.\nIf Cochran was clever, he was ra-\nther too frivolously clever.\nHe was only mildly ambitious ; he\nwas not entirely sure of himself; he\nlacked sufficient confidence to take a\ndifficult path. Thirty years ago when\nhe was twenty-three, he might, for\nexample, have been George Bernard\nShaw's secretary and then become his\nimpresario: he might have saved Shaw\na terrible lot of worry f Who's Who\nin Literature \" SHA W, G. 8., etc, etc.\nAgent: none; transacts his own bu-\nsiness \". did that never catch the\neye of Cochran ?\nShaw, the greatest one-man show\non earth, quite the smartest business\nman living Shaw needed an agent ;\nneeded one assistant, even as Cochran\nneeded one thing to believe in and to\nboom.\nThere was money in Shaw. Shaw,\nassisted by Cochran ; provided Cochran\nfor the sake of the final success and\nthe big bags of money could have be-\nlieved in Shaw and no one else and\ncould have taken a back seat and wor-\nked unheard and unseen ; provided\nCochran could have worn jaegers, fore-\nsworn ptarmigan, and yet retained\nhis keen business faculties (if he has\nany) ; provided all this, Cochran would\nhave been one of the very richest men\nliving today, and Shaw quite the richest.\nWhy, only last month Shaw was\nlending £i 30,000 at 5Vg Per cent\nfor housing purposes to the Easington\nRural District Council.\nWhat a pair of barges they were\nto pass each other in the night.... and\nboth of 'em so well lighted up too\nsirens advertising the existence of\neach plenty of announcements as to\nports at which each would call; all\nvery safe and snug on board,... and\nthey missed each other ! I\nAltogether a not very interesting\nbook, this; in fact not far removed\nfrom being a dull one. It is too long\nby three hundred pages, and too ex-\npensive by about fifteen shillings. But\nthere are some very charming photo-\ngraphs in the book of Mrs. Cochran,\nMile. Delesia, the Dolly Sisters and\nothers.\nA showman may fool the crowd\nall he likes; he may pretend to be\nthis, that and the other, but I think\nhe must be careful never to fool them\nabout two things: he must be,\nnot pretend to be, a genuine showman :\nand he must have a genuine show\none his own."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c045", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c045", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 59, "image_fin": 59, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.2", "titre_corps": "THE SOURCE OF A HUNDRED PLAYS", "titre_sommaire": "THE SOURCE OF A HUNDRED PLAYS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 59, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.59", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 737, "texte": "THE SOURCE OF A HUNDRED PLAYS.\nThis design is from the book of Alessandro Caravia \"Naspo Bizaro\", (Venetia, Domenico\nNicohno 1565) It consists of \" calate fantastiche che canta Naspo Bizaro da Veniesia\nCastellan, sotto i balconi de Cate Bionda Biriota, causare la bizaria del ceruelu, e 'l\nmartello del stomego The design is not a record of any play, but a record of the people,\nplace, the whole fabric from which 100 plays of the Commedia dell'Arte were drawn.\nThe busy life of the Venetian merchant, or Foreign soldier, 7uasting his money and spare hours,\ndining in some out of the way but well known trattoria in evening. Four such men\nare here music being paid for dishes preparing ; all very merry in a solemn Venetian way\nPlate 11."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c046", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c046", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 61, "image_fin": 61, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.3", "titre_corps": "THE SAME SCENE BY NIGHT", "titre_sommaire": "THE SAME SCENE BY NIGHT", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 61, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.61", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 256, "texte": "THE SAME SCENE BY NIGHT.\nHere is the same place, the same fabric, but only the musicians left; — night time ; music not\nof the paid kind. Have we here Naspo Bizaro himself \"sotto i balconi de Cate Bionda\nBiriota\"? Anyhow he can sing his own song.\nPlate 12."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c047", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c047", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "118", "page_fin": "118", "image_debut": 58, "image_fin": 58, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.4", "titre_corps": "DRAMATIC THEORY IN SPAINLIFE IS A DREAMTHE BANKSIDE STAGE-BOOK", "titre_sommaire": "DRAMATIC THEORY IN SPAINLIFE IS A DREAMTHE BANKSIDE STAGE-BOOK", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 58, "page_imprimee": "118", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.58", "debut_caractere": 15, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5650, "texte": "DRAMA TIC THEOR YIN SPAIN,\nedited by H. J. Chaytor M. A.\nLIFE IS A DREAM by Calderon,\ntranslated by Birch & Trend 2/6.\nTHE BANKSIDE STAGE-BOOK,\nH. W. IVhanslow,Wells Gardner,\nDarton & Co. 4!—.\nMR. Chaytor prints for us slices of\nSpanish, a language few of us\nknow, and so I have to turn to my\nold and trusted friend Barrett H. Clark\nbefore 1 can discover what it really is\nthat Lope de Vega is trying to say.\nIn Mr. Clark's \" European Theories\nof the Drama \" you get it in English;\nhere 'tis all Spanish. Perhaps this\nbook is wholly for students of the\nSpanish language, but would a transla-\ntion of the Spanish slices placed at the\nend of the little book have done any\nharm ? I, for one, would have been\npleased to learn what it is that Molina\nsays about the \" ignorancia \" of Dona\nSerafina in \" The Orchards of Toledo\";\n(Mr Clark helps me to the word orchards\nbut says nothing about Serafina).\nWhat a pity it is that in the process\nof becoming M.A, Mr. Chaytor lost\nsome common sense: what a pity that I,\nas representing ordinary artists outside\nall universities, in not becoming M.A\nhave not such learning as his. Cannot\nlearning and mother-wit come closer\ntogether somehow .... some day?\nThey come closer in Mr. Birch and\nMr. Trend's translation of \" Life's a\nDream \", and Mr. E. Le Bas helps a\ngood deal with his stage plan and\nhis two illustrations.\nI will not compare his work with\nthat of Mr. Terence Gray or Mr. H.\nW. Whanslaw but no doubt the three\nwill be classed together by the amateurs.\nI find Mr. Whanslaw and his book\nsuperficial, and Mr. Gray pretentious,\nthough both of them are tidy. Mr. Le\nBas seems to be at ease in a castle\nor a dungeon (the two designs in the\nplay book) and puts on no side. I think\nhe is rather too fond of platforms and\ns'eps, and I would suggest to him that\nthe use of two flights of convex steps\none behind the other is an error. If\nthe front steps are to be convex let\nthose behind them be concave. And a\nwell-shaped arch is always finer to see\nthan an ill-shaped one. I once made\na model with an arch in it and I, too,\nmade it as Mr. Le Bas does, low and\nsprawling, and only after a long journey\nto India did I discover on coming home\nto London how ugly my arch was. I\nthen broke the model, gave up scene-\nries, and Fleet Street claimed me. But\neven here in this little Wine Office\nCourt Inn, the arch is shapely, not\nsprawling. But I wish Mr. Le Bas good\nluck and lots of practice.\nAs for Calderon's masterpiece, it\nremains to this day unknown to the\nEnglish stage presumably for lack\nof a suitable translation.\nIt seems incredible, but so it is ;\nfor, if a good translation existed, Mr. J.\nB. Trend would know of its existence,\nhe being a Spanish scholar who has\nlived in Spain, has written \" A Picture\nof Modern Spain \" (1921) and trans-\nlated Spanish masterpieces and been\nSpanish correspondent to the Athe-\nnaeum \" in 1919.\nAssisted by Mr. Birch, one of the\nmost successful producers of an Amateur\nCompany of Cambridge University, he\nhas made my existence decidedly richer,\nfor I have come near the Calderon\nmasterpiece at last.\nI cannot pick faults in their work\nwhen under so great a debt to them\nfor the little glimpse they have given\nme of it; all I can do is to suggest to\nthose who will buy this play at once\nthat they race throught it at top speed.\nAs it progresses get quicker and quicker\neven to a hurried skip now and again.\nTaken slowly it might weary. I rather\nthink you'll be pulled up suddenly\nsomewhere between pages 50 and 60.\nWhen I came to the passage at which\nI stopped, and which I believe it\nimpossible to pass without twice reading,\nit was about 12.30 at night, I had\ngone to bed at a quarter-to-twelve and\nhad fancied sleepily I would read Act I.\nbefore putting out the light. I read\nthe whole getting faster and faster\nand skipping the jerky bits for there\nare a few of these.\nIt is assuredly a most wonderful play\nand 1 would give much to know\nSpanish,... and then to see it performed\nin Spain and await that magic passage\nbetwixt pages 50 and 60.\nI know no situation of such power\nin any other drama ; it sets one tingling\nall over. When I came to it I stopped\ndead and experienced something\nwhich I cannot express but which put\nme in a state of astonishing happiness\nand it was 1230 at night, I seemed\nto enter that state and place and time\nwhere there is neither sleep nor waking,\nand yet where there assuredly is happiness.\nNot often can one speak of a thing so\nvery rare. I tasted it last night as I was\nstopped between pages 50 and 60.\nTaken apart from the rest of the\nplay one would pass this passage. Placed\nwhere it is, it is a miracle and arresting ;\nit dazzles. Calderon is indeed something\nwe thought non-exisient a magician:\nall that is complicated and contradictory\nhe draws into his play: one cannot see\nhow he will possibly put it in order :\nhe does the most daring things all\nthat is impossible and all that is quite\nordinary here crowd together : and with\nan ease that is astonishing.\nI have seen Pirandello somewhere\nreferred to as not unlike Calderon.\nBut Calderon is certain, he has no\ndoubts, and he is a professional dra-\nmatist and gives us the impression of\na master working with extreme ease.\nPirandello is rather the reverse.\nThe plays by Pirandello are trans-\nlated into English within five years of\ntheir being performed, Calderon's are\nstill looking for some one with time to\nwaste for it would he money lost, me-\nthinks (if life is a d ream) for any poor\ndreamer in England to give a few\nyears to the translation of his many\nmasterpieces, for \"to win a friend\nor two \" in England against hi\nwaking is perhaps out of the question"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c048", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c048", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "118", "page_fin": "119", "image_debut": 58, "image_fin": 63, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.5", "titre_corps": "THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA. Marie-Henri Beyle", "titre_sommaire": "THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA. Marie-Henri Beyle", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 58, "page_imprimee": "118", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.58", "debut_caractere": 5652, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6559, "texte": "THE CHARTERHOUSE OF\nPARMA. Marie-Henri Beyle (de\nStendhal). 2 vols. Chatto &\nLondon 15/—. Boni & Liverighl,\nNew York• $ 5.\nTHIS translation has appeared in both\nEngland and America, and Mr. C. K.\nScott Moncrieff who is responsible for\nit is to be felicitated on what must be\nquite the best translation that is or\never will be. Only do I object to the\nrather too frequent use of the phrase\n*' hell for leather\nBut what a trifle is this compared\nwith the hundred perfections of his work.\nThe highest praise is the simple old\none —it really does not read like a\ntranslation.\nAs for the book, it ranks with all\nthe finest lying in the world; one can\nsay no more than this.... that is a novel.\nTo lie, and to lie like truth and keep\nit up to the end.\nWhat Nietzsche meant, what Taine,\nby calling the author \" the great psycho-\nlogist of the century \" and \" the last\ngreat psychologist of France \" I can-\nnot say."}, {"page_pdf": 63, "page_imprimee": "119", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.63", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2050, "texte": "I suppose they were thinking hard\nat the time of reading; or, writing too\nlong after reading Chartreuse de\nParme, they either hated the whole\nart of the novelist or had forgotten\nwhat it was they had felt they had\nhad to say.\nBy dint of thinking some more, and\nafter certain long and searching queries\ninto the looking glass, these tough old\noracles decided that he was a psychologist.\nWhat a conclusion!\nWhat if he is a psychologist?... who\ncares whether Vitruvius was a carpen-\nter ?\nThe truth is, that this Stendhal,\nthis terrible fellow, was one of those\nrare things so seldom found today even\nin Chelsea or Montparnasse; a thing\ntoo useless for words, and not a cosa\ngrata at court ; that thing which begins\nwith an A, has an s in it, and is not\nan ass, because of two ts and an r,\nand an i: but I have received orders\nfrom headquarters that the thing is not\nto be mentioned in \" The Mask \" more\noften than is absolutely necessary be-\ncause it makes the wives of a few\ninfluential if industrious linendrapers\nthat cross. And indeed it is hardly\nnecessary to say what Stendhal is, for\nit is clear to you.\nHe was that, and there is no more\nto be said about it; he was abnormally\nthat, there is no doubt.\nI wish I had ten thousand pounds\nto erect a memorial to him, and on\nits base engrave chapters of his book.\nIt would be a monument worthy of him.\nAnd I would ask our three best poets each\nto write a verse. These I would have en-\ngraved there too, by Gill, and Johnson and\nby Baccigallupo. And our best prose wri-\nters would be asked for three lines,\njust to show how often three lines of\nprose can be more perfect than even\nthree lines of the best poetry. Not\nhaving ten pence, I fear that Mr. Wells,\nMr. Shaw and Mr. Scotson Umbridge,\nwhose head popped round the corner\nof my door the moment I mentioned\nthe ten thousand pounds and the prose,\n....I fear that these great writers will\nbe out of that job.\nBut magic (if you know what 1\nmean) still rules all things; and the\nmonument is going up even without\nthe help of that inadequate ten thou,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c049", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c049", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "119", "page_fin": "119", "image_debut": 63, "image_fin": 63, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.6", "titre_corps": "LITERATURE IN THE THEATRE by W. A. Darlington", "titre_sommaire": "LITERATURE IN THE THEATRE by W. A. Darlington", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 63, "page_imprimee": "119", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.63", "debut_caractere": 2052, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5647, "texte": "* mw—wm 111 Hi II mi—l mill mi I ufii—wi ■■■■! iw n m iMWßinwnwwmiinrwinr~ iTrmirfTnii i i i«i>iiiiniiinr«w»mw\nLITERATURE IN THE THEA-\nTRE by W. A. Darlington. Chap-\nman & Hall. 12/6 net.\n■ mimmmmmssmmammmßaammmmmammmm n rnim—— ■ mi——»\nAS everybody in London knows,\nMr. Darlington is the Dramatic\ncritic of the \" Daily Telegraph and\nthis new book of his forms a compa-\nnion volume to his earlier one, \" Through\nthe Fourth Wallpublished in 1922,\nand all but one of the essays have al-\nready appeared in either the \" Fort-\nnightly Review \" or the \" Daily Te-\nlegraph \".\nHere we find chapters on the Bro-\nthers Capek, on Personality and Tem-\nperament, on Stage English, on \" What\nthe Public Wants on various books\non the theatre, and many like subjects.\nThe author is a quiet and steady\ncritic without any pretentions. The\nnimble capers which George Jean Na-\nthan cuts are not for him...: in fact\nMr. Darlington does not approve of\nMr. Nathan... and considers him out\nto \" flout and annoy \". Yet the Nathan\nmethod seems to achieve something.\nWhen dealing with a rigid pose of\nindifference, the provocative method has\nits uses.\nOne thing that strikes us in Mr.\nDarlington's new book, as it did in the\nlast, is that he appears to have prac-\ntically no interest in the important part\nof the newest movement in the Thea-\ntre. It seems as if it would be hard\nfor a man to write 207 pages, treat\nof a good many theatre books and\ntheatre problems, and never find it\nnecessary, for instance, to have a word\nabout the foremost figures in that\nmovement, ...Mr. Gordon Craig, Stani-\nslawsky, Reinhardt, even if it were only\nto oppose or disapprove these men.\nThat is where Mr. Darlington's weak\nspot is revealed. And it is very weak.\nAs the dramatic critic of one of the\nleading English dailies it is his business\nto know a little better as to what's what\nand who's who, and to say something\nto his audience on that which is vital\nand progressive in every movement in\nthe theatre.\nFor the \" Daily Telegraph \" is a\ngrand old journal, and it might seem\nto people not a little unworthy of such\na journal that its columns were not\nmore able to cope with the work of a\nman who is described as England's\ngreatest man in the Theatre \",... Gor-\ndon Craig, and this description we\ntake from the \"Daily Telegraph\" itself.\nIt's not Mr. Darlington's word ; it\nis merely the opinion of '* the greatest\nproducer of Scandinavia, Johannes\nPoulsen, acclaimed the greatest actor\nDenmark has ever produced\".\nThis also from the \" Daily Tele-\ngraph \".\nIt may interest our readers to have\nthe full statement by Mr. Poulsen in\nthe *' Daily Telegraph \" as reported\nby Mr. Hayden Talbot:\nStarting off by saying that \" in all\nGreat Britian and in all the United\nStates the theatre is in the hands of\nmerchants \", he came at last to Shaw:—\n\" Shaw is a contrast merchant.\n'' Tell him it is pouring cats and\n\" dogs—and he will prove it is a beau-\n\" tiful sunny day. He will prove it\n\" with a kind of superficial brilliance\n\"and satirical wit that passes for genius.\n\" England's greatest man in the theatre\n\" on the other hand is considered by his\n\" fellow-countrymen to be quite mad.\n\" I refer to Gordon Craig. There is\n\"an artist. But England will have\n\" none of him. But what else is to\n\"be expected of a nation which\n\" counts any kind of expression of\n\" emotion bad form \". (')\nNow Mr. Darlington might have\nhad the thought to say that;—but it\ntakes more than thinking;—it requires\ncourage, conviction, and a true love of\nthe British Stage.... and rather less fear\nof some of its servants.\n(l) The Daily Telegraph. December\n24th, 1913."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c050", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c050", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "119", "page_fin": "120", "image_debut": 63, "image_fin": 64, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.7", "titre_corps": "THE NEW SPIRIT IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE. Huntly Carter", "titre_sommaire": "THE NEW SPIRIT IN THE EUROPEAN THEATRE. Huntly Carter", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 63, "page_imprimee": "119", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.63", "debut_caractere": 5649, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6946, "texte": "THE NEW SPIRIT IN THE\nEUROPEAN THEATRE. Huntly\nCarter. Ernest Benn. 25j —.\nIF the author is to be trusted to re-\nport faithfully about this new spirit\nin the European Theatre, then this\nparticular flame is a very violent one.\nAnd, unlike a good red herring, it\ncannot claim to be more brilliant than\na rich dull black.\nThe author laughs at Stanislawsky:\nhe asserts that his group was \" useless\nfrom the start\" because presumably\n(for all we know) it couldn't be\nbrought to pander to Bolchevic propa-\nganda.\nWell, that settles the book for me;\nit decides it as utterly bad and\nfalse.\nI am not at the moment a special\nadvocate for Stanislawsky, Tchekov,\nChaliapine or any Russian. In fact I\nam anti-foreign these days. On seeing\nit announced that the ever-charming\nMadame Rubenstein had passed the\nfrontier and was performing at La\nScala in Milan, I marvelled.\nWhen I read in our very patriotic\njournal the \" Daily Mail\" of the won-\nders of the new Russian Restaurant at\nNice, I took another glass of red wine\nand said nothing : but on seeing the\nartistic Mr. Carter busy with his boom-\ning of Russian goods and hearing\nh m chattering about the new spirit in\nRussia I thought of some of the sly\ndigs at our English stupidity I had\nheard when I lived in Russia. The\nsly Russian bear would know how to"}, {"page_pdf": 64, "page_imprimee": "120", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.64", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2427, "texte": "do this and that, said these excellent\npeasants dressed up as Russian middle-\nclass gentlemen.\nNo one who wishes to see Europe\ncome to its senses will want to read\nthis book, for it is crazy about Bol-\nchevism and Russia; the author finds\ncommonplace and hideous things \" beau-\ntiful \" and lakes himself even more\nseriously than usual. He began his\ncareer well in going to see the Euro-\npean Theatre fifteen years ago, but he\nhas not stopped to study any of the\nthings he has seen. He has no feel-\ning and no wit. I won't say he went\nto look at it all in the poke-the-nose-\ninto-it way of Paul Pry, but since he\nbegan his studies he has not advanced\nat all. He lacks self-discipline.\nHe is old-fashioned ; he belongs to\nthat order of mind which has a paltry\nlittle fixed idea (and that a dark one)\nand hunts this all the year round, like\na cat running round after its tail. It\ncan't be good for the health.\nHe also reveals a certain wild con-\nceit, for he seems to say on every page,\n* / alone know what is good in The-\natre and I alone can tell you what\nhas to be done\".\nNow he is an able journalist, this\nman, but he is that and nothing else.\nHe has an unerring instinct in no-\nsing out what is rotten in Russia.\nThis he reveals to us in his book as\nthough it were excellent, and keeps on\nspeaking of the Labour party.\nHe is full of reading and the phrases\nof the day, but he is ignorant, this\nMr. Carter: let me add that it is the\nvery last thing he suspects himself of\nbeing.\nI am surprised that he was able to\nfind a publisher willing to spread the\nBolchevic damnations, for they are not\nmere stupidities.\nTill recently I always credited a\ncertain Moscow Theatre with having\nrepresented Mr. Chesterton's play about\n\" Thursday\" honestly. I now learn\nthat they have distorted it and made\nit serve the propagandists\nA theatre which takes a side, which\nsells itself to any kind of propaganda\nwhatever, is a contemptable theatre.\nHold what opinions you like, but\nhold them in when you turn to your\nworkmen's tools, which should -never\nbe the slaves but always the servants :\nhow ? by obeying the old laws,\nnot of time, wages, and so forth, but\nthe laws of the good craftsman who\ntakes his orders from one man only,\nthe artist.\nAnd if today the artist is not ho-\nnoured by the state, while the theatre\nmanager (seldom an artist) is honou-\nred what of that ? It is a grave\npity but what of that ? Patience!\nand shuffle the cards."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c051", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c051", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "120", "page_fin": "120", "image_debut": 64, "image_fin": 64, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.8", "titre_corps": "DOSTOEVSKY by Andre Gide", "titre_sommaire": "DOSTOEVSKY by Andre Gide", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 64, "page_imprimee": "120", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.64", "debut_caractere": 2429, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6270, "texte": "DOSTOEVSKY by Andre Gide;\n( Translated from the French).\nDent & Sons. 6/ net.\nMSAMSSAMMMMMMMTMMMBMTMMMMMMMMSSAMMMMMMSAMTAMAAMMMMMMTKM 'I I> N N 1110 ■IMW N N HIM\nI cannot find in the history of man\nany proof that, when the artist is\nstill in the stage of conflict and strug-\ngling with problems, he produces works\nof art which are of value. .. for, beset\nwith doubts and fears, his vision can-\nnot act: when deceived by prejudice\nhe finds all things grey and out of\njoint and the situation is even worse:\nonly when he is firmly persuaded may\nhe be said to understand.\nMany have admired the writhings of\nLaocoon many still do : if you are\none I put it to you that you do not\nlike them daily.... that twelve hours\nof unrelieved Laocoon is not what you\nlike.\nAnd what I read of in this book\nby the fine French critic Gide is ra-\nther too much like unveiling a new\nLaocoon, this time alive and wriggling.\nM. Gide writes here as he writes\nalways, easily to all appearances....\nand that is the marvel. To remain\ncalm before this Laocoon, this tied\ndown but struggling mass called Do-\nstoevsky, who is ever despairing, ever\ncrying out \"Yes - life is difficult \"\nis a remarkable feat.\nThe Russian \" gravely \" saying that\nlife is difficult is just what I always\nfeel the Russian should try to stop\nsaying. Compare the Italian's eternal\n\" Pazienza \" and his electricity and his\nmuscle.\nBut do you live in five months\nsnow or rain and seven months bad wea-\nther as the Russian describes his climate ?\nIf you do, then you have probably\nfound the days short, the nights long,\nand at night you have read Poushkin\nperhaps. Poushkin we like, do we\nnot, because he doesn't say \" Yes, Life\nis hard \" : he positively remembers who\nhe is. A Russian, and Pouskin at that.\n\" I have a story \" Dostoevsky writes\nto Shakhov, \" not a very long one.\nI had already thought of writing it\nthree or four years ago, the year my\nbrother died....\"\nNow what does it matter whether\nhe had thought three, four, or even\nfive years of writing the story, or\nwhether it did happen to be the year\nhis brother died or six months later ?\nIt seems that we have come to read\ninto all these Russian details a lot of\nsignificant somethings which they real-\nly do not possess. They remind me\nof those sphinx-like glances of modern\nyoung ladies, soaked in sentimental\njazz, which mean absolutely nothing.\nWhen Dostoevsky delivers the goods\nthey are doubtless extraordinary, but\nthey are so gloomy, so eternally griz-\nzling, sighing, moaning, being sorry for\nself and others; murder - bedsides -\nidiots - Christ - rebirth - disgrace -\nfloods of tears - psychology - tears -\nsofas - sledges - snow and very bur-\nning feet.,., torment over writing, over\nthinking, over sights by day, by night,\n- Tolstoi - tea - torment - debts -\nChrist - misery\nI don't want so much of Russia or\nRussians. I hear that it's only Rus-\nsians who can write plays, act them,\nsing, dance and decorate restaurants\nand mean something all the time. I\ndelight in what is excellent in the\nwork of Russians, but all that glitters\nis not gold, and we must not go on\nraving as we do about Tchekov, Tur-\ngenieff, Russian Ballet, Piskkoff, Pookoff,\nTairoff, and the Russian restaurants\nin Paris and Nice as though we were\nwithout any ability to achieve for\nourselves in the rest of Europe and\nsome day in New York.\nYet why say some day ? Only yes-\nterday New York had it in her po-\nwer to have created the best Ballet of\nthe century for she had the creator of\nit and didn't know how to treat the\nsituation.\nEngland, France, too. They pos-\nsess creative artists and stubbornly re-\nfuse to take the trouble to learn how\nto use them.\nWell, if they wake up one day to\nfind the lands overrun with a Russian\nweed they will not blame anyone but\nthemselves will they ?\nBut couldn't they wake up and make\ngood about their own artists ?"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c052", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c052", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "120", "page_fin": "121", "image_debut": 64, "image_fin": 65, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.9", "titre_corps": "THE THEATRE, AN ART AND AN INDUSTRY by H.R. Barbour", "titre_sommaire": "THE THEATRE, AN ART AND AN INDUSTRY by H.R. Barbour", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 64, "page_imprimee": "120", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.64", "debut_caractere": 6272, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6921, "texte": "THE THEATRE, AN ART AND\nAN INDUSTRY, by H. R. -\nhour. The Labour Publishing Co. 2)6.\nTWO introductory notes, the first by\nMiss Sybil Thorndike, the second\nby Charles B. Cochan, tell me that Mr.\nBarbour is \" a practised writer who\nknows the theatre by personal experience\nfrom the various angles of actor, dra-\nmatist and critic and that the Actors\nAssociation selected Mr. Barbour as\ntheir oracle.\nSo not knowing Mr. Barbour's work\nI looked him up in \" Who's Who \"\n(1926) also in \" Who's Who in the\nTheatre \" (Fifth Edition) ; and lastly\n\"Who's Who in Literature\" (1926) and\nfound no mention of him or his work.\nBut while that puts me at a disadvan-"}, {"page_pdf": 65, "page_imprimee": "121", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.65", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6112, "texte": "tage it does not prevent me from seeing\nthat he is an able man, and an honest one.\nHe sincerely endeavours to discover\nwhat is wrong with the English Thea-\ntre so as to help towards getting things\nmore shipshape. \"Le roi est mort; ou\nest le roi ? \" are rather queer words\nfor this rather Socialistic student to use\nbut they are merely put in for the\nsake of Theatrical effect, and he soon\nforgets them, and wanders away from\nthe question.\nHe doesn't seem to think very much\nof Mr. Bourchier or Sir Gerald du\nMaurier, Sir Frank Benson, J. L. Sachs\nor M. Darewski.\nMiss Thorndike and Mr. Casson seem\nto him to \" havd the courage of their\nart \" and \" Mr. Playfair, too, has cou-\nrage \". He does not seem to be quite\nsure of our old chief Henry Irving; he\ndoes not seem to know precisely what\nit was Irving stood for. He likes Com-\nrade Lugg and would like to see the\nActors' Association and the Stage Guild\nunited. For all I know they may by\nthis time be united....l don't believe it\nmatters very much if they are or not,\nMr. Barbour will probably study the\nTheatre from a fresh angle some day ;\nhe will write a better book if he does,\nbut meantime 1 have only one fault\nto find with Mr. Barbour, and that is\nthat he doesn't answer the question he\nputs himself, \" Ou est le roi?\"\nKings of the stage I have always felt\nwere a bit of a joke. Elliston was\nthe stage king for a time. Let us pass on.\nLet us substitute for king the word\nspirit. The spirit of the stage is a bit\ndead but long live the spirit.\nMr. Barbour, in an article in \" The\nNew Age \" (November 6th 1924)\n(about the time the book I am reviewing\nappeared) wrote of two men as fol-\nlows :\n\" In our own age and country two\n*' men have arisen who in similar yet\n\" dissimilar ways have contributed a\n\" most significant quota to the great\n\" world-theatre. Gordon Craig, the su-\n\" preme exponent of the new dramaturgy,\n\" a more or less voluntary exile from\n\" the country which, if it has not rejected\n\" him, has, at least, not allowed him to\n\" extract many plums from the Thea-\ntrical pie, prosecutes his researches\n\" into the more abstract and tenuous\n\" aspects of theatrecraft. He has added\n\" many a cubit to the stature of thea-\n\" trical exellence and the repercussions\n\"of his theory and practice on the\n\" theatres of the world are abundantly\n\" and universally visible. He who runs\n\" may read the lesson that Gordon\n\"Craig has taught the regisseurs of con-\n\" tinental and American playhouses \".\n\" Another contributor of no mean\n\" order is William Poel, whose work\n\" is no less important for all that it h\n\" less immediately evident, less definable\n\" in terms of literature and design, less\n\" spectacular. To William Poel's re-\n\" construction of the principles of Eli-\n'• zabethan stagecraft, to his methods of\n\" presentation, and to his practice of\n\" enunciation the English theatre is\n\" under a great obligation. Like Craig,\n\" Poel is possessed by the demon of\n•• experiment, relentless in his self-dis-\n\" covered academism, determined on\n\" the prevalence of his researches and\n\" theories \"•\nNow here is the answer to his cry,\n\" Le Roi est mort oil est le Roi \".\nChange the title Roi to spirit, and the\nreply is, Poel, Barker, Drinkwater, and\nCraig, for in these four men resides\nmore of the spirit of the Theatre at its\nbest than in the rest,\nAnd I am surprised that Mr. Bar-\nbour did not arrive at this obvious\nconclusion. Possibly he looked for one\nman....for he spoke of King. But what\ncan one man do with a stage in the\npredicament our English stage is in\ntoday? What can a single Theatre do?\nBut (and this is a graver question) what\ncan our English performers do today\nand tomorrow if there are no standards\nfixed, no one flag flying from four or\nfive theatres round which to rally. You\ncan't rally round a box office.\nHad I been Mr. Barbour I would\nassuredly have told my readers that\nthe solution to many of the difficulties\nof our English Stage is to establish\nfour theatres, to place Poel, Barker,\nDrinkwater and Craig at the head of\none theatre each; to support these four\ntheatres with sufficient funds (England\nis quite wealthy enough for that, and\nit is a canard, this put-up cry of\nPoor England), the support to be\nlasting even as the talent of these\nmen lasts and does not give out. (A\nlittle confidence for such confidence if\nyou please); for these four theatres to\ncall to them all the best performers,\nnot for a living wage but for something\nbetter, ....good terms, good work, good\nparts to play; ensemble to be the watch-\nword. Competition between the four\nif you will, but fair play all round.\nEach theatre to have its own Drama-\ntists who are part and parcel of the\ntheatre and not to be tempted away :\n(here Barker and Drinkwater being\nplaywrights have the advantage of the\nothers); and the theatres not to be too\n4\nnear one another.\nIn fact London might have the four,\nbut it would be better, if they were\nnot all in the one city.\nThis done, I do not doubt for a\nmoment that in five or six years our\nEnglish theatre would be considerably\nstrengthened.\nBut it will take some persuading to\nget these four men to undertake such a\ntask. They have already shown us what\nthey can do, so all we have to ask\nthem is to go on doing it and doing it\nbetter : but we must support them.\nThat we shall do no such thing I\nwill not prophesy but 1 sometimes\nwonder whether England very much\ncares what kind of Theatre it has.\n\" Whatever comes along is best\nis that the notion of the Englishman ?\nI don't know that it's far wrong.\nWere I one of the four I think I\nshould distinctly prefer not to have to\nsacrifice the rest of my life to any such\nungrateful task.\nFor, without the enthusiasm of the\nwhole Profession, what kind of joy is\nthere in agreeing to shoulder such a\nburden ? And what sort of enthusiasm\ndoes the Profession show to any of\nthese four—or to anyone else ? The\nProfession has gone to seed; it cul-\ntivates its weeds carefully : of the cul-\ntivation of anything of value it is strangely\nand unpleasantly ignorant.\nThe next time Mr. Barbour or anyone\nelse writes such a book let him search\nhis conscience and not shirk the issue."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c053", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c053", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "121", "page_fin": "122", "image_debut": 65, "image_fin": 66, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.20.10", "titre_corps": "SECRETS OF A SHOWMAN by Charles B. Cochran", "titre_sommaire": "SECRETS OF A SHOWMAN by Charles B. Cochran", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 65, "page_imprimee": "121", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.65", "debut_caractere": 6114, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7110, "texte": "SECRETS OF A SHOWMAN by\nCharles B. Cochran. Heinemann.\n25/ net.\nEVER since this book appeared in\n1925 1 have been trying to dis-\ncover what exactly it was about.\nTo this moment I cannot say.\n1 should imagine that it is about a\nshowman could I but discover who is\nthe showman.\nCochran is but the modern equivalent\nof the genuine old article he is an\nimpresario ; to be a real showman you\nmust have a show.... and it must be\nunmistakeably your show. Cochran has\nno show of his own. So he does not\nrank with Dijaleff, Sanger and Buffalo\nBill, all of whom have had shows of\ntheir own big and prosperous shows.\nHe belongs to the more \" refained \"\ngroup of those who run other peo-\nple's shows, and from this book, it\nwould appear, has been ever ready to\ndeal in anything you like or want,\nexcept success.\nIt's hard luck on a man of affairs\nto fail, for all we look to him for is\nfinancial success.\nEveryone (I mean \" everyone who\nknows \") seems to have urged Cochran\nto do this, that and the other and"}, {"page_pdf": 66, "page_imprimee": "122", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.66", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2570, "texte": "being, I gather, a very good natured\nman, he did what he could to please\nthem all; this he seems to have done\nthe more easily owing to a natural\naptitude to do this, that and the other.\nHe could run a Bernhardt for a short\nseason and the Dolly Sisters intermi-\nnably ; Carpentier and Cowboys now\nand again with the Russian Ballet, and\nHoup-la with Duse, and Bat Caba-\nrets, and see nothing stupid in that\nsort of a programme.\nIf Cochran was clever, he was ra-\nther too frivolously clever.\nHe was only mildly ambitious ; he\nwas not entirely sure of himself; he\nlacked sufficient confidence to take a\ndifficult path. Thirty years ago when\nhe was twenty-three, he might, for\nexample, have been George Bernard\nShaw's secretary and then become his\nimpresario: he might have saved Shaw\na terrible lot of worry f Who's Who\nin Literature \" SHA W, G. 8., etc, etc.\nAgent: none; transacts his own bu-\nsiness \". did that never catch the\neye of Cochran ?\nShaw, the greatest one-man show\non earth, quite the smartest business\nman living Shaw needed an agent ;\nneeded one assistant, even as Cochran\nneeded one thing to believe in and to\nboom.\nThere was money in Shaw. Shaw,\nassisted by Cochran ; provided Cochran\nfor the sake of the final success and\nthe big bags of money could have be-\nlieved in Shaw and no one else and\ncould have taken a back seat and wor-\nked unheard and unseen ; provided\nCochran could have worn jaegers, fore-\nsworn ptarmigan, and yet retained\nhis keen business faculties (if he has\nany) ; provided all this, Cochran would\nhave been one of the very richest men\nliving today, and Shaw quite the richest.\nWhy, only last month Shaw was\nlending £i 30,000 at 5Vg Per cent\nfor housing purposes to the Easington\nRural District Council.\nWhat a pair of barges they were\nto pass each other in the night.... and\nboth of 'em so well lighted up too\nsirens advertising the existence of\neach plenty of announcements as to\nports at which each would call; all\nvery safe and snug on board,... and\nthey missed each other ! I\nAltogether a not very interesting\nbook, this; in fact not far removed\nfrom being a dull one. It is too long\nby three hundred pages, and too ex-\npensive by about fifteen shillings. But\nthere are some very charming photo-\ngraphs in the book of Mrs. Cochran,\nMile. Delesia, the Dolly Sisters and\nothers.\nA showman may fool the crowd\nall he likes; he may pretend to be\nthis, that and the other, but I think\nhe must be careful never to fool them\nabout two things: he must be,\nnot pretend to be, a genuine showman :\nand he must have a genuine show\none his own."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c054", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c054", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "122", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 66, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.21", "titre_corps": "MODERN PLAYS", "titre_sommaire": "MODERN PLAYS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 66, "page_imprimee": "122", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.66", "debut_caractere": 2572, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6839, "texte": "MODERN PLAYS.\n\nTHE BRITISH DRAMA\nLEAGUE LIBRARY. 3/ - net\neach volume. Vol. 9, 10, 11, 12.\nTHE DILEMMA by J. Barry, Four\nSeas Co. (No price given).\n\nFORTUNATELY the modern play-\nwriters are the most unselfish of\nmortals.\nThe advance made since the time\nof Congreve and Wycherly, of Beolco\nand Ariosto is most marked. In those\nfar off unenlightened days, only too\nmany playwrights were heard repeating\nthat old catch-phrase \" The play's the\nthing \", meaning thereby, the per cen-\ntage. But not now. In those days\nevery playwright had debts not now.\nDebts natu'ally arouse a playwright to\naction. The vast sums amassed by\nAriosto and Beolco, Wycherly, Chap-\nman and the others prove how much\nattention they paid to per centages.\nNowadays this selfishness (which very\nlikely was the reason for the wretched\nwork done in those days) has given\nplace to a grander thought.\nNo longer does the play-writer think\nof himself; he thinks of you and\nme. While it is in his interest to\ndraw me out of my house and into\nthe theatres so that I can be one of the\nthree thousand witnessing his play, he\nis not going to avail himself of any\nsuch privilege. So year by year he\nhas been making it easier and easier\nfor me to get his plays into my house.\nI can now count on the play co-\nming to me any evening at 8.30 punc-\ntually, after I have dined: and I\ncan select my own play and get the\nbest seat in the house, and all for\n3/6 or half a crown. I may smoke\nmy cigar or clay pipe, I may sip my\ncoffee, and I can draw up to the fire\nand make all cosy and read. Why\ngo [to the playhouse any more ? It\nis an uncomfortable place, draughty\nand so public. Once there I have to\nstay till the end even if the play\nbores me. But here in my room lam\nno longer obliged to follow every play\nright through. If on opening page 10\nor 15 1 find it silly stuff, 1 have one\nmore gift for the Hospitals at Christmas.\nOr after I have read my play I can\nlook at its pretty paper cover and\nplace this new gem of industry in my\nbookshelf.\nMr Blackwell's selection of plays\nhave specially twinkling outsides. Messrs\nBenn's are also bonny to look at, but\ndo not go well with English oak, and\ncedar from Lebanon is not easy to get.\nSo much for my own impression\nas to the reason for publishing modern\nplays before they have been seen on\na stage.\nBut I am told that the true reason is\nquite another one. Some say they are\npublished because they can't get them\nacted —or prefer not to have them\nacted or to entice managers.\nThe plays by Graves, Boyd, Peach,\nPeacey and the rest are new, but they\nare a little wearisome.\nThe authors of them are doubtless\nclever men and women, and some of\nthem, may be, will write a good play\nsome day. These play writers all seem\nto me to travel the same paths, dres-\nsed in the same rig-out, looking at\nthe same things, and remembering the\ndelightful things which were said about\nthese sights in their guide-books. These\nplay-writers seem to have studied at\nAcademies or Art Schools and have\ncaught the trick of writing a play.\nTo acquire that, no real talent is\nnecessary. These play-writers are too\nclever at the learnt trick for any en-\ncouragement to be of service. Encou-\nragement is only good for the tho-\nrough bungler who makes it clear that\nhe really did want to say something\nhe had seen clearly or felt acutely.\nAnd as there may be one such bun-\ngler coming along I would suggest that\nhe peruse the old French comedies of\nthe middle ages: Lde Cal-\nhain ; Le Farce de Maitre Mimin ;\nL'Obstination des Femmes and Maitre\nPathelin for example. (0 And Ta-\nbarin t00.... stop a while.... perhaps a\nmonth or so and absorb something of\nTabarin: give a whole quarter to\nAdajn de la Halle, and the rest of\nthe year to Pierre Blanchet. Get to\nknow them well, forget all about your-\nself and your contemporaries.... Shaw,\nPinero and Jones. They know if they\nare doing what they think best but\nthat is not at all what you should do.\nFirst get clear what it is you have\nnot to write about and do me the\nkindness to listen for a moment. Don t\n\n(i) I wrote of \" Pathelin \" in \" The\nMask \" for 1924 in \" Plays Old and New \"\nand am glad to see that Mr. Masefield\nhas recently translated the play.... and\nbetter still had it performed in his thea-\ntre near Oxford and with great success-"}, {"page_pdf": 67, "page_imprimee": "123", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.67", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6913, "texte": "write about two things, two ideas,\ntwo thoughts. Write of one only.\nDon't write in two acts, write in\none ... short or long, stick to one.\nTake a real subject; avoid the myste-\nrious things of heaven and hell ; writs\nabout the earth only. Make no at-\ntempt to work out a complicated si-\ntuation ; confine yourself to three cha-\nracters ; do not change your scene ;\nput no problem to yourself, and make\nno attempt to try to solve a problem....\nbut only try to make a play. Take\nany story and write round that, only\nlet the story be one which can be\ntold in forty or fifty lines.\nThey knew how to do this in the\nyear 1250, in 1450; and by the time\nMoli&re's turn came it was easy as\nlying.\nLeave Shaw and Pinero struggling\nwith what they take to be the truth ;\nno one will contradict them. Lie a\nlittle ; someone may come to agree\nwith you.\nAnd when I say, lie a little, I\nmean write around something which\n\" hardly seems true \"as they say. It's\nas true as everything else, but as it\nseems not possibly true it is thought\nto be a bit of a lie.\nFor example, A the poet thinks B\nhis wife married him out of sheer love\nand admiration for his good looks.\nIt seems hardly true that he has just\nheard her say to a young man that\nshe hates his ugly face. The ugly face.\nThat cannot be true to A. Do you\nfollow me ? Well, lie a little about\nthis face. Never mind who laughs;\nstick to it that the face is all we\n(you and I and A) were sure it was.\nI should not go away from this face\nif I were you. There are three or\nfour dramas in it. And remember,\nwhen you get tired of the thing, ask\nyourself once more, what about that\nface ? ; because it's a hundred to one\nyou 've forgotten to explain all about\nit. That's due to your lessons in the\nAcademies and Art Schools where\nthey have taught you to bring on\nthirty faces with forty complicated si-\ntuations with fifty problems to solve\neach with a beginning and a middle\nand an end.\nThat is being all too clever\navoid it.\nHaving fixed what you will write\nabout go around your garden or up\nand down the London streets playing\nwith words which are nearly all alike\nin sound. Just to get ready. Then\ngo indoors and write like the devil.\nWhat I tell you to do is what those\nmen of the old days did.... their public\nwould stand neither foolery nor pretence.\nListen to Pathelin.\nPalhehn. Dieu y soit! (1) (il entre)\nGuillaume. (drappierj Et Dieu vous doint\njoye !\nPathelin, Or ainsi m> aist Dieu, que\ny avoye\nDe vous veoir grant voulentel\nComment se porte la sante ?\nEstes-vous sain et dru (2),\nGuillaume ?\nLe Drappier Guy, par Dieu !\nPathelin Ca, ceste paulme\ncomment vous va ?\nThat's the way to set about your\nwork, and this is the kind of play to\nread with care and continually. This\nwill help you to drive out of your\nsystem that facile empty jingle of the\nmodern play writers which seems to\nact like a poison.\nYour plays are bad, not because\nyou are stupid, only because you at-\ntempt to be far too clever, and to do\nintricate things on an empty stomach.\nBrainy and wretched aim and result.\nFill up your paunch away with\nthose false problems ; forget all about\nthem and all you think you perceive;\naccept what has been seen and known\nfor centuries. Do not try to be ori\nginal... for it is an impossibility : do\nnot fatigue your brains thinking out\nsome new character. Take an old one\nthat is already clearly drawn for you\nby one of the masters. On that make\nyour little improvisation.\nYou are not obliged to think it all\nout by yourself... and if you try to, you\ncan but get into a most complicated\nmuddle and that will end in your crea-\nting a play like Pirandello or Shaw\nor the other thinkers create.\nRun from that.\nHere is \" Pathelin \" and the French\nfarces. Put them in your pocket :\noff you go ;... avoid everyone ; don't\nlisten to their twaddle ; keep by your-\nself ; create. And believe me to\nbe, yours sincerely.\n\nHENRY GAY CALVIN.\n\nLONDON'S LOST THE A TRES by\nErroll Sherson. John Lane. / 8/— net.\nTHE worst of architecture is that it is\ntoo fascinating, attracts too much\nattention unless it is quite perfect. A\nplace of worship in the hands of a\ngood (but not a great) architect often\nbecomes, for those susceptible to the\nasides of the Muses, as dangerous as\nthe golden casket proved to the Prince\nof Morocco. One comes to worship,\nand, talking too long to oneself about\nthe beauties of the material and workman-\n(1) For mule de salut, pour : Dieu so it\navec vous !\n(2) Formule en usage pour s' infor-\nmer de la sante de quelqu 'un.\nship, one discovers that one's time and\nthe game is up ...•and the lights being\nput out. One has forgotten to pray.\nLet but a merchant cause a vast shop\nto be built for him by a c lebrated\narchitect, and no one with any sensi-\nbility will buy even a reel of cotton,\nAs we Europeans are today no\nlonger susceptible to the whispers of the\nMuses, nor in any way sensible to fine\ncraftsmanship, all is well us. Our\nchurches serve admirably for thinking\nover exactly what shade of cotton it\nis we want, and on Monday we go to\nbuy it religiously no matter how attrac-\ntive the Emporium.\nWhen it comes to theatres, things\nare as safe for us. Our theatres are de-\nsigned and built to match our theatrical\ntaste..., which is mainly a sentimental\nthing and not over-burdened as it might\nbe with judgement, either rapid or cool.\nOur theatres are built so as to be as\ncomfortable as a railway carriage, as\nflashy as a beer saloon, and as useless as\nhouse-boat.\nBut for all its apparent harmlessness\nit can terribly affect those of us who\nare at all subject to echoes, for often\nan echo of a voice from Bordeaux or\nParma, from Venice or Bayreuth will\ncurl in and out of the overhanging\ncircles and we shall be lost in a dream,\nremembering some old talk of palchl\nor parterre, shall be, I mean.\nAnd in the past two centuries there\nhas been a great deal talked about\nboth and in both, and today the mere\necho of the voices clinging to the velvet\nand the chandelier is enough to make\nus ....I mean me.... forget the play\nand the actors.\nAnd this haunting familiar of the\narchitects, this muse, even follows me\nas I peep into books. It decoys me\nfrom Betterton and Irving, even from\nMetastasio and Farinelli: I find I am\nthinking of Wren and of Fontana and\nof Gabriel the architects.\nI was when I opened Mr; Sherson's\nvery charming book; 1 was thinking\nof my old friend the architect Selva,\nof Venice, who visited Astley's Circus\nin 1780, twelve years before he came\nto build La Fenice in Venice. Giovanni\nAntonio Selva was born in Venice in\n1753, and in 1780 on arriving in\nLondon, Astley having just opened his\nnew circus, Selva dotted down a number\nof observations - whether printed or no\nI cannot say - I have never coma across\nany such book. So that the manuscript,\nwhich I possess, and which was co-\npied by the hand of his apprentice\nBeccani about 1833 is perhaps from\na note book by Selva. Therein is a\nrough plan of Astley's in pen and ink."}, {"page_pdf": 68, "page_imprimee": "124", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.68", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7126, "texte": "I was thinking of this sketch of\nAstley's, I was wondering if I was to\nsee the original reproduced in this\ncharming book by Mr Erroll Sherson ;\nI was wondering, too, where that sketch\ncould be for my copy is only by\nhis pupil. And 1 was also thinking of\nMr. John Potter, Mr. Wyatt (1746-\n1813), Mr. Beazley (1786-1851),\nMr. Rosoman, and old Pasquali, those\ncarpenters, builders or architects who\nthrew up the London theatres of the\nlate 18th century or early in the 19th.\n1 will confess it was of these enchan-\nting architects of London that I was\nhankering to read, and of the way\nthey built their theatres. Knowing that\nold Beazley had also written some hun-\ndred dramas, besides building our old\nLyceum Theatre in 1816, I was very\nkeen to get at something about Beazley.\nWhat were his aims, I wondered:\nwhat was the particular method em-\nployed by Beazley when building a\nplayhouse. I despaired of learning much\nabout Potter or Pasquali; of Rosoman\n1 felt all was possible; of Wyatt that\nall was certain.\nThen imagine how dashed I was,\nnot to find their names even mentioned\nin the admirable index of this delightful\nh00k,... let alone in the text.\nThere were some fifty or sixty (may\nbe more) theatres built in London in\nthe 19th century; and I did hope to\nfind that the men who built them would\nbe given first place in this book. But\nas usual the actors push them out of\nthe way. For it is what go:s on in a\nchurch, a shop, a theatre that matters, not\nthe shop, church, stage, as I have said.\nWhat I would insist on is that no-\nthing else matters, IF you are a true\nbargainer, devotee or theatre goer. If,\nlike me, you are easily attracted, lured\naway, cajoled by the more entertaining\ntricks of the architects, craftsmen,\nvestments, incense, the music or the\nceremony, well, you have to pay for it.\nBut I am glad to see that Mr.\nSherson, the author of this book, has\nalso been a little bit lured. For, while\nhe writes of the lost theatres, he likes\nto put in a word or two about the\nactors, the plays, and even the scene-\nries and lighting effects and of all\nthese he writes with a certain affection\nso that one is not bored, and one is\neven pleassed.\nOf Lady Archie Campbell I would\nhave liked to have read something\nfor Mr. Sherson drifts into the world\nof Amateur Theatricals, Of the Greek\nPlay at Hengler's Circus a word might\nhave been said: of Terry's Theatre\nthere is not enough. I looked out for\nthese, because I am always looking out\nfor things which strike the great writers\nof the age as worthy to record but\nwhich lesser men seem even unable to\nlook up in the British Museum,\nBut then a dozen other things are\ntold us which, wanting this book, we\nhad never heard of. To the Alexandra\nTheatre, Highbury Barn, is given more\nthan two pages, whereas Mr. Baker\n(1904) in his book on London Thea-\ntres only gave it four and a half lines.\nThere are thirty-nine excellent illu-\nstrations in this volume and few of them\nhave been seen before by the Public.\nWe also get some very entertaining\nanecdotes about Fechter* and Ada Isaacs\nMenken, which do try to make up for\nthe absence of the architectural facts\nsome of us wish to learn more about.\nBut should a book on theatres be only\nhalf a book so as to make room for\nactors ? — that's the point. I confess i\nwant it free of everything but facts\nabout the places.... for after all I can\nget the other things in the Biographies,\n\nTHE JEW IN DRAMA, by M. J.\nLanda. King. /2/6 ne/,\nDISRAELI .... He was a Hebrew.\nHe would sit at his table toying\nwith his many golden - chains, flicking\nthe dust of Piccadilly off his red da-\nmask waistcoat, that dust which floa-\nted in so mildly at the window as he\nsat writing, and he would say kind\nthings of the west-enders. But when\nhe passed beyond thoughts of these\nand disappeared in the dust of Syria,\nwe could still hear his voice singing of\nIsrael, and it is that we stopped and\nstill stop to listen to.\nAnd coming back again we would\nfind him, say, in St. James's, and with\nhim a certain Sidonia: — everyone\nasks who is he ? — Is he a foreign\npotentate — is he a prince ? — :\nu Something like them \" — said little\nBenjamin — \" one of our travellers.\nYes, our Mr. Sidonia \". The very\nleast was noble.\nSo that to be put off with old clo'\nmen, whether in Parliament or in the\nTheatre, by these later times, is to be\ndone once more.\nI object a little to that. And I\ncannot for a moment tolerate the no-\ntion which Mr. Landa suggests in his\nably made book, that we are all to\nstand delighted before the comic parody\nof Abraham, David and Jesus Christ;\nSuppose that a descent from the su-\nblime be inevitable, we need not fall\nplumb down from Mount Horeb into\nthose plains where Mr. Zangwill roams\ngathering up the bits. In fact, the\ndescent is not precipitous at all.,., and\nwe can slowly descend these gradua\nsiopes meeting hundreds of great men\nof whom Sidonia, one of the least of\nthem, was so very proud.\nMr. Landa thinks that the Jew has\nbeen badly treated by the stage ; but\nno worse than the valet, that heroic\nfigure with his heroic faults; he who\nis nearly always made out to be a\nrogue. It was not the nature of the\nvalet that the dramatist found so use-\nful : it was his situation. There he\nwas, always ready to help his master ;\nhow ? by acting like his honou-\nrable peer ?... heaven forbid ; that\nwould get nowhere, and the world\nwould be bored. But when made to\nact like a rascal, to cheat, to blunder,\nto save the situation, then, putting on\na cloak which fell from some airy\nchariot, he became transformed, bril-\nliant, impossible, victorious, and with\none tap on the ground up sprang the\nmaterial proofs of a spiritual world,\nand that was all right.\nShall the Jew appear before a Chri-\nstian world plastered with Christian\nvirtues ? Shall he so parade Jewish\nvirtues that the very hero of the play\nbecomes the villain ? This appalling\nnotion, thank heaven, was resisted by\nour sensible dramatists who prepared to\nmake something out of the situation in\nwhich they found the Jew that comic,\ntragic moment of lending on interest.\nAnd it is comic and it is tragic.\nHere is a subtle person acting like\na ridiculous Christian would act should\nhe ever or hardly ever allow\navarice to get the better of him.\nBut the Jew cannot let well alone :\nhe can not resist the humour of the\nsituation,.... this masquerade of his:\nhe makes fun of himself in this role\nand we fail to twig it.\nDoes Moli&re draw a Jew in his\n44 L'Avare \" ?... No, he shows us a\nnoble Christian.\nMr. Lancia hasn't a leg to stand\non. Fancy demanding justice for the\nJew : as well demand it for the\nMahometan or the American ; yet Mr.\nLanda demands justice. Justice !\nWhat a lot of nonsense.\nAdmiration and appreciation for the\nJew, when he soars among the immense\nfigures of his race : but when he talks\nabout 44 pounds of flesh \" and forgets\neven to send one a Christmas card,\nlet alone a ten shilling tip for the maid,\nthen, since he is parodying our wes-\n• tern world, let us laugh and bait him,\n. and hey for a bit of a rag.\n> It's not the Jew one rags; it s the\n» funny fact that he has managed to\ni forget to give.\n! One of my very best friends is a"}, {"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2330, "texte": "Jew : a man of perfect education, of\ngreat talent, attractive, and one of my\nparticular admirations.\nOnce we lingered talking by the\nedge of a lake, leaning on the wall\nwhich divided us from the water. It\nwas some years ago, and at the time\n1 did not sport a gold watch chain :\nbesides, at that time, in France, we\nseldom were seen with gold chains but\nwore black silk ribbons.\nMy friend had a fob of black silk\nwith golden buckle and straps, and I\nstopped in our talk to admire it. He\ntold me that he would give me one\njust like it: .... he was going to Paris\nin a month's time and to the Rue de\nla Paix he assuredly would go to get\njust such a chain for me.\nTo this day he has forgotten it.\nNow one does not forget such vi-\nvid little facts ; the mere cost will fix\nit for ever in one's memory, besides the\ndelights (if we have delight in giving)\nwill keep returning to jog one's memory.\nI know because I happen to be\ncomic in the other way I delight\ntoo much in giving things to people I\nesteem. But not so my old friend in\nParis: he has forgotten.... he just\nforgot on principle. On Ararat one\ndoes not play with trinkets.... and I\nnow know that this sentimentality of\nmine about gold chains and keepsakes\nwas all fraudulent hypocricy.\nFor if our friends who are Jews\nforget to give us little pounds, lesser\nshillings and non-existent watch-chains,\nthey give us so much more than most\nothers do or can in bringing themselves\nto our lands. Whether in Italy or\nin England, in France or Germany,\nwhen we want some wisdom, some\nwit, some inspiration, some work of\nart, it is very very often a waste of\ntime to look for it from the sons of\nEuropa : we call to the East, for there\nit is in abundance.\nMr. Landa, you are doing the old\ntrick you are making fun of yourself.\nWE can recommend everyone inte-\nrested in tha Court Theatre of\nthe reign of Charles II and in Inigo\nJones's and John Webb's designs to\nturn to an interesting account by William\nGrant Keith published in the \" Archi-\ntectural Review London, February\n1 925, and illustrated by ten reproduc-\ntions, two of which, by kind per-\nmission, we reprint in this number of\n\" The Mask \". We hope that Mr.\nKeith will publish an exhaustive account\nof this playhouse in a volume not too\nlarge nor too costly.\nSuch monographs upon our few im-\nportant playhouses are much needed."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c055", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c055", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "122", "page_fin": "123", "image_debut": 66, "image_fin": 67, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.21.1", "titre_corps": "THE BRITISH DRAMA LEAGUE LIBRARYTHE DILEMMA by J. Barry", "titre_sommaire": "THE BRITISH DRAMA LEAGUE LIBRARYTHE DILEMMA by J. Barry", "signature_source": "HENRY GAY CALVIN", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 66, "page_imprimee": "122", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.66", "debut_caractere": 2587, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6839, "texte": "THE BRITISH DRAMA\nLEAGUE LIBRARY. 3/ - net\neach volume. Vol. 9, 10, 11, 12.\nTHE DILEMMA by J. Barry, Four\nSeas Co. (No price given).\n\nFORTUNATELY the modern play-\nwriters are the most unselfish of\nmortals.\nThe advance made since the time\nof Congreve and Wycherly, of Beolco\nand Ariosto is most marked. In those\nfar off unenlightened days, only too\nmany playwrights were heard repeating\nthat old catch-phrase \" The play's the\nthing \", meaning thereby, the per cen-\ntage. But not now. In those days\nevery playwright had debts not now.\nDebts natu'ally arouse a playwright to\naction. The vast sums amassed by\nAriosto and Beolco, Wycherly, Chap-\nman and the others prove how much\nattention they paid to per centages.\nNowadays this selfishness (which very\nlikely was the reason for the wretched\nwork done in those days) has given\nplace to a grander thought.\nNo longer does the play-writer think\nof himself; he thinks of you and\nme. While it is in his interest to\ndraw me out of my house and into\nthe theatres so that I can be one of the\nthree thousand witnessing his play, he\nis not going to avail himself of any\nsuch privilege. So year by year he\nhas been making it easier and easier\nfor me to get his plays into my house.\nI can now count on the play co-\nming to me any evening at 8.30 punc-\ntually, after I have dined: and I\ncan select my own play and get the\nbest seat in the house, and all for\n3/6 or half a crown. I may smoke\nmy cigar or clay pipe, I may sip my\ncoffee, and I can draw up to the fire\nand make all cosy and read. Why\ngo [to the playhouse any more ? It\nis an uncomfortable place, draughty\nand so public. Once there I have to\nstay till the end even if the play\nbores me. But here in my room lam\nno longer obliged to follow every play\nright through. If on opening page 10\nor 15 1 find it silly stuff, 1 have one\nmore gift for the Hospitals at Christmas.\nOr after I have read my play I can\nlook at its pretty paper cover and\nplace this new gem of industry in my\nbookshelf.\nMr Blackwell's selection of plays\nhave specially twinkling outsides. Messrs\nBenn's are also bonny to look at, but\ndo not go well with English oak, and\ncedar from Lebanon is not easy to get.\nSo much for my own impression\nas to the reason for publishing modern\nplays before they have been seen on\na stage.\nBut I am told that the true reason is\nquite another one. Some say they are\npublished because they can't get them\nacted —or prefer not to have them\nacted or to entice managers.\nThe plays by Graves, Boyd, Peach,\nPeacey and the rest are new, but they\nare a little wearisome.\nThe authors of them are doubtless\nclever men and women, and some of\nthem, may be, will write a good play\nsome day. These play writers all seem\nto me to travel the same paths, dres-\nsed in the same rig-out, looking at\nthe same things, and remembering the\ndelightful things which were said about\nthese sights in their guide-books. These\nplay-writers seem to have studied at\nAcademies or Art Schools and have\ncaught the trick of writing a play.\nTo acquire that, no real talent is\nnecessary. These play-writers are too\nclever at the learnt trick for any en-\ncouragement to be of service. Encou-\nragement is only good for the tho-\nrough bungler who makes it clear that\nhe really did want to say something\nhe had seen clearly or felt acutely.\nAnd as there may be one such bun-\ngler coming along I would suggest that\nhe peruse the old French comedies of\nthe middle ages: Lde Cal-\nhain ; Le Farce de Maitre Mimin ;\nL'Obstination des Femmes and Maitre\nPathelin for example. (0 And Ta-\nbarin t00.... stop a while.... perhaps a\nmonth or so and absorb something of\nTabarin: give a whole quarter to\nAdajn de la Halle, and the rest of\nthe year to Pierre Blanchet. Get to\nknow them well, forget all about your-\nself and your contemporaries.... Shaw,\nPinero and Jones. They know if they\nare doing what they think best but\nthat is not at all what you should do.\nFirst get clear what it is you have\nnot to write about and do me the\nkindness to listen for a moment. Don t\n\n(i) I wrote of \" Pathelin \" in \" The\nMask \" for 1924 in \" Plays Old and New \"\nand am glad to see that Mr. Masefield\nhas recently translated the play.... and\nbetter still had it performed in his thea-\ntre near Oxford and with great success-"}, {"page_pdf": 67, "page_imprimee": "123", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.67", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3875, "texte": "write about two things, two ideas,\ntwo thoughts. Write of one only.\nDon't write in two acts, write in\none ... short or long, stick to one.\nTake a real subject; avoid the myste-\nrious things of heaven and hell ; writs\nabout the earth only. Make no at-\ntempt to work out a complicated si-\ntuation ; confine yourself to three cha-\nracters ; do not change your scene ;\nput no problem to yourself, and make\nno attempt to try to solve a problem....\nbut only try to make a play. Take\nany story and write round that, only\nlet the story be one which can be\ntold in forty or fifty lines.\nThey knew how to do this in the\nyear 1250, in 1450; and by the time\nMoli&re's turn came it was easy as\nlying.\nLeave Shaw and Pinero struggling\nwith what they take to be the truth ;\nno one will contradict them. Lie a\nlittle ; someone may come to agree\nwith you.\nAnd when I say, lie a little, I\nmean write around something which\n\" hardly seems true \"as they say. It's\nas true as everything else, but as it\nseems not possibly true it is thought\nto be a bit of a lie.\nFor example, A the poet thinks B\nhis wife married him out of sheer love\nand admiration for his good looks.\nIt seems hardly true that he has just\nheard her say to a young man that\nshe hates his ugly face. The ugly face.\nThat cannot be true to A. Do you\nfollow me ? Well, lie a little about\nthis face. Never mind who laughs;\nstick to it that the face is all we\n(you and I and A) were sure it was.\nI should not go away from this face\nif I were you. There are three or\nfour dramas in it. And remember,\nwhen you get tired of the thing, ask\nyourself once more, what about that\nface ? ; because it's a hundred to one\nyou 've forgotten to explain all about\nit. That's due to your lessons in the\nAcademies and Art Schools where\nthey have taught you to bring on\nthirty faces with forty complicated si-\ntuations with fifty problems to solve\neach with a beginning and a middle\nand an end.\nThat is being all too clever\navoid it.\nHaving fixed what you will write\nabout go around your garden or up\nand down the London streets playing\nwith words which are nearly all alike\nin sound. Just to get ready. Then\ngo indoors and write like the devil.\nWhat I tell you to do is what those\nmen of the old days did.... their public\nwould stand neither foolery nor pretence.\nListen to Pathelin.\nPalhehn. Dieu y soit! (1) (il entre)\nGuillaume. (drappierj Et Dieu vous doint\njoye !\nPathelin, Or ainsi m> aist Dieu, que\ny avoye\nDe vous veoir grant voulentel\nComment se porte la sante ?\nEstes-vous sain et dru (2),\nGuillaume ?\nLe Drappier Guy, par Dieu !\nPathelin Ca, ceste paulme\ncomment vous va ?\nThat's the way to set about your\nwork, and this is the kind of play to\nread with care and continually. This\nwill help you to drive out of your\nsystem that facile empty jingle of the\nmodern play writers which seems to\nact like a poison.\nYour plays are bad, not because\nyou are stupid, only because you at-\ntempt to be far too clever, and to do\nintricate things on an empty stomach.\nBrainy and wretched aim and result.\nFill up your paunch away with\nthose false problems ; forget all about\nthem and all you think you perceive;\naccept what has been seen and known\nfor centuries. Do not try to be ori\nginal... for it is an impossibility : do\nnot fatigue your brains thinking out\nsome new character. Take an old one\nthat is already clearly drawn for you\nby one of the masters. On that make\nyour little improvisation.\nYou are not obliged to think it all\nout by yourself... and if you try to, you\ncan but get into a most complicated\nmuddle and that will end in your crea-\nting a play like Pirandello or Shaw\nor the other thinkers create.\nRun from that.\nHere is \" Pathelin \" and the French\nfarces. Put them in your pocket :\noff you go ;... avoid everyone ; don't\nlisten to their twaddle ; keep by your-\nself ; create. And believe me to\nbe, yours sincerely.\n\nHENRY GAY CALVIN."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c056", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c056", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "123", "page_fin": "124", "image_debut": 67, "image_fin": 68, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.21.2", "titre_corps": "LONDON'S LOST THEATRES by Errol Sherson", "titre_sommaire": "LONDON'S LOST THEATRES by Errol Sherson", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 67, "page_imprimee": "123", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.67", "debut_caractere": 3877, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6913, "texte": "LONDON'S LOST THE A TRES by\nErroll Sherson. John Lane. / 8/— net.\nTHE worst of architecture is that it is\ntoo fascinating, attracts too much\nattention unless it is quite perfect. A\nplace of worship in the hands of a\ngood (but not a great) architect often\nbecomes, for those susceptible to the\nasides of the Muses, as dangerous as\nthe golden casket proved to the Prince\nof Morocco. One comes to worship,\nand, talking too long to oneself about\nthe beauties of the material and workman-\n(1) For mule de salut, pour : Dieu so it\navec vous !\n(2) Formule en usage pour s' infor-\nmer de la sante de quelqu 'un.\nship, one discovers that one's time and\nthe game is up ...•and the lights being\nput out. One has forgotten to pray.\nLet but a merchant cause a vast shop\nto be built for him by a c lebrated\narchitect, and no one with any sensi-\nbility will buy even a reel of cotton,\nAs we Europeans are today no\nlonger susceptible to the whispers of the\nMuses, nor in any way sensible to fine\ncraftsmanship, all is well us. Our\nchurches serve admirably for thinking\nover exactly what shade of cotton it\nis we want, and on Monday we go to\nbuy it religiously no matter how attrac-\ntive the Emporium.\nWhen it comes to theatres, things\nare as safe for us. Our theatres are de-\nsigned and built to match our theatrical\ntaste..., which is mainly a sentimental\nthing and not over-burdened as it might\nbe with judgement, either rapid or cool.\nOur theatres are built so as to be as\ncomfortable as a railway carriage, as\nflashy as a beer saloon, and as useless as\nhouse-boat.\nBut for all its apparent harmlessness\nit can terribly affect those of us who\nare at all subject to echoes, for often\nan echo of a voice from Bordeaux or\nParma, from Venice or Bayreuth will\ncurl in and out of the overhanging\ncircles and we shall be lost in a dream,\nremembering some old talk of palchl\nor parterre, shall be, I mean.\nAnd in the past two centuries there\nhas been a great deal talked about\nboth and in both, and today the mere\necho of the voices clinging to the velvet\nand the chandelier is enough to make\nus ....I mean me.... forget the play\nand the actors.\nAnd this haunting familiar of the\narchitects, this muse, even follows me\nas I peep into books. It decoys me\nfrom Betterton and Irving, even from\nMetastasio and Farinelli: I find I am\nthinking of Wren and of Fontana and\nof Gabriel the architects.\nI was when I opened Mr; Sherson's\nvery charming book; 1 was thinking\nof my old friend the architect Selva,\nof Venice, who visited Astley's Circus\nin 1780, twelve years before he came\nto build La Fenice in Venice. Giovanni\nAntonio Selva was born in Venice in\n1753, and in 1780 on arriving in\nLondon, Astley having just opened his\nnew circus, Selva dotted down a number\nof observations - whether printed or no\nI cannot say - I have never coma across\nany such book. So that the manuscript,\nwhich I possess, and which was co-\npied by the hand of his apprentice\nBeccani about 1833 is perhaps from\na note book by Selva. Therein is a\nrough plan of Astley's in pen and ink."}, {"page_pdf": 68, "page_imprimee": "124", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.68", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3385, "texte": "I was thinking of this sketch of\nAstley's, I was wondering if I was to\nsee the original reproduced in this\ncharming book by Mr Erroll Sherson ;\nI was wondering, too, where that sketch\ncould be for my copy is only by\nhis pupil. And 1 was also thinking of\nMr. John Potter, Mr. Wyatt (1746-\n1813), Mr. Beazley (1786-1851),\nMr. Rosoman, and old Pasquali, those\ncarpenters, builders or architects who\nthrew up the London theatres of the\nlate 18th century or early in the 19th.\n1 will confess it was of these enchan-\nting architects of London that I was\nhankering to read, and of the way\nthey built their theatres. Knowing that\nold Beazley had also written some hun-\ndred dramas, besides building our old\nLyceum Theatre in 1816, I was very\nkeen to get at something about Beazley.\nWhat were his aims, I wondered:\nwhat was the particular method em-\nployed by Beazley when building a\nplayhouse. I despaired of learning much\nabout Potter or Pasquali; of Rosoman\n1 felt all was possible; of Wyatt that\nall was certain.\nThen imagine how dashed I was,\nnot to find their names even mentioned\nin the admirable index of this delightful\nh00k,... let alone in the text.\nThere were some fifty or sixty (may\nbe more) theatres built in London in\nthe 19th century; and I did hope to\nfind that the men who built them would\nbe given first place in this book. But\nas usual the actors push them out of\nthe way. For it is what go:s on in a\nchurch, a shop, a theatre that matters, not\nthe shop, church, stage, as I have said.\nWhat I would insist on is that no-\nthing else matters, IF you are a true\nbargainer, devotee or theatre goer. If,\nlike me, you are easily attracted, lured\naway, cajoled by the more entertaining\ntricks of the architects, craftsmen,\nvestments, incense, the music or the\nceremony, well, you have to pay for it.\nBut I am glad to see that Mr.\nSherson, the author of this book, has\nalso been a little bit lured. For, while\nhe writes of the lost theatres, he likes\nto put in a word or two about the\nactors, the plays, and even the scene-\nries and lighting effects and of all\nthese he writes with a certain affection\nso that one is not bored, and one is\neven pleassed.\nOf Lady Archie Campbell I would\nhave liked to have read something\nfor Mr. Sherson drifts into the world\nof Amateur Theatricals, Of the Greek\nPlay at Hengler's Circus a word might\nhave been said: of Terry's Theatre\nthere is not enough. I looked out for\nthese, because I am always looking out\nfor things which strike the great writers\nof the age as worthy to record but\nwhich lesser men seem even unable to\nlook up in the British Museum,\nBut then a dozen other things are\ntold us which, wanting this book, we\nhad never heard of. To the Alexandra\nTheatre, Highbury Barn, is given more\nthan two pages, whereas Mr. Baker\n(1904) in his book on London Thea-\ntres only gave it four and a half lines.\nThere are thirty-nine excellent illu-\nstrations in this volume and few of them\nhave been seen before by the Public.\nWe also get some very entertaining\nanecdotes about Fechter* and Ada Isaacs\nMenken, which do try to make up for\nthe absence of the architectural facts\nsome of us wish to learn more about.\nBut should a book on theatres be only\nhalf a book so as to make room for\nactors ? — that's the point. I confess i\nwant it free of everything but facts\nabout the places.... for after all I can\nget the other things in the Biographies,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c057", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c057", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "124", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 68, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.21.3", "titre_corps": "THE JEW IN DRAMA, by M. J. Landa", "titre_sommaire": "THE JEW IN DRAMA, by M. J. Landa", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 68, "page_imprimee": "124", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.68", "debut_caractere": 3387, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7126, "texte": "THE JEW IN DRAMA, by M. J.\nLanda. King. /2/6 ne/,\nDISRAELI .... He was a Hebrew.\nHe would sit at his table toying\nwith his many golden - chains, flicking\nthe dust of Piccadilly off his red da-\nmask waistcoat, that dust which floa-\nted in so mildly at the window as he\nsat writing, and he would say kind\nthings of the west-enders. But when\nhe passed beyond thoughts of these\nand disappeared in the dust of Syria,\nwe could still hear his voice singing of\nIsrael, and it is that we stopped and\nstill stop to listen to.\nAnd coming back again we would\nfind him, say, in St. James's, and with\nhim a certain Sidonia: — everyone\nasks who is he ? — Is he a foreign\npotentate — is he a prince ? — :\nu Something like them \" — said little\nBenjamin — \" one of our travellers.\nYes, our Mr. Sidonia \". The very\nleast was noble.\nSo that to be put off with old clo'\nmen, whether in Parliament or in the\nTheatre, by these later times, is to be\ndone once more.\nI object a little to that. And I\ncannot for a moment tolerate the no-\ntion which Mr. Landa suggests in his\nably made book, that we are all to\nstand delighted before the comic parody\nof Abraham, David and Jesus Christ;\nSuppose that a descent from the su-\nblime be inevitable, we need not fall\nplumb down from Mount Horeb into\nthose plains where Mr. Zangwill roams\ngathering up the bits. In fact, the\ndescent is not precipitous at all.,., and\nwe can slowly descend these gradua\nsiopes meeting hundreds of great men\nof whom Sidonia, one of the least of\nthem, was so very proud.\nMr. Landa thinks that the Jew has\nbeen badly treated by the stage ; but\nno worse than the valet, that heroic\nfigure with his heroic faults; he who\nis nearly always made out to be a\nrogue. It was not the nature of the\nvalet that the dramatist found so use-\nful : it was his situation. There he\nwas, always ready to help his master ;\nhow ? by acting like his honou-\nrable peer ?... heaven forbid ; that\nwould get nowhere, and the world\nwould be bored. But when made to\nact like a rascal, to cheat, to blunder,\nto save the situation, then, putting on\na cloak which fell from some airy\nchariot, he became transformed, bril-\nliant, impossible, victorious, and with\none tap on the ground up sprang the\nmaterial proofs of a spiritual world,\nand that was all right.\nShall the Jew appear before a Chri-\nstian world plastered with Christian\nvirtues ? Shall he so parade Jewish\nvirtues that the very hero of the play\nbecomes the villain ? This appalling\nnotion, thank heaven, was resisted by\nour sensible dramatists who prepared to\nmake something out of the situation in\nwhich they found the Jew that comic,\ntragic moment of lending on interest.\nAnd it is comic and it is tragic.\nHere is a subtle person acting like\na ridiculous Christian would act should\nhe ever or hardly ever allow\navarice to get the better of him.\nBut the Jew cannot let well alone :\nhe can not resist the humour of the\nsituation,.... this masquerade of his:\nhe makes fun of himself in this role\nand we fail to twig it.\nDoes Moli&re draw a Jew in his\n44 L'Avare \" ?... No, he shows us a\nnoble Christian.\nMr. Lancia hasn't a leg to stand\non. Fancy demanding justice for the\nJew : as well demand it for the\nMahometan or the American ; yet Mr.\nLanda demands justice. Justice !\nWhat a lot of nonsense.\nAdmiration and appreciation for the\nJew, when he soars among the immense\nfigures of his race : but when he talks\nabout 44 pounds of flesh \" and forgets\neven to send one a Christmas card,\nlet alone a ten shilling tip for the maid,\nthen, since he is parodying our wes-\n• tern world, let us laugh and bait him,\n. and hey for a bit of a rag.\n> It's not the Jew one rags; it s the\n» funny fact that he has managed to\ni forget to give.\n! One of my very best friends is a"}, {"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2330, "texte": "Jew : a man of perfect education, of\ngreat talent, attractive, and one of my\nparticular admirations.\nOnce we lingered talking by the\nedge of a lake, leaning on the wall\nwhich divided us from the water. It\nwas some years ago, and at the time\n1 did not sport a gold watch chain :\nbesides, at that time, in France, we\nseldom were seen with gold chains but\nwore black silk ribbons.\nMy friend had a fob of black silk\nwith golden buckle and straps, and I\nstopped in our talk to admire it. He\ntold me that he would give me one\njust like it: .... he was going to Paris\nin a month's time and to the Rue de\nla Paix he assuredly would go to get\njust such a chain for me.\nTo this day he has forgotten it.\nNow one does not forget such vi-\nvid little facts ; the mere cost will fix\nit for ever in one's memory, besides the\ndelights (if we have delight in giving)\nwill keep returning to jog one's memory.\nI know because I happen to be\ncomic in the other way I delight\ntoo much in giving things to people I\nesteem. But not so my old friend in\nParis: he has forgotten.... he just\nforgot on principle. On Ararat one\ndoes not play with trinkets.... and I\nnow know that this sentimentality of\nmine about gold chains and keepsakes\nwas all fraudulent hypocricy.\nFor if our friends who are Jews\nforget to give us little pounds, lesser\nshillings and non-existent watch-chains,\nthey give us so much more than most\nothers do or can in bringing themselves\nto our lands. Whether in Italy or\nin England, in France or Germany,\nwhen we want some wisdom, some\nwit, some inspiration, some work of\nart, it is very very often a waste of\ntime to look for it from the sons of\nEuropa : we call to the East, for there\nit is in abundance.\nMr. Landa, you are doing the old\ntrick you are making fun of yourself.\nWE can recommend everyone inte-\nrested in tha Court Theatre of\nthe reign of Charles II and in Inigo\nJones's and John Webb's designs to\nturn to an interesting account by William\nGrant Keith published in the \" Archi-\ntectural Review London, February\n1 925, and illustrated by ten reproduc-\ntions, two of which, by kind per-\nmission, we reprint in this number of\n\" The Mask \". We hope that Mr.\nKeith will publish an exhaustive account\nof this playhouse in a volume not too\nlarge nor too costly.\nSuch monographs upon our few im-\nportant playhouses are much needed."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c058", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c058", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "125", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 69, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.22", "titre_corps": "MAGAZINES", "titre_sommaire": "MAGAZINES", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 2332, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4571, "texte": "MAGAZINES.\n\nCONCERNIN THE VALUE\nOF THE CINEMATOGRAPH\nTO EDUCATION.\ne. g. c.\n44 The value of Cinematograph\nto education is now increasingly realised\nby the Western countries \", writes Mr.\nM. V. Subrahmanyam, M. A., L. T.,\nLecturer in History, C. M. College,\nTinnevelly, in the 44 Educational Re-\nview India.\n€J 44 The influence of the cinema-\ntograph on modern education could\nnot be denied, and the role of the ci-\nnematograph, provided it were well\ndirected, might be an excellent one\nwrites Professor Gilbert Murray.\nThe influence of the cinemato-\ngraph is a wretched one and its value\ndoubtful, write I.\nAfter a long seance in the dark,\nfull of memories of Mae Marsh which\nassuredly strengthen the weak points in\nhis researches into the 4 4 Poetical rhythms\nof American speech \" what a help to\nany young University man it will be,\nwhen in the midst of the intricacies of\nthe History of the San Marino Republic,\nto be able to have things all cleared\nup for him by Half hours with Dou-\nglas Fairbanks : what a pity that\nwhen an actor wants some help in his\nparticular branch of education, he alone\nof all the scholars will find in the Ci-\nnema nothing to be of the slightest use\nto him. But as the world is now\nbecoming right side up once more and\nlosing its topsy turveydom, thank Heaven,\nhe will be able to derive all the help\nhe needs by a course of Sanskrit at\nthe London College of Music.\n44 Provided it were well directed \"\nthe Cinema would cease to attract....\nand so would take on another existence\na less hectic one, i think.\nIt appeals because it is not educa-\ntive, is not suspected by its lovers to\nbe exerting any influence. Let but a\nfaint suspicion arise in the heart of the\npassionate devotee that it is becoming\nand the Movies will miss\nhim from their pleasant gatherings.\nHis place will soon be filled by an\nearnest student, and I do not think the\nreally earnest student will fare badly\nor be at all affected by the poison. It's\nthe kind of relaxation he needs, looks\nfor, but dare not openly indulge in.\nBut should he be sucked into the gully\nhe will sink encouraged by the\nheartening words of Mr. M. V. Su-\nbrah manyam. 44 The value of Cinema-\ntograph to Education He is gone.\nI fear we do not see him coming up\nagain,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c059", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c059", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "125", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 69, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.22.1", "titre_corps": "CONCERNIN THE IMENCE VALUE OF THE CINEMATOGRAPH TO EDUCATION", "titre_sommaire": "CONCERNIN THE IMENCE VALUE OF THE CINEMATOGRAPH TO EDUCATION", "signature_source": "e. g. c", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 2344, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4571, "texte": "CONCERNIN THE VALUE\nOF THE CINEMATOGRAPH\nTO EDUCATION.\ne. g. c.\n44 The value of Cinematograph\nto education is now increasingly realised\nby the Western countries \", writes Mr.\nM. V. Subrahmanyam, M. A., L. T.,\nLecturer in History, C. M. College,\nTinnevelly, in the 44 Educational Re-\nview India.\n€J 44 The influence of the cinema-\ntograph on modern education could\nnot be denied, and the role of the ci-\nnematograph, provided it were well\ndirected, might be an excellent one\nwrites Professor Gilbert Murray.\nThe influence of the cinemato-\ngraph is a wretched one and its value\ndoubtful, write I.\nAfter a long seance in the dark,\nfull of memories of Mae Marsh which\nassuredly strengthen the weak points in\nhis researches into the 4 4 Poetical rhythms\nof American speech \" what a help to\nany young University man it will be,\nwhen in the midst of the intricacies of\nthe History of the San Marino Republic,\nto be able to have things all cleared\nup for him by Half hours with Dou-\nglas Fairbanks : what a pity that\nwhen an actor wants some help in his\nparticular branch of education, he alone\nof all the scholars will find in the Ci-\nnema nothing to be of the slightest use\nto him. But as the world is now\nbecoming right side up once more and\nlosing its topsy turveydom, thank Heaven,\nhe will be able to derive all the help\nhe needs by a course of Sanskrit at\nthe London College of Music.\n44 Provided it were well directed \"\nthe Cinema would cease to attract....\nand so would take on another existence\na less hectic one, i think.\nIt appeals because it is not educa-\ntive, is not suspected by its lovers to\nbe exerting any influence. Let but a\nfaint suspicion arise in the heart of the\npassionate devotee that it is becoming\nand the Movies will miss\nhim from their pleasant gatherings.\nHis place will soon be filled by an\nearnest student, and I do not think the\nreally earnest student will fare badly\nor be at all affected by the poison. It's\nthe kind of relaxation he needs, looks\nfor, but dare not openly indulge in.\nBut should he be sucked into the gully\nhe will sink encouraged by the\nheartening words of Mr. M. V. Su-\nbrah manyam. 44 The value of Cinema-\ntograph to Education He is gone.\nI fear we do not see him coming up\nagain,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c060", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c060", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "125", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 69, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.23", "titre_corps": "EDITORIAL NOTES", "titre_sommaire": "EDITORIAL NOTES", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 4573, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6359, "texte": "EDITORIAL NOTES.\n\nA CORRECTIO\nWE regret that in our last number\nwe attributed the authorship of\n\"Who's Who in the Theatre\" (Pitman)\nto Mr. John Palmer instead of to Mr.\nJohn PARKER.\nMr. PARKER is one of those un-\ncommon men who devote themselves\nto the Theatre, and, in the teeth of op-\nposition, he produces what seems to be\na book without any possible success in\nit; . ..a book of dates and records ;\n» Dull as ditch-water \" says young\nHopeful of that immense plajdiouse,\nthe Pessimist Theatre.\nMr. PARKER then makes this hook\na great success.\nNo theatrical manager, no critic, no\nable journalist can do without it. It\nsaves hixn from making a hundred mis-\ntakes in the course of a year. Once\nin his possession he can never, for\nexample, take Parker to he Palmer.\nIf he is an American impresario who has\ncome over to Europe fully purposed\nto engage M. and his troupe,\nhe discovers from the book that that\nvery up-to-date star died in 1763.\nIt *s true that he died in 1773, but\nthe main thing to make cLar to an\nAmerican manager is that the man is\ndead, and that we know it, and that\nhe cannot be disturbed.\nWe think, by the way, that if Mr.\nParker could find space to enter\nMoliere as 44 actor \" as well as dra-\nmatist it would be of added value to\nhis already valuable book.\n\nTHE article on the Calderon Stage\ntogether with the copy of the draw-\ning from the National Library of\nMadrid are the work of Herr Klaus\nRichter whose inte est in and know-\nledge of the stage is not merely that\nof the clever artist and historian. He\nhas been an actor, and his scenic work\nfor the stage was amongst the most\nbrilliant in the International Exhibition\nin Amsterdam and London 1920-21.\nHe is undoubtedly one of the soun-\ndest of tbe German group; his work\npossesses a charm which does not tire."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c062", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c062", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "125", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 69, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.23.2", "titre_corps": "A CORRECTION", "titre_sommaire": "A CORRECTION", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 4591, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5850, "texte": "A CORRECTIO\nWE regret that in our last number\nwe attributed the authorship of\n\"Who's Who in the Theatre\" (Pitman)\nto Mr. John Palmer instead of to Mr.\nJohn PARKER.\nMr. PARKER is one of those un-\ncommon men who devote themselves\nto the Theatre, and, in the teeth of op-\nposition, he produces what seems to be\na book without any possible success in\nit; . ..a book of dates and records ;\n» Dull as ditch-water \" says young\nHopeful of that immense plajdiouse,\nthe Pessimist Theatre.\nMr. PARKER then makes this hook\na great success.\nNo theatrical manager, no critic, no\nable journalist can do without it. It\nsaves hixn from making a hundred mis-\ntakes in the course of a year. Once\nin his possession he can never, for\nexample, take Parker to he Palmer.\nIf he is an American impresario who has\ncome over to Europe fully purposed\nto engage M. and his troupe,\nhe discovers from the book that that\nvery up-to-date star died in 1763.\nIt *s true that he died in 1773, but\nthe main thing to make cLar to an\nAmerican manager is that the man is\ndead, and that we know it, and that\nhe cannot be disturbed.\nWe think, by the way, that if Mr.\nParker could find space to enter\nMoliere as 44 actor \" as well as dra-\nmatist it would be of added value to\nhis already valuable book."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c063", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c063", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "125", "page_fin": "125", "image_debut": 69, "image_fin": 69, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.23.3", "titre_corps": "THE CALDERON STAGE", "titre_sommaire": "THE CALDERON STAGE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "debut_caractere": 5852, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6359, "texte": "THE article on the Calderon Stage\ntogether with the copy of the draw-\ning from the National Library of\nMadrid are the work of Herr Klaus\nRichter whose inte est in and know-\nledge of the stage is not merely that\nof the clever artist and historian. He\nhas been an actor, and his scenic work\nfor the stage was amongst the most\nbrilliant in the International Exhibition\nin Amsterdam and London 1920-21.\nHe is undoubtedly one of the soun-\ndest of tbe German group; his work\npossesses a charm which does not tire."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c064", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c064", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24", "titre_corps": "THE NEW SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE.... AND AMERICA", "titre_sommaire": "THE NEW SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE.... AND AMERICA", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7699, "texte": "THE NEW SHAKESPEARE\nMEMORIAL THEATRE.... AND\nAMERICA.\n\nA LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.\nYours truly\nA. R. CAMPBELL.\nDE4R Sir:\nA friend returning from Florence\nhas given to me 44 The Mask \" for April,\nknowing that I would enjoy having so\nattractive a magazine in my hand.\n1 must express to you the keen plea-\nsure which its beauty has given me, and\nhow interesting I find its contents.\nAs an American, however, I particu-\nlarly sympathize with you in your Edi-\ntorial Note on the new theatre at Stratford.\nYou were quite clear that the Americans\nshould have nothing to do with it, but\nyou made no suggestions as to preventing\nthem : and I am writing to you to ask\n44 How are we to clear them out of it?\"\nWhen committees arrive from Europe\nasKitig for help to restore buildings in\nEngland, in France, and in Belgium, the\nAmericans will give. Already contribu-\ntions are being sought for the Stratford\nTheatre, and I am afraid the mischief is\nwell under way. Of course Americans\nwould feel Shakespeare was big enough\nto let even them sit at his feet (as ano-\nther great man preached also to the\nGentiles) and they would want to show\nin small measure what he is to them\nThey would hope, too, to express to the\nBritish what they have been to Americans\nin their great gift of Literature: in their\nHistory, and in themselves as a people\nof truth, courage, and those qualities\nwhich make them the best type of men\nin the world today. The Americans feel\nall this: but they are also busy working\nout their own destiny, and are perhaps\ntoo unconscious that they in turn, are\nnot being idealized by other nations.\nThey give because it is their habit; and\nunless you can suggest some definite way\nof prevention, they will be helping to\nbuild the Theatre in spite of us.\nPasadena, Cal.\n\nfKSBnMMMMMMMHEMBSMMMHMnBMBnHnaMMMW VI I'lIM lIMBBIHI ll«MUM»BW»\nTHE MASK REPLIES-\nDEAR Sir, —or Madam?\nIt is obvious that you think we are\ntoo critical, (impertinent even), to Ame-\nricans when we call on England to do\nthe Shakespeare work without them.\nBut you write so drily and with so\nmuch charm that you reveal once more\nhow comfortable is your land;—only a\ncomfortable land sprawling at ease, and\nso far away too, (even from a few reali-\nties) could be so indifferent to the things\ngoing on in ours. It's a tight little\nIsland—our old England—and we have a\ngreat love for it as it is ; and perhaps\nare over-eager not to see it develop\nAmericanism, ....not, depend on America\nfor its luxuries. Shakespeare, for example.\nIf you were in England, if you had\nlived there, for thirty years, worked in\nthe Theatre there, seen the growing in-\ndifference towards the Shakespearean\nDrama, realized that England needed\nsomething—some event—to act as a spur\nto its indifference to our poet, you would\nhave rejoiced on hearing of that fire at\nStratford.\n44 At last \" you would have said (as\nwe did) 44 at last England will turn and\nlook at Shakespeare and feel something,\nwill be moved to do something, and pro-\nperly \".\nShe does very properly in, to speak\nmodestly, ninety-seven cases out of a\nhundred. Shakespeare and the Dramatic\nArt stands for the ninety-eighth time\nwhere she gives at the knees.\nWe did so look to see England eager\nat last to do this little thing alone—and\nwe are cross that she failed.\nFor some there are who tell us (and\nyou are too far off to hear of it) that,\nimmediately on seeing the fire, Americans\nresiding at Stratford and in London, push-\ned forward to stake out a claim in this\nmatter of reparation or reestablishment.\nOver eagerness is not always apt,\nis it ?\nDiscretion and fine feeling wait to\nallow a man or a nation to recover by\nhimself or itself.\nNo one can be more discreet nor have\nfiner feeling than many Americans; but\nevery fine American cannot be on the\nspot on every such occasion : and alas,\nthe over pushful, those blind to old-\nfashioned niceties of feeling, are too often\nright there squatting ready for the boom\nand alive to the values of the reclame.\nYou will, we hope, study this ques-\ntion of our old England and its forgotten\npoet;—you will try and realize how 110\nuse was made of him to cheer our land\nduring the war ; will note that for over\nthree hundred years no National Theatre\nhas been put up by us for his works ;\nwill search our hearts and feel something\nof what we who love this poet feel; and\nyou too, we think, will sympathize with\nthose of us who want to see Shakespeare\nexempt from even the most loving cha-\nrity of the best of strangers, or the jol-\nliest of cousins. The Editor,\nP. S. To answer one of your direct\nquestions:—The obvious way to ward\noff that indiscreet boom-loving assistance\nalluded to above would be to make it\nquite clear that we have no need of any\nassistance. It is, I admit, our fauK not\nto have done so.\nWhenever it is quite clear to Ame-\nricans of that that no advantage,\nno reflected glory, no reclame awaits\nAmerican support be it for some unknown\npoet, be it for some living artist of\nworth who objects to the American me-\nthods of boom, it is seen every day how\nnimble are Americans (of the flashy kind)\nto clear out of their own initiative to\navoid every impulse to assist; to do no-\nthing and to do it magnificently. I am\nsure you know that this is so.\nIf as you say a Committee has come\nto your land from England askingfor help\nfor the Shakespeare Memorial you should\nlet us all hear of that Committee. We\nknowr that Englishmen worth their salt\ndo not countenance any such overtures.\nYou should send that 44 Committee \"\nback —but let us know of whom it is\ncomposed.\n\nAMERICAN CRITIC ADMITS\nGRAVE DANGER AVERTED.\ni ■■■MiswiMCTBWwwwwwi mm muaammm\n14 There was a time, not long ago,\nwhen it seemed as though the scenic\nartist was about to become the all-powerful\nforce in our Theatre. That time seems\nto have passed J. F, Smith in The\nStage Year Book 1926.\nSo thaVs over, and Mr. Smith and\nail Americans eager not to lose their\nold percentages can breathe again. But\nto think they ever got such a fatuous\nidea into their heads put it there\nthemselves.\nStill the picking the brains of the scenic\nartist..- delicious title,44 Scenic Artist \"...\nstill goes on. Twist and turn, prevaria-\ncate or lie, you all still prey on him.\n\nFINE REALITY. 1626.\nWhen Mr. George Sampson tells us\nthat 44 Coleridge was an example\nof high imagination divorced from rea-\nlity \" and that 44 he fled from reality all\nhis life \" whereas Shakespeare u never\nsundered from reality \" we must recall\nthat Shakespeare lived in Elizabeth's\nage of adventure, Coleridge in the su-\nblime age of George 111 and George IV.\nWilliam Blake also lived then and\nfled bolted from that 44 reality \".\nByron too popped over to Italy and\nwrote 44 Don Juan\n\nO LONDON 1926. O\nChaliapine at the close of the prologue\nin '4 Mephistopheles n put two diabo-\nlical fingers in his mouth as if he were cal-\nling a cab and uttered a piercing whistle.\n\" Who — who but Chaliapine would\ndare to do such a thing \" said the flut-\ntered hearts of the Londoners.\nThis whistling, as the 14 Evening\nStandard \" points out, is a long estab-\nlished piece of business. Others add\n44 written down in Boito's score But\nas all the world knows Goethe a hundred\nyears before him had underlined the bit\nof business. In the second part of Faust\nyou find it, and Goethe took it from the\npuppet play. Reality.\n\nGeorge Sampson.\n44 If 44 The Ancient Mariner \" is to\nhold you with his glittering eye, you\nmust come to him young, or he will seem\nperilously like the Elderly naval man of\na different saga \".\nYes, that's true. There really is some\nreality in remaining young.\n\nThe Stage Year Book for 1926 is as\ninteresting as ever, and valuable as a\nreference Book. What is not in 44 The\nMask \" is in 44 The Stage Year Book"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c065", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c065", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.1", "titre_corps": "A LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA", "titre_sommaire": "A LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA", "signature_source": "A. R. CAMPBELL", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 55, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1764, "texte": "A LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.\nYours truly\nA. R. CAMPBELL.\nDE4R Sir:\nA friend returning from Florence\nhas given to me 44 The Mask \" for April,\nknowing that I would enjoy having so\nattractive a magazine in my hand.\n1 must express to you the keen plea-\nsure which its beauty has given me, and\nhow interesting I find its contents.\nAs an American, however, I particu-\nlarly sympathize with you in your Edi-\ntorial Note on the new theatre at Stratford.\nYou were quite clear that the Americans\nshould have nothing to do with it, but\nyou made no suggestions as to preventing\nthem : and I am writing to you to ask\n44 How are we to clear them out of it?\"\nWhen committees arrive from Europe\nasKitig for help to restore buildings in\nEngland, in France, and in Belgium, the\nAmericans will give. Already contribu-\ntions are being sought for the Stratford\nTheatre, and I am afraid the mischief is\nwell under way. Of course Americans\nwould feel Shakespeare was big enough\nto let even them sit at his feet (as ano-\nther great man preached also to the\nGentiles) and they would want to show\nin small measure what he is to them\nThey would hope, too, to express to the\nBritish what they have been to Americans\nin their great gift of Literature: in their\nHistory, and in themselves as a people\nof truth, courage, and those qualities\nwhich make them the best type of men\nin the world today. The Americans feel\nall this: but they are also busy working\nout their own destiny, and are perhaps\ntoo unconscious that they in turn, are\nnot being idealized by other nations.\nThey give because it is their habit; and\nunless you can suggest some definite way\nof prevention, they will be helping to\nbuild the Theatre in spite of us.\nPasadena, Cal."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c067", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c067", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.2", "titre_corps": "THE MASK REPLIES", "titre_sommaire": "THE MASK REPLIES", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 1766, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5526, "texte": "fKSBnMMMMMMMHEMBSMMMHMnBMBnHnaMMMW VI I'lIM lIMBBIHI ll«MUM»BW»\nTHE MASK REPLIES-\nDEAR Sir, —or Madam?\nIt is obvious that you think we are\ntoo critical, (impertinent even), to Ame-\nricans when we call on England to do\nthe Shakespeare work without them.\nBut you write so drily and with so\nmuch charm that you reveal once more\nhow comfortable is your land;—only a\ncomfortable land sprawling at ease, and\nso far away too, (even from a few reali-\nties) could be so indifferent to the things\ngoing on in ours. It's a tight little\nIsland—our old England—and we have a\ngreat love for it as it is ; and perhaps\nare over-eager not to see it develop\nAmericanism, ....not, depend on America\nfor its luxuries. Shakespeare, for example.\nIf you were in England, if you had\nlived there, for thirty years, worked in\nthe Theatre there, seen the growing in-\ndifference towards the Shakespearean\nDrama, realized that England needed\nsomething—some event—to act as a spur\nto its indifference to our poet, you would\nhave rejoiced on hearing of that fire at\nStratford.\n44 At last \" you would have said (as\nwe did) 44 at last England will turn and\nlook at Shakespeare and feel something,\nwill be moved to do something, and pro-\nperly \".\nShe does very properly in, to speak\nmodestly, ninety-seven cases out of a\nhundred. Shakespeare and the Dramatic\nArt stands for the ninety-eighth time\nwhere she gives at the knees.\nWe did so look to see England eager\nat last to do this little thing alone—and\nwe are cross that she failed.\nFor some there are who tell us (and\nyou are too far off to hear of it) that,\nimmediately on seeing the fire, Americans\nresiding at Stratford and in London, push-\ned forward to stake out a claim in this\nmatter of reparation or reestablishment.\nOver eagerness is not always apt,\nis it ?\nDiscretion and fine feeling wait to\nallow a man or a nation to recover by\nhimself or itself.\nNo one can be more discreet nor have\nfiner feeling than many Americans; but\nevery fine American cannot be on the\nspot on every such occasion : and alas,\nthe over pushful, those blind to old-\nfashioned niceties of feeling, are too often\nright there squatting ready for the boom\nand alive to the values of the reclame.\nYou will, we hope, study this ques-\ntion of our old England and its forgotten\npoet;—you will try and realize how 110\nuse was made of him to cheer our land\nduring the war ; will note that for over\nthree hundred years no National Theatre\nhas been put up by us for his works ;\nwill search our hearts and feel something\nof what we who love this poet feel; and\nyou too, we think, will sympathize with\nthose of us who want to see Shakespeare\nexempt from even the most loving cha-\nrity of the best of strangers, or the jol-\nliest of cousins. The Editor,\nP. S. To answer one of your direct\nquestions:—The obvious way to ward\noff that indiscreet boom-loving assistance\nalluded to above would be to make it\nquite clear that we have no need of any\nassistance. It is, I admit, our fauK not\nto have done so.\nWhenever it is quite clear to Ame-\nricans of that that no advantage,\nno reflected glory, no reclame awaits\nAmerican support be it for some unknown\npoet, be it for some living artist of\nworth who objects to the American me-\nthods of boom, it is seen every day how\nnimble are Americans (of the flashy kind)\nto clear out of their own initiative to\navoid every impulse to assist; to do no-\nthing and to do it magnificently. I am\nsure you know that this is so.\nIf as you say a Committee has come\nto your land from England askingfor help\nfor the Shakespeare Memorial you should\nlet us all hear of that Committee. We\nknowr that Englishmen worth their salt\ndo not countenance any such overtures.\nYou should send that 44 Committee \"\nback —but let us know of whom it is\ncomposed."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c069", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c069", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.3", "titre_corps": "AMERICAN CRITIC ADMITS GRAVE DANGER AVERTED", "titre_sommaire": "AMERICAN CRITIC ADMITS GRAVE DANGER AVERTED", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 5528, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6181, "texte": "AMERICAN CRITIC ADMITS\nGRAVE DANGER AVERTED.\ni ■■■MiswiMCTBWwwwwwi mm muaammm\n14 There was a time, not long ago,\nwhen it seemed as though the scenic\nartist was about to become the all-powerful\nforce in our Theatre. That time seems\nto have passed J. F, Smith in The\nStage Year Book 1926.\nSo thaVs over, and Mr. Smith and\nail Americans eager not to lose their\nold percentages can breathe again. But\nto think they ever got such a fatuous\nidea into their heads put it there\nthemselves.\nStill the picking the brains of the scenic\nartist..- delicious title,44 Scenic Artist \"...\nstill goes on. Twist and turn, prevaria-\ncate or lie, you all still prey on him."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c071", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c071", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.4", "titre_corps": "FINE REALITY. 1626", "titre_sommaire": "FINE REALITY. 1626", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 6183, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6668, "texte": "FINE REALITY. 1626.\nWhen Mr. George Sampson tells us\nthat 44 Coleridge was an example\nof high imagination divorced from rea-\nlity \" and that 44 he fled from reality all\nhis life \" whereas Shakespeare u never\nsundered from reality \" we must recall\nthat Shakespeare lived in Elizabeth's\nage of adventure, Coleridge in the su-\nblime age of George 111 and George IV.\nWilliam Blake also lived then and\nfled bolted from that 44 reality \".\nByron too popped over to Italy and\nwrote 44 Don Juan"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c073", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c073", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.5", "titre_corps": "LONDON 1926", "titre_sommaire": "LONDON 1926", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 6670, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7290, "texte": "O LONDON 1926. O\nChaliapine at the close of the prologue\nin '4 Mephistopheles n put two diabo-\nlical fingers in his mouth as if he were cal-\nling a cab and uttered a piercing whistle.\n\" Who — who but Chaliapine would\ndare to do such a thing \" said the flut-\ntered hearts of the Londoners.\nThis whistling, as the 14 Evening\nStandard \" points out, is a long estab-\nlished piece of business. Others add\n44 written down in Boito's score But\nas all the world knows Goethe a hundred\nyears before him had underlined the bit\nof business. In the second part of Faust\nyou find it, and Goethe took it from the\npuppet play. Reality."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c074", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c074", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.6", "titre_corps": "[Sans titre]", "titre_sommaire": "[Sans titre]", "signature_source": "George Sampson", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 7292, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7550, "texte": "George Sampson.\n44 If 44 The Ancient Mariner \" is to\nhold you with his glittering eye, you\nmust come to him young, or he will seem\nperilously like the Elderly naval man of\na different saga \".\nYes, that's true. There really is some\nreality in remaining young."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1926-07-01-c076", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01#c076", "volume": "bmtnaau_1926-07_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "126", "page_fin": "126", "image_debut": 70, "image_fin": 70, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.2.24.7", "titre_corps": "[Sans titre]", "titre_sommaire": "[Sans titre]", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "debut_caractere": 7552, "fin_caractere_exclue": 7699, "texte": "The Stage Year Book for 1926 is as\ninteresting as ever, and valuable as a\nreference Book. What is not in 44 The\nMask \" is in 44 The Stage Year Book"}]}], "pages_ocr_originales": [{"page_pdf": 1, "page_imprimee": "couv. 1", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.1", "texte": "A /'I J' T - x\". ;• \" f-' •• ••• . X ■\n,/V jr\nTHE MASK\n.'-' ' ' '\nVOLUME TWELVE\nNUMBER THREE\n©JU L Y @\n19 2 6\nANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION EDITION DE LUXE\nTEN SHILLINGS jCr R1 CEI TWENTY SHILLINGS\n(POST FREE) (POST FREE)\nTWO & A HALF DOLLARS FIVE DOLLARS\nFOR AMERICA FOR AMERICA\n' % '\n■ 'X- y. -y v/;— ■■ X. ■: .;y: X ' Xy X■'• • .=• , 'X- '(■ V'; ' ;VX; - y,y X;y \" XX;'X : X ■ Ty' ' •XXy-'iy ;-y ,-X - t-'X-: X X\n./ , - -r ' J -\nADDRESS: BOX. 444. FLORENCE. ITALY.\nmflMTnfaMTfwffiwißiiilium miinnrwnnft■ niii Ml—iniißFniiiiiiiffiiunnMrllll f/mmuMWiiiiitwi\"■ ■> —nliißini<aniiiiMihim miiiiiuMfiiiiiiiiHl■imam mmmw iMiiißiiiiiMiniiiiii—miiiiiMiMiMiwiiiiiwifn ■MiMMrmanrmririinrmmifMßiTiinMriiiMMWMMMMMM^\n\nA REPRODUCTION OF HORWOOD'S\nCELEBRATED 18th CENTURY PLAN\nOF LONDON: (SECOND EIGHT PLATES).\nSOME FACTS AND DATES ABOUT\nLONDON THEATRES AND THOSE\nASSOCIATED WITH THEM.\nSTAGE AND THE COR-\nRAL THEATRE, by Klaus Richter.\nFORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN by R. J.\nBroadbent.\nADAVOYLE or How far may we go?\nTHE PEOPLE, AND THEIR THEATRE,\nin different periods and lands.\nINTRODUCING PUNCHER PRIMROSE,\nthe Authors' bane.\nAN 18th CENTURY OPERA REGISTER\nhitherto unpublished.\nON PROVINCIAL THEATRES in general,\nand, particularly, The Maddermarket of\nNorwich. I 1 fX\nTHE COLOSSUS, (continued) by Gordon Craig."}, {"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "couv. 2", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.2", "texte": "THE MASK. JULY 192 6\nNOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS. The Editor is always glad to consider articles and illustrations from\nexperts in theatre history and art, which result from special research or personal experience. Where stamped\nand addressed envelopes are included, every effort will be made to return in due course rejected contributions:\nbut in no circumstances can he hold himself responsible for safe custody or return. All articles should be\ntypewritten.\nAddress : The Editor : \"The Mask \"> Rox 444,\n\nLITERARy CONTENTS.\nIMAGINATION. . . . . . . , . E. G. C. & The Editor . . Page 87\nCALDERON'S STAGE . Klaus Richter. . . .89\nA FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN . . . . R. J. Broadbent , 98\nA FEW FACTS AND DATES ABOUT THEATRES\nAND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM . . c. g. e. . . . . 100\nTHE PEOPLE . . e.g. c. . . . . .104\nADAVOYLE . . . . . • , • • William McDougal . . 108\nPUNCHER /• m. . , . .109\nOPERA REGISTER FROM 1721 TO 1734. From an\nunpublished MS Francis Colman . . . .110\nREALLY, NOTHING REAL ...... Anon 112\nTHE CHANCES FOR AND AGAINST GOOD THEA-\nTRES in Provincial centres, & The Maddermarket, Norwich. Anon . . . . . .113\nDORSET GARDENS THEATRE . . . . . Anon . . . . . .115\n\" THE MASK \", A Review ...... Alan Noble Monkhouse . . .115\n\"THE COLOSSUS\", continued. ..... Gordon Craig. . . . .116\nBOOK REVIEWS. EDITORIAL NOTES & LETTERS.\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\nVIEW OF WHITHALL Showing the old Cockpit Theatre . Hendrick Danckerts . Plate 7, Face 87\nTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL Miguel March. . 8 8, Follow 94\nKEY TO THE DRAWING BY MIGUEL MARCH . . Klaus Richter . 8 9, ■ ■\nTHE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790. . C.Tompkins. . ■ 10, Face 110\n\" NASPO BIZARO *\\ TWO DESIGNS .... From the Book of\nAlessandro Caravia,\n1565 . . . ■ 11 & 12\nFollow 118\n' t •\nPLAN OF LONDON, 1792-1799 (The second eight sections). R. Horwood . . . 8 102\nDORSET GARDENS THEATRE . . . . Anon . . . . . . 115\nPLAN SHOWING OLD COCKPIT THEATRE . . Anon .117\n9B 11. \\ BPSI H £\nHead and Tail Pieces from old and modern Designs."}, {"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "[86]", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.4", "texte": "Plate 7\nVIEW OF WHITEHALL.\nBeing a portion of a painting by Hendrik Danckerts made between 1670 and 1677 (Norman, 1920).\nThe Cockpit at Court, Charles IPs private playhouse, can be seen directly below the\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 5, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.5", "texte": "r H E MASK\n,9 0 8 1926\n\nMAGINATION.\n\nTHIS Foreword to the seventy-fourth issue of \" The Mask \" is\nwritten to the sound of drums, bells, and the shouts of people\noff stage.\nOver there a gathering of a hundred thousand people is crying\n>ut \" Viva il Duce \" as he speaks gracious and stirring words to them.\nMachines which have taken centuries to invent and develop are car-\nying the shouts and speeches to a million eaves-droppers listeners-in.\n[have a special apparatus installed here—it took a moment to invent\nit and it sprang fully developed from the inventor.... that unpatented,\n'ommon property called the Imagination.\nIt s practicality is doubtful to those who consider it too out of\ndate to procure. And indeed of what real use is it if it cannot be\niurned into a paying concern?\nCan Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Morg an, Count Volpi and our Chan-\nceller of the Exchequer, by coming together with a capital of a thousand\nmillions, form a world company and so exploit it? Can the instrument\nbe turned out by the million, and, selling at five pounds or five shillings\napiece, bring in a steady return of millions for the next twenty-five years ?\nIt has to be admitted that this is not possible. The instrument is\ntherefore not practical: for it is an instrument every man already pos-\nsesses but most men forget to use, and therefore is so much lumber."}, {"page_pdf": 6, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.6", "texte": "HOW strange then that there are a few who hold that in the use of\nthis instrument lies the solution to most problems; that a world\nalive to the power of the Imagination is a world more or less cured of\nits preposterous unrest—its materialism, its so-called \" reality \\\nBut there is no doubt that we are prejudiced, we few who like,\nand therefore use, the Imagination.\nPerhaps it is an instrument made too much of by some —as it is\nmade too little of by others. The butcher and the baker, those men\nof action, find it quite useless when making chops or bread: but I am\nhappy to be able to salute it once more as, doubtless, the most po-\nwerful thing in the world—and the best.\nGenova.\n\nE. G. C.\n\nAND REALITY.\nALREADY contributions are being sought for the Stratford Theatre\nhere in America, and I am afraid the mischief is well under way.\n\" Committees arrive from Europe asking for help to restore buil-\ndings in England, in France, and in Belgium.\n'4 The Americans give because it is their habit\nEXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM AN AMERICAN IN CALIFORNIA.\nNOTHING FOR NOTHING AND DAM LITTLE FOR FIVE CENTS is\nan old saying.\nIt is Imagination in its most riotous mood which can assert that\nThe Americans give because it is their habit \".\nSome rare few Americans, Hindoos, English, Italians and so forth\ndo give, and our American correspondent in California may be one of\nthese, the rest BARGAIN.\nWe repeat \" Clear the Americans out of Stratford \".\nWe add, Stop this asking for on behalf of Shakespeare.\nWho started it?\nEditor,"}, {"page_pdf": 7, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.7", "texte": "CALDERON'S STAGE.\nOBSERVATIONS ON AN UNKNOWN ILLUSTRATION OF\nA THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AGE OF\nPEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA.\nTRANSLATED By HENRY FURST.\nBY KLAUS RICHTER.\n\nI. THE CORRAL THEATRE IN\nTHE 17th CENTURY.\nm mm i ■ ni ■ 11— »iin■— nwiimiw mi——n—w—w>niiwii>»n w ■ >wi mmmmmstmeammgammmmtf\n44 IV yino al mundo con tal\n1 aficion a las representaciones escenicas,\nque a los nueye anos ya hacfa comedias\nen la Corte de su padre ' \" ('). In 1621\nthis 4 4 theatre-prince \" ascended the throne\nof Spain as Philip IV. After the evil\ntimes of ecclesiastical interference and royal\nprohibitions the Theatre (2) celebrated under\nhis rule its finest triumphs. (P.;S.). 44 La\naficion a los particulares (private perfor-\nmances in the grandees' houses) fue ge-\nneral says Sepulveda; and a Dutch\nwriter who travelled through Spain in 1655\nand commented on the theatre of the\ncountry with spirit, narrates that the whole\npeople 44 es tan perdido \" for this amuse-\nment, that one can scarcely obtain a seat\nat a performance. (P.). Nor were the\nlater scruples of conscience and prohibitions\nof the Court as regards comedies and\ndecay of morals in regard, for instance,\nto the 44 libros de Lope de Vega, que\ntanto dano habfan hecho a los costumbres \"\nable in this century to make any change\nin all this (P).\nEvery Grandee who held himself of\nany account at all built in or adjoining\nhis retiro a private stage for the\nlates, which he organised for the Court\nor for other distinguished guests, and to\nwhich the people was admitted as well. (M).\nThe popular mania for their 44 compam'as\nde comediantes y volteadores \" (actors\nand dancers) was so great, that after the\nre-establishment of theatrical liberty, i.e.\nafter 1621, 12 \" compamas Reales o\nde titulo obtained recognition, whose\nnumber soon grew to 40 (P). That\n\" mostruo de la naturaleza, el gran Lope\nde Vega '*, as he is called in the 44 pro-\nlogo de las comedias \" of Cervantes, had\nreached the summit of his existence and\nPedro Calderon de la Barca was in the\nbloom of his youth. Theatre and festival\ndecoration was at its highest development.\nBances Candamo says of the Marques de\nHeliche, the 44 inspector superior de las\nrepresentaciones teatrales de Palacio\nthat under his intendancy the art of the\ntheatre (machinery and decoration) reached\nthe highest level of the century, which\nviewed with astonishment the achievements\n\n(1) That is how Ricardo Sepulveda, in his \" EI Cor-\nral de la Pacheca, apuntes para la historia del teatro es-\npanol Madrid, libreria de Fernando Fe, 1888, begins\nhis account of manuscripts of the time when princes them-\nselves were so glad to act.\nBesides this book I have also had recourse to the\n\" Tratado historico sobre el origin de la comedia y del\nhistrionismo en Espana \" by Casiano Pellicer, Madrid, 2\nvols., at the imprenta de la administracion del Real Ar-\nbitrio de Beneficiencia, 1804. And also to the \" Esce-\nnograffa Espanola \" by Joaquin Munoz Murillejo, Madrid,\nimprenta Blass, Soc. An., 1923.\nWhere ever it is possible, I limit my description to\nliteral quotations in these books from manuscripts and print-\ned matter of the time. References to these sources are\nabbreviated as follows: (P) for Pellicer, (S) for Sepulveda\nand (M) for Murillejo.\n(2) I shall not speak of the ecclesiastical processional\ntheatre with its performances of sacramental autos on the\ncars of the \" fiesta del Corpus \". Similarly I can but\njust touch upon the princely festival-theatre."}, {"page_pdf": 8, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.8", "texte": "of the Florentine scene-painter Cosimo\nLotti, who usurped in his art 44 todo el\nimperio de la naturaleza \". In fact the\ntheatre of that period may well lay claim\nto have usurped all the arts, so that we\ncannot easily decide, whether Juan Risco's\nmusic and Lotti's scenes were for Calde-\nron's poetry, or whether Calderon wrote\na libretto for the music and the scenes.\nThe magnificence of the performance of\n44 Circe o el mayor encanto Amor \" on\nthe night of June 23, 1 679, on the island\nof the big lake in the Retiro of Madrid\ncan hardly be imagined. Under the trees\nof the park, more than three thousand\nlights were mirrored in the water, around\nthe shores of which the eager crowd\nthronged, while the Court watched the\nsplendid spectacle from sumptuous barques,\n- a spectacle in which Lotti's skill vied\nwith Calderon's genius.\nOf the enchantment of the mise-en-\nscene a better impression can perhaps be\nobtained from the article by Julio Mon-\nreal in 44 La Illustracion Espaiiola y Ame-\nricana \" (b of 1880 on 44 Las Fiestas del\nBuen Retiro \" than from the well-known\nstage-design of the times of Felipe IV by\nFrancesco Ricci, preserved at the Biblio-\nteca Nacional in Madrid. Pomp and\nsumptuous display were the aims of these\nroyal feasts. The art of the painter, the\npoet, the musician and the actor joined\nin one of those baroque performances, that\npossessed an international European style\nand whose Spanish variety may perhaps\nsurprise the student of this period only\nby its magnificence and its good taste.\nThis is one thing, the gilded laurel-\nwreathed stage of the Spanish' theatre.\nIt is not all; not the truly living theatre,\nnot the dramatic dancing-play, which car-\nried the mimes of the ancients down through\nthe fairs of the centuries; which, in,\nits shabby poverty and contempt was\nnever in danger, as were the festival per-\nformances of the Church and the Courts,\nof suffocating under the pompous display,\nwhich merely consisted of a scaffolding and\na few buffoons, who at most ran a risk of\nbeing excommunicated or arrested for the\ntoo fantastic tenor of their life; that\nTheatre, eternally banned, eternally resto-\nred to favour, despised and admired, and\nwithout which Calderon would have been a\nmere occasional poet for Princes' festivals.\nIhe Theatre of the actors, whose\nkingdom is in the hearts of the entire\npeople and in the ambition of all artists,\nemerges towards the close of the 15th\ncentury from its inglorious and scarcely-\ndocumented past. (P). No longer mere\namusements for fairs, but real plays, at a\nvery early date in verse, were performed\nthroughout Castile, throughout Spain. The\ngreat Lope de Ruega, formerly a gold-\nbeater, the father of the Spanish comedy,\nplayed with his actors his own comedias,\nentremeses, coloquios pastoriles, dialogos 0)\nor perhaps also the eight comedies of the\nSpanish priest and poet Bartolome de\nTorres Naharro, then famous in Rome\nand Nap! es. Cervantes as a boy evidently\nsaw Lope de Rueda in Madrid and in\nhis prime still remembers his beautiful verses,\nadmires his greatness and 44 truth \". Pel-\nlicer compares him with Moliere, who\nlike him, and after him, almost alone\namidst a throng of mediocre letterati, rises\nabove the great mass of comedy-writers.\nLike Shakspere, Rueda lies buried in a\nSpanish Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral\nof Cordoba. (P).\nIn the Corral is the cradle of the\nSpanish Theatre. In the Corral were per-\n\n(i) See also Pellicer: \" un caballero francos\", who\ntravelled through Spain in 1659.\n(I) His Obra in the Real Biblioteca in the Escoria!\nare indicated by Pellicer, with a reprint of an example\nfrom one of his comedies."}, {"page_pdf": 9, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.9", "texte": "formed for the first time the improvised\nfarces of the strolling players as well as\nthe chiselled comedies of Calderon. In the\nCorral, the \" campestre mansion olorosa\ndel ganado \", the fragrant barnyard!\nEverywhere and always, the first natural\nstage for strolling players is the courtyard\nof country inns, or of the urban hostels,\nor of the great charitable fraternities. This\nwas at the same time an inn-yard and a\npublic refuge surrounded by the Casa-\ncocheras y tiendas (stables and booths).\nThe traffic in these caravanserais made it\nworth while for the strolling players to\nset up their light scaffoldings and display\ntheir arts. (P).\nCofradias (lay fraternities), who adminis-\ntered hostels, hospitals and asylums, took\nhold, in the interest of their institutions,\nof the monopoly of the performances (In\nMadrid in the 15 th century) (P). They\nplaced their Corrals at the disposal of\nthe \" autores o maestros \" (managers),\ngave the \" Companias de ma legua\n(wandering troupes) settled stations, in\nwhich they guaranteed them, at every\nTeturn, full houses, and thus obtained for\nthemselves regular and fantastically increa-\nsing revenues from the lease paid by the\nmanagers. In the second half of the 16th\ncentury there were in Madrid two regular\ntheatre-corrals and soon others appeared\nin the remaining cities and villages of\nSpain as well. (M;.\nAnd later still, even in . Calderon's\ntimes, we find these regular corrals, but\nnot yet any \" companias fijas de come-\ndiantes \", not even in Madrid itself. (E).\nThe length of the season depended on the\ngreater festivals. But for the greater part\nof the year, the maestros of the various\nalternating troupes are obliged to go with\ntheir companies, which generally consisted\nof three or four men, and a boy who\npassed the hat (S), to eke out a livelihood\nin the provinces (buscarse la vida pos\nciudades, villas y aldeas y aun por lor\ncortijos mas pobres (S, P).\nIn Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla,\nand finally in the smallest towns, an ever\nmore fastidious audience steadily increased\nin its passion for the theatre and for the\nperformance of complete Comedias de capa\ny espada, in whose three Jornadas (acts)\ngalant intrigue alternated with scenes of\nobscenity, and which were well spiced with\nLoas \" (eclogues) and \" Prologos) \" in\nthe style of the time. In these the poet and\nthe actor saluted the spectators and pleaded\nfor indulgence; they took the place, in\nan unlettered age, of our programmes O,\nwhich are often no less otiose. (P).\nConjurors and acrobats were never\nquite excluded from any of these stages.\nWe learn from the prohibitions and from\nthe sometimes \" striking \" protests of the\n\" Mosqueterfa \" (the rougher part of the\naudience) against the ecclesiastical and\ncourtly prudishness and care for their spi-\nritual welfare I 2), that the entractes were\noccupied not only by burlesque Entremeses\n(interludes) or honest \" danzas antiguas y\npermitidas but that there was a special\nrequest for the \" bailes (3) populares y\ntruhanescos \", those vulgar and contemptible\npopular dances, which, proceeding from\nSpain to Naples and Rome, have con-\nquered the whole world (P). The wild\nZarabanda, \"el pestifero baile **, the\naffined Chacona and the charming Segui-\ndillas modelled on the two, have often\nvied with the literary Muse of the Spanish\nTheatre and have filled it with ever fresh\nand vital blood and life. (S).\n\n(1) Whereas posters were customary since Cosme de\nOviedo (according to Roxas's \" viaje entretenido \").\n(2) Sometimes also on the part of bigoted actors\n(see Pellicer : memoir of the actor Ortiz), who were in-\nclined to die piously. (Pellicer : the Baltasara etc.)\n(3) A \" baile \" is a singable dancing strophe, which\nfollows certain rhythmical laws"}, {"page_pdf": 10, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.10", "texte": "All this hindered neither the refined\ngentlemen of the Court nor the severe\nlords of the clergy from liking to appear\nat these truly \" mixed \" performances,\nnor from inviting the actors, out of these\nsurroundings of pickpockets and lost women,\nto take part in their sumptuous festival\nperformances. (P). The actor and the\npoet are the link between the three forms\nof the Spanish stage. In spite of all prohi-\nbitions it was not easy to drive the actor\nfrom the courtyards and sacristies of the\nChurches. He was as skilled in the \" art\npompeux '' for the Courts, as in buffoonery\nfor the people.\nAs regards our theatre-corrals, they\ncan never in spite of the ever-growing\n\" theatrical season \" quite lose all trace\nof their original scope for the comfort of\nmen and animals. (P). For a Northerner it\nis not easy to imagine, how in one and\nthe same courtyard the coaches and the\nbeasts could be placed in their stables,\nthe muleteers lodged in their booths, the\nsellers of fruta y agua ** wander about\namong the audience and yet the theatre\nbe carried on with passion and properly\nenjoyed (P). All this went on in the\nopen air and by day-light (at about the\nsame hour as modern bull-fights). And\nyet all these apparent contradictions are\nso easily explained by the fatalistic non-\nchalance of the southerner in regard to\nall the obvious things of life. For him\nWorld and Representation do not—as for\nus—fall apart in contradictions. Even in\nMadrid the two famous theatres of the\nCorral del Principe and de la Cruz\nmust never have lost their character as\nhostels of the Cofradias, as hospital and\nas rest-house for muleteers and ox-drivers\nand as lodging-houses for pilgrims and\npriests etc. (P).\nThe Cofradias bought additional plots\nof ground for their Corrals, as well as\nthe surrounding houses, whose windows\nserved as natural boxes for the audience.\nAt no great expense they installed platforms\nfor the stage fforo o tablado) and stairs\nthat led to the dressing-rooms of the\nactors (vestuario). They built entrances\nand stairs to the window \" boxes \", as\nwell as Rejas (railings), balconies and\ngelosias \" for the protection of the\nspectators. They leased these Corral-\ntheatres for one performance, for the sea-\nson, later on for 2 or 4 years, to the\nimpresarios (autores o autoras) (P. S).\nThe sale-contracts for the houses, the\nbuilding-contract with the workmen, the\nreports of the building-commissaries with\nregard to damages and decay are—if we\nexcept prohibition and occasional law-suits—\nmore or less the only reliable and dis-\npassionate sources from which we may\nform an idea of the appearance of these\nlong-lived fields of art.\nThe Administrators of the Fraternities\nand the impresarios attached the greatest im-\nportance to the decoration of the aposen-\ntos (boxes) for magistrates, ecclesiastical\ndignitaries and great nobles (closed for\nthe ladies and provided with special en-\ntrances and stairs) whose parapets consi-\nsted of masonry; to the arrangement of\nthe stalls (gradas) for the \" more distin-\nguished \" part of the audience, which\nwere disposed over the floor of the patio\n(and therefore sometimes called tablado)\nand under * the galleries (corredores) ; and\nlast of all, to the leasing of the most\nluxurious boxes to the Grandees of the\nCourt.\nOn the other hand very little was\ndone for the actual stage and all that\nappertained to it. In the arrangement of\nseats for the audience it was not simply\na question of pleasure and comfort for\nladies and persons of quality, but this was\nwhat really paid the expenses of the"}, {"page_pdf": 11, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.11", "texte": "theatre. Not that there was any superfluous\nluxury. The boxes and the galleries were\noften decrepit enough to cause a modern\ninspector of works to tear his hair O.\nIt can be easily imagined how amidst\nthe lively interest then shown in the thea-\ntre, some theatre-maniacs occupied seats\nright under the stage, of which a Cabal-\nlero franees, who came to Spain in 1659\nwith the Marechal de Grammont, tells\nus that their use was almost hereditary\n(como un mayorazgo). One can also\nimagine, how the fat Padre Marca Ocana,\ndressed, in spite of all prohibitions, in\nsecular garb, and right under the legs of\nhis adored bailarina (dancer), used to fling\nhis gross quips at the actors on the po-\ndium or at the howling mass of the Mo-\nsqueteria (o Infanteria Espanola) those\nburghers and artisans of capa y espada,\nthose caballerors of the patio (P). They\nstood in compact groups around the ta-\nblados of the actors and filled, incorruptible\njudges, the whole corral with their masterful\noutcry (vide Moratin M, P). One can\nsee the learned gentlemen on their bancos\nsabios which later in an aesthete\ncraze for Tertullian became the \" Ter-\ntulia \". In the upper story we see the\nglowing eyes, the whirring fans and the\nheaving bosoms of the ladies, while over\nthe balustrades of still other galleries there\nlean gallant gentlemen, \" en gravedad y\ngolilla \", in gravity and ruffs, in order to\ncast a glance at the stage, or to exchange\none with their adorata, if they did not\nprefer, as did Padre Ocana, to take up\ntheir permanent abode amidst the Mo-\nsqueteria.\nBut what we can but most vaguely\nconceive, is a mere trifle. And this is\nconsidered to be well-known, and is passed\nover in silence by all documents. It is\nsuch a matter of course, that it is hardly\nmentioned. This is: the Theatre I Its stage,\nits platform, its backgrounds, decorations\nand other requisites! Last of all, the actor,\nhis costumes, his wigs, his acting and\ninter-acting! (M, P) 0).\nWe hear of the \" poverty of the\nscenic apparatus \", of a stair to the\ndressing-room of the actors. We know,\nthat <k outsiders \" were not allowed admit-\ntance to these dressing-rooms, by royal\ndecree. (S, P). But what this room was\nlike, how the stairs joined it to the stage,\nwhere the stage itself was, whether it\nleaned against a house, a wall of the\ncorral or stood free in the middle\nof the courtyard; whether it had any\nscenes, what they looked like, whether the\nactors dressed in the fashions of the day\nor wore fancy dress all this we can only\nguess, but we do not know. (M, P).\nOf course, we can desume from the\nproscriptions of the Censor, that the female\nfars antes (from farce) wore fairly indecent\nskirts and bodices, or, preferably, male\ncostume. It is well-known that confessors\nwere assailed by the scruples of gallant\ngentlemen, who could not remove their\neyes from the charming decolletes and\nover-short skirts; and that His Majesty\noften proclaimed to these ladies, that they\nmust pull their kerchiefs up to their chins\nand lower their basquinas down to their\nlittle feet. And last of all, we learn that the\nAlcalde was ordered to be present at the\nperformance of the comedies and to watch\n\n(1) Report of the Royal and Municipal Architect\nJuan Beloro on the condition of the Corral del Prmcipe\nin Madrid in 1660 (P)\n(2) Corral and patio, besides \" courtyard-\" ! Patio\nwith the specific meaning of floor surface between the houses\nand serving as \" stalls \" or \" pit\n(3) It need not be assumed, that the \" Bancos por-\ntables 99 (P), which are so often mentioned, were necessa-\nrily placed, as a special section, in the patio in the midst\nof the surrounding Mosqueteria. They were father the\nseating accomodation for the gradas y cortedores.\n(I) Reconstructions that endeavour to serve as a\nsubstitute for lacking pictorial representations, are neither\npleasant nor reliable."}, {"page_pdf": 12, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.12", "texte": "over the exact observance of the decrees,\nas well as over public decency in general.\nSo we cannot admit, that at the time\nof the sumptuous Marques de Heliche\nthese same actors, who enriched the festivals\nof the Court with their presence and were\ninvited by the nobles to their particulares\nafter the performance, were contented, in\ntheir so popular Corral performances, with\na poverty of costume which perhaps in\n1492 might have sufficed for their then\nless sophisticated audiences. (S, P). v).\nOf course in the limited platforms of\nthe Corral no great splendour of scenery\nand trasformations was possible. A platform,\nupon which it had to be possible to look\ndown on from above, on at least three\nsides, and whose surface we are told was\none yard above the ground, can not sup-\nport any lofty superstructures. I can readily\nbelieve, that the taste of Spanish artists\ndid not even attempt to vie with the su-\nperior resources of princely decoration in\nthis unsuitable field.\nAs with the costumes, so must we also\nrefrain from supposing that the acting was\nprimitive. Not only the testimony of\nRoxas and Cervantes, but also the\nardent interest of a Prince of Morocco, of\na Philip IV, who is said to have been\npresent in incognito at performances in the\nCorral de la Pacheca, and, lastly, the\ntheatrical craze of the Corregidor of Madrid\nDon Juan Armona supply sufficient\nproof of the high quality of this art.\nAnd yet, how little all these docu-\nments contribute to a plastic vision of\nCalderon's stage! How many distorted\nand contradictory ideas have they not\ngiven rise to! Or are we to believe the\nfable of writers of a later age, when they\nassure us that the prompter as he may\nhave done in the closed theatres of later\ndays! followed the actors around the\nstage from one side to another with viso-\nred cap, candle and book.\nThe candle at least was not required\nin the Corral theatres, since the perfor-\nmance took place by daylight and in the\nopen. That the Alcalde sat \" right on\nthe stage \" f1) with a clerk and two\nushers, that the Guitarrist was placed \" in\nthe middle of the stage \", when he ac-\ncompanied his \" Princesses \" (2), is\nhardly believable as a general characte-\nristic, and in Calderon's times quite unthink-\nable. And last of all, whether on ly the\ngalleries and the Gradashad tejadas (roofs),\nor whether, as has been asserted, the\nstage did as well, and even, in Roman\nfashion, the whole Corral was covered\nwith a huge awning, is after all a question\nof purely secondary importance. (P).\nIt is enough to recall the delightful\nblunder caused throughout a whole century\n(and one so near to us too) in our ideas\nof the mystery-stages, by the double mea-\nning of the word \" estage \" Or the naive\nlegend of \" written tablets \", which Shakes-\npeare is supposed to have set up before an\nalmost exclusively unlettered audience in\norder to explain the locality of his scenes.\nBefore Karl Theodor Gaedertz discov-\nered Johann de Witt's drawing in 1880\nand identified it as a picture of the Swan\n\n(1) Agustin de Roxas Villandrando, a great actor,\nff. 1600 ca., speaks in his 44 Loa de la Comedia \" of the\nshabby scenic apparatus of the times of Lope de Rueda ;\nhe says that then 44 a cloak, a clown, a stringed instru-\nment and a false beard \" were enough to make a play.\nIn his book 44 El Viaje Entretenido.... \" Madrid, Emprenta\nReal J 603, he enumerates his predecessors, who originated\nthe movement towards proper costuming on the stage\nand made but scanty use of false beards.\n(2) See note 12.\n(3) His manuscript 44 Las memorias cronologicas so-\nbre el origen de las representaciones de comedias en\nEspaTa \" (S).\n(1) Even if he may have had his place, later on\nin the closed 8 tier' theatres, in the proscenium. (P) (S).\n(2) Perhaps due to anj erroneous interpretation of\ninformation given by Roxas, who says of the impresario\nNavarro that he drew the music, which had formerly play-\ned out of sight, on to the open stage."}, {"page_pdf": 14, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.14", "texte": "Plate 8\nTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL.\nPen-and-ink copy made by Klaus Richter of a drawing in the Biblioteca Nacional of Madrid by Miguel March, 1637-1670.\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 15, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.15", "texte": "Plate 9.\nKEY TO THE DRAWING OF THE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE IN A SPANISH CORRAL.\na a Artist's point of sight.\nA A' Barriere.\nB Barriere.\nX Stage.\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 17, "page_imprimee": "95", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.17", "texte": "Theatre of London, it was impossible to\nform any clear idea of what the Shakes-\npearean theatre was like.\nWords are equivocal. They aim more\nat effects and atmosphere than at causes\nand appearances. These latter belong to\npictorial representation. But hitherto we\nwere absolutely -without any such represen-\ntation of a theatrical performance in a\nSpanish corral. As far as I know, there\nare not even any typical costume-pictures,\nor scene-designs, f1) for this stage—which\ncan be easily explained by the primitive\nstate of the scenic apparatus (see Roxas,\nP),—for which Calderon wrote plays that,\nas Goethe says, could be played on a\nbarrel.\nAccording to Murillejo the whole\nstage of the Corral consisted of a platform\none yard high, without any scenery besides\na cloth stretched out to serve as a\nbackground. It had open holes or trap-\ndoors (for apariencias: and\nstairs that led up to it. And yet after\nall there are a hundred nuances of the\nstages of a period, from the Metropolitan\nOpera House to the country-booth, from\nMadrid to Toboso.\nII. THE DRAWING BY MIGUEL\nMARCH IN THE BIBLIOTECA\nNACIONAL OF MADRID.\nTHE accompanying pen-and-ink-drawing\nis a copy made by me of a washed\nquill-drawing in sepia on paper, in the\nBiblioteca Nacional of Madrid. It is\npublished in the \" Dibujos originales de\nmaestros Espanoles \" (2) of August Me-\nyer, no. 40 of the first volume: Dibujo\nal pincel y espalto (?) Al. 17,7 cm,\n— ———-\nAn. 37,6 cm, Madrid. Biblioteca Nacio-\nnal. Citado: Barcia num 427 \".\nMeyer identifies the author as fol-\nlows : \" Miguel March (?). Nacido en\nValencia en 1637, muerto alii 1670,\ndiscipulo de su padre D. Esteban, quien\nlo fue de Orente y fallecio en 1660.\nand describes the subject of the drawing\nthus: \" Grupos de caballeros. Ala izquierda,\nen primer termino, unos novilios. El ca-\nracter de este apunte parece mas bien\nholandes que espanol. Es curioso ver que\nlos contornos de algunas figuras estan pan-\nzadas con una aguja para calcar el dibujo\nsobre la tela.\nThis is perhaps also the reason why\nthe margin is damaged, in one gap of\nwhich is written in ink, in another hand,\non the underlying paper, \" Miguel March \".\nI too recognise in this drawing the\nrepresentation of a few caballeros and\nnovilios. But in addition it seems to me\nto be an unexceptionable and very cha-\nracteristic representation of a theatrical\nperformance in a Corral in Calderon's\ntime 0).\nFor this affirmation the identification\nof the author is irrelevant, especially since\nthe costumes of the caballeros belong to\nthe seventeenth century, perhaps to the\nsecond half. Therewith Calderon's time\n(he died in 1 681) is sufficiently established\nfor our purposes. By the \" Dutch cha-\nracter \" which Meyer attributes to the\ndrawing, I think is meant simply the tenor\nof the technique, which cannot surprise us\nin a Spanish painter after such a long\nperiod of political union.\nIn the figures represented from No. 1 -6\nwe see actors performing on a platform\n(tablado) whose supports are clearly visible\nbetween the youth No. 7 who is leaning\n\n_ - —*\n(1) Unless one desires thus to consider book-illus-\ntrations to old Spanish editions of ancient play-writers.\n(2) The Hispanic Society of America. New York.\n1920,\n(1) All our observations can easily be controlled\nby consulting the excellent reproduction of the drawing in\nMeyer."}, {"page_pdf": 18, "page_imprimee": "96", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.18", "texte": "on the floor of the stage (about one yard\nfrom the ground), and the child No. 8.\nThe background of the stage is formed\nby a flat wall or scenic parapet, which\nstretches behind the actors from the right\nwall above the youth No. 7 straight to\nthe round tower-like superstructure on\nwhich the actor No. 4 is leaning as on\na stool. There may be another such\nplastic turret between nos. 2 and 3. f1).\nOn the stage, next to the actor no.\n3 who is speaking with lifted hand, at\nwhom many of the spectators in the stalls\n(Nos. 8-18) are looking, are a chair and\nan open box or coffer, with an arched\ncover. Behind the chair a flat wall is\nsuggested, of which it is not easy to judge,\nwhether, as it might seem from the per-\nspective of its upper corner, it represents\na further elevation (cover for entrance?)\nof the posterior parapet of the stage, or\nwhether as is done by the position of\nthe chair it is meant to indicate a divi-\nsion of the stage into two separate rooms.\nThe left room or space ends in an\nentrance-stairs, which is clearly indicated\nby the actor no. 5 who is just coming up.\nPerhaps the flat wall, left, behind the\nactor No. 6, who is standing at this en-\ntrance (no doubt on the top step of the\nstairs), is meant to cover the stairs that\nleads aslant towards the back.\nIt seems to me as though the artist\nhad wished to represent a simultaneous\nscenic action, in which, in consequence,\nall six characters are performing at once.\nFor the speaker No. 3 is pointing with\nhis hand towards the action at the stairs,\nat which the seated youth no. 4 admits,\nwith a gesture of invitation, the actor No. 5\n(who bears a burden which can not\nclearly be made out), whereas No. 6 (an\nolder man, dressed in popular garb) is\nstill discussing with No. 5 as to his\nadmission.\nAnd indeed it is significant that the\ninterest of the Mosqueteria is divided\nbetween the speaker No. 3 and the goings-\non on the stairs, towards which he is\npointing. No. 11,13, 14,15, 18 namely,\nwho all (with the possible exception of\nNo. 11) show by their faces and clothes\nthat they belong to the \" superior ** specta-\ntors, are looking at the speaker anxiously,\nwhereas the people (No. 7, 10, 12) are\nwatching with preference the events at the\nentrance.\nThe \" fancy-dress \" of the actors is\nclearly intended as theatrical costume and\nclearly recognizable even to the levelling\neye of our own century as a contrast to\nthe everyday and fashionable garb of the\naudience. No. 1 wears trunk-hose, perhaps\nwith a cod-piece, a jerkin with a goose-belly\nattached negligently, no doubt with a\ndesign to humour, a round cap and capa\ny espada. His thick nose, and long bare\nneck characterise his part egregiously.\nNo. 2, probably the \" grazioso \" or\nperhaps a girl disguised as a boy, is\nsplendidly characterised by his effeminate,\ndancing pose. No. 3, the \" hero \" of the\nplay, is fashionably clothed and in obvious\nrelation to the open coffer, which will be\na token for connoisseurs of the literature\nof that fertile period helping to identify\nthe play by means of this \" property \".\nNo. 5, too, whose burden apart from\nthe number of the characters and the na-\nture of the parts will provide a second\nmeans of identifying the play, is, with his\npotato-nose, his cap set awry over one\near, and his stuffed paunch, easily reco-\ngnisable as a commediante dell'arte.\nLet us now turn to the Mosqueteria.\nThe spectators in the are as clearly\n\n(1) If one imagines these two round constructions\nconcealed, here we should have two possibilities for the\napariencias de demonios, for which, because of the ab-\nsolute bareness of the tablado platform, there would be\nno possibility under the floor."}, {"page_pdf": 19, "page_imprimee": "97", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.19", "texte": "characterised as the actors on the stage.\nOn the right the young lad No. 7 with\nhis trunk-hose. Then the merry artisan.\nNo. 9 with long breeches, a workman's\nblouse, and a cap. The Chico No. 8, who\nwith his left hand holds on to that of his\nfather, and whose hair his father is caressing\nwith his right hand. The little boy is\ninterested neither in the speaker No. 3 nor\nin the goings-on on the stairs, but only\nin the droll man with the huge belly, the\nred nose and the dagger.\nThen comes the fellow in the plush\nbreeches (No. 10), who is marching with\ngreat steps towards one of the entrances,\nwhile the youth No. 1 1 inside of the\nbarrier is watching the action on the stage\nwith an almost passionate enthusiasm.\nThis enclosed space is clearly indicated\nby two barriers A and B (see ground-\nplan), which run slanting towards the\nstage. Compare: Caballero No. 17 who\nis leaning from within on the one end,\nwhile the youth No. 1 I is holding on\nevidently to the other side of Barrier A.\nBarrier B is almost hidden by the close-\nly crammed Mosqueterfa, only the lower\npart is clearly visible between the legs of\nCaballeros No. 19 and 20.\nThat the city, in which our drawing\nhad its origin, was a place of some im-\nportance, is proved by the crowd of well-\ndressed caballeros (No. 1 6-22), who are\nstanding at the feet of Thalia as evident\nhabitues of the theatre and fling their jests\ninto the tumult of the patio. The great\nmass of the spectators, the ladies, the clergy\nand the dignitaries, sat and stood, as we\nknow, in the corredores and in the apo-\nsentos of the houses that surrounded the\nIt must have been from one of these\naposentos or corredores on the right side\n(seen from the audience) that our artist\nsaw and drew this scene. That is clearly\ndemonstrated by the marked perspective.\nThe young caballerono. 22 is gracefully\ndoffing his ample sobrero to one of the\ncorredores de las mujeres, or to the ce-\nlosia of a grandee, whereas the Mozo\nno. 23 behind him is calling something\nup to a Ventana high up and to the\nright of the painter straight opposite the\nstage.\nThe peasants or cattle-merchants (Nos.\n25 and 26) behind the young cattle, the\nsmall group (No. 28-32) vhich is discussing\na bargain or the latest talk of the town,\nare as little disturbed by the performance\nas the stalls and the actors are by them.\nWhether the page-like youth (No. 27) is\nthe \" boy who passed the hat \", is left\nto our imagination.\nO campestre mansion olorosa del ga-\nnado y de los comediantes! O charming\nnonchalance of the Southerner in regard\nto all the obvious things of life!\nIt is unnecessary to add more. Anyone\ncan see that this is the picture of a\nreal performance. And the skill of the\nartist in characterisation proves that we\nare watching the performance of a come-\ndy and not one of the equally popular\nfeatures of the Corral, such as a dance,\na conjuror's show, acrobatism, etc.\nIn conclusion: I trust that the learning\nof Spanish philologists will soon be able\nto identify the play which is being per-\nformed. When thus the last hiatus in the\nexplanation of this pictorial representation\nof a corral in Calderon's time shall be\nfilled, I shall feel happy in having given\nto the Spanish people, for whose country\nand qualities I have so great a sympathy,\na fresh testimony, by means of this dis-\ncovery, of the time of their glory."}, {"page_pdf": 20, "page_imprimee": "98", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.20", "texte": "A FORGOTTEN HARLEQUIN.\nBY R. J. BROADBENT.\nTOM ELLAR was a prince among Har-\nlequins, but his life, like the garb he\nwore, was a chequered one. His name\ndoes not appear to be in any biogra-\nphical dictionary; but it is evident that\nhe had brains in his head, as well as\ntalent in his heels. He was born in 1780\nand made his metropolitan debut at the\nRoyalty Theatre on Easter Monday in 1808.\nTwo years later Ellar was engaged for\nthe production of the pantomime, 4 4 The\nMountain Witches; or Harlequin Miller \",\nat the Crow Street Theatre, Dublin. There\nwas an aquatic bower, with a display of\nfireworks, large cisterns having been erected\nand pipes laid through the theatre, under\nthe direction of Signor Belzoni, the afterwards\ncelebrated traveller. The scene, however,\nfailed and the orchestra, fearful of being\ninundated, took to flight, leaving Ellar,\nGomery, the clowij, and Bessie Dyke, the\ncolumbine, to finish the pantomime in the\nmidst of a splendid shower of fire and\nwater. Bessie Dyke subsequently married\nThomas Moore, the celebrated Irish poet.\nThree years after his Dublin engagement\nEllar commenced his career at Covent\nGarden Theatre in a pantomime called\n\" Harlequin and the Swans The fol-\nlowing year he made his first appearance\nat Sadler's Wells in \" The Rival Genii;\nor Harlequin Wild Man\". London and\nprovincial engagements followed until about\n1839.\nBut who can be found to write of\npantomimists as Charles Dickens wrote of\nGrimaldi ? When he learned that the\ndeparted clown had left some memoirs of\nhis life behind him he was in a perfect\nfever - of exitement to peruse the manu-\nscript, which he afterwards edited for his\nfriend, Bentley, the publisher.\nThe great novelist's ardent love for the\nwearers of the motley became known to\nEllar who thought that his autobiograpy\nwould form a necessary companion to that\nof Grimaldi, and with this good intent he\nsought the aid of the inimitable delineator\nof Pickwick.\nIt is the privilege of genius to influence\nthe fate of others, and with a breath, to\neffect that service which the less gifted\ncan only perform by pecuniary sacrifice.\nTo Dickens Ellar ventured the hope that\none who so triumphantly advocated in his\nwritings the exercise of kindly feelings\nwould not be unwilling to prove that the\npreceptor loved the practice of his own\ndoctrines.\nEllar was the last of three pantomi-\nmists, who had occupied not an obscure\nniche in the Temple of Fame. Grimaldi\nwas dead. Barnes died just as the tardy\nhand of charity was opened to him, and\nbefore he could taste the cup which came\ntoo late to save him. Ellar was left in\nloneliness and old age to contemplate a\nsimilar fate.\n\" I have thought \", he wrote to Dic-\nkens, \" that an autobiography of myself,\nenlivened with the vast fund of original\nanecdote which I possess of every star in\nthe theatrical profession, would, under your\nauspices as the nominal editor, contribute\nto avert the stern destiny with which I am\nthreatened. You have performed the same\nact in editing the memoirs of Grimaldi,\nto rescue the dead from oblivion; may\nI then hope that you will not withhold\nits repetition, when it is to preserve the"}, {"page_pdf": 21, "page_imprimee": "99", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.21", "texte": "living from destitution. The lustre of your\nname will have power to brighten my last\ndays, and render the close of a laborious\nlife a happy one \". Days and weeks went\nby, but no answer came from \" Boz\nand when it did mature the reply was in\nthe negative, and the autobiography was\nlost to stage literature. Curiously enough.\nDickens knew Ellar's nobility of heart as he\nhad recorded the following story of the Harle-\nquin in \" The Memoirs of Grimaldi Du-\nring the run of the pantomime \" Baron\nMunchausen; or The Fountain of Love \",\nproduced at Co vent Gardem on Decem-\nber 26, 1816, the men who held the\ncarpet in which the pantomime characters\nwere caught when they jumped through\nthe scenes, deliberately failed to catch Ellar\nin his flight through the \" moon \". To save\nhis head he fractured one of his hands,\nbut rather than any of the men should\nbe dismissed (one of whom had a wife\nand half-a-dozen children dependent on\nhim) Ellar declared the mistake was acci-\ndental !\n\" This praiseworthy resolution \" wrote\nDickens, \" which prevented several men\nfrom being thrown out of employment, was\nTendered the more praiseworthy by Ellar's\nhaving no earthly doubt that the mistake\n\"was intentional, and by his knowing per-\nfectly well that if he had fallen on his head\nin lieu of his hand he would most pro-\nbably have been killed on the spot '.\nMeanwhile, Ellar eked out a precarious\nexistence by playing a guitar in the streets,\nand as a singer and dancer in public houses.\nAnd this happened to one who had been\na favourite at the principal metropolitan\ntheatres. For season after season had the\nagile movements of Ellar, and the glitter\nof his spangled jacket, delighted parents as\nwell as children.\nThackeray, however, in one of his\ncharacteristic studies, drew attention to the\nindigence of poor Ellar: \" Harlequin El-\nlar \", he wrote, \" prince of many of our\nenchanted islands, was he not at Bow\nStreet the other day in his dirty, faded,\ntattered motley—seized as a lawbreaker for\nacting at a penny theatre, after having\nwell-nigh starved in the streets, where\nnobody would listen to his old guitar?\nNo one gave a shilling to bless him, not\none of us who owe him so much .\nIn 1842 Ellar, on the recommendation\nof M. Corri, the musical composer, was\nengaged to play Harlequin at the Adelphi\nTheatre. This engagement brightened the\ndecline of his days with some prosperity;\nbut his heart was broken, and in a few\nmonths he died in his sixty-second year."}, {"page_pdf": 22, "page_imprimee": "100", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.22", "texte": "PLAN OF THE CITIES OF\nLONDON AND WESTMINSTER.\nTHE BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK AND\nPARTS ADJOINING:\nTHE SECOND HALF OF THE PLAN\nWITH A FEW FACTS AND DATES\nABOUT THEATRES AND THOSE\nASSOCIATED WITH THEM.\nBY R. HORWOOD. 1792-1799.\nPLATE 3 A\nHYDE PARK.\n\"Kynaston (the actor who played\n\" female parts) at that time was so\n\" beautiful a youth, that the Ladies of\n\" Quality prided themselves in taking\n\" him with them in their coaches, to\n\" Hyde Park, in his theatrical habit\n\" after the Play; which in those days\n\" they might have sufficient time to do,\n\" because Plays then were us'd to\n\" begin at four o'clock : the hour that\n\" People of the same rank are now\n\" (1740) going to dinner. Of this truth\n\" 1 had the curiosity to enquire, and\n\" had it confirmed from his own mouth\n\" in his advanced age. \" (0\nBROMPTON.\nThis used to be one of the favou-\nrite residences of actors and singers.\nMICHAEL'S PLACE.\nMiss Pope, the actress, (1742-1818)\ndied at No. 17 Michael's Place.\nBROMPTON CRESCENT.\nCharles Incledon (1763-1826) died\nat No. 13. The crescent was built\nafter 1799 and occupying the ground\nsouth of Michael Place and west of\nMichael Grove.\nBROMPTON SQUARE.\nGeorge Colman, the younger (1762-\n1836) died at No. 22, not shown on\nthis plan but exactly opposite the en-\ntrance to Michael Grove.\nBROMPTON ROW.\nJohn Reeves, the comedian (1799-\n1838) died at No. 46, and was\nburied in Brompton churchyard.\nST. GEORGE'S PLACE. St George's\nHospital.\nJohn Liston, ((c) 1766-1846) died\nat No. 14, fronting the Park.\nPLATE 3 B\nPIMLICO.\nSTAFFORD ROW.\nRichard Yates, (1706-1796) died\nhere. This actor's great-nephew was, a\nfew months after, on August 22nd,\nkilled while endeavouring to effect an\nentrance into the house from the back\ngarden.\nIn the same row died Mrs. Mary\nAnn Yates the actress (1728-1787);\nshe was one of Garrick's best disciplined\nleading ladies.\nEATON SQUARE.\nGROSVENOR PLACE.\nIn 1807 Mrs. Abington, (1737-\n1815), one of the greatest but most\ntroublesome of English actresses, was\nliving at No. 19 in two rooms. None\nof the Theatrical fraternity attended\nher funeral, which, as one thinks of it,\nseems uncommonly thoughtful of the\nfraternity.\nPICCADILLY.\nPICCADILLY TERRACE.\nIn 1815, by March 17th, Lord\nByron is living at \" No. 13, Piccadilly\nTerrace \", the Duchess of Devonshire's\nhouse, \" she being in France \".\nNear Hyde Park Corner was No,\n138-139, the Duke of Queensbury's\nHouse. In the 139 half lived Lord\nByron in 1815. (?) Presumably No. 13\nof the Terrace was No. 139 of the\nwhole street known as Piccadilly.\nHERTFORD STREET.\nAt No. 10 Richard Brinsley Sheri-\ndan lived in 1800.\nCHESTERFIELD STREET.\nBeau Brummel lived at No. 4 ; in\n1810 he removed to 22 South-street,\nnorth of Chesterfield House.\nPlate 2 A &B).\nHALF MOON STREET,\n\" Yesterday, James Boswell, Esq,\n\" arrived from Scotland at his lodgings,\n\"in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly,\nsays the \" Public Advertiser \" of\nMarch 24th, 1768.\nPeter Cunningham remembers Ma-\ndame D'Arblay (Fanny Burney) living\non the 'east side of this street, in the\nlast house (that is No.l) overlooking\nPiccadilly. \" Her sitting-room was the\n\" front room over the shop, then a\n\" linendraper's, now (1850) a turner's,\n\" shop. \"\nMrs Pope (nee Younge) the actress,\n(1744-1797) died 'n this street. Michael\nKelly visited Mr. and Mrs. Pope here\nin 1793.\nCLARGES STREET.\nLady Hamilton was living at No. 11\nfrom 1804 to 1806,\nEdmund Kean (1787-1833) was\nliving at No. 12, from 1816 to 1824.\nMrs. Abingdon lived at the house\nat the corner of Clarges-street and\nPiccadilly about the year 1770.\nMiss O'Neill (1791-1872), later\nLady William Becher, lived on the\nwest side of Clarges-street, a few doors\nfrom Piccadilly.\nSTRATTON STREET.\nNo. 1 was the mansion of Mrs. Coutts\nwho was formerly Miss Harriet Mel-\nlon (1777-1837). She married Coutts\nthe banker in 1815, and afterwards\n(1827) married the Duke of St. Al-\nbans, and thus, writes Leigh Hunt,.\n\" brought back the dukedom to the\npoint from which it set out the\nstage\". She bequeathed the house and\nmost of her wealth to Miss Angela\nBurdett Coutts (1814-1906), youngest\ndaughter of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart.\n\n(i) Colley Gibber*"}, {"page_pdf": 23, "page_imprimee": "101", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.23", "texte": "It was at No. 17 of ths same street\nthat Sir Henry Irving lived in 1899\nand till his death in 1905. His body\nlay in state on the eve of the Funeral\nat the old house of the Baroness Bur-\ndett Coutts.\nDEVONSHIRE HOUSE.\nThis mansion was recently destroyed.\nIt was here that the collection of old\nEnglish plays, formed by John Philip\nKemble, was kept. It had been bought\nfor £/ 2000 at his death in 1823, by\nthe Dukeof Devonshire, who, it is said,\nadded largely to the collection.\nARLINGTON STREET.\nThis street lies on the south side of\nPiccadilly.\nAt No. 5, on the east side, died\nSir Robert Walpole in 1745. He\nleft the house to his son Horace, who\nlived in it until 1779.\nST. JAMES'S.\nST. JAMES'S STREET.\nAn English poet unfortunately now\nforgotten, one Byron, (1788-1824)\nlived in lodging 3 at No. 8 in 1811.\nJames Gillray, the caricaturist, (1757-\n1815) lived at No. 29 over the shop\nof Miss Humphrey, the print-seller\nand publisher. From 1811 he was\nimbecile, and in 1815 committed sui-\ncide in this house by leaving from a\ntop window.\nPARK PLACE.\nIn 1836 Charles Kemble is living\nat No. 1 1.\nBURY STREET.\nIn 1818 Thomas Moore is lodging\nat No. 24. In 1814, according to Lord\nByron, Moore was living at No. 33.\nBoth houses are on the west side of\nthe street.\nCrabbe, the poet, writes in his\n\" Journal\":\n\" 28th June, 1817. Seek lodgings,\n37, Bury-street. \" \" Females only vi-\nsible .... My new lodgings a littte my-\nsterious \".\nST. JAMES'S PLACE.\nAt No. 22 lived Samuel Rogers,\nbanker and poet, from 1808 till his\ndeath in 1855.\nThe house was the scene of many\na meeting between Rogers and Sheri-\ndan, Lawrence, Moore, Godwin, Scott,\nByron, (the forgotten poet), Sydney\nSmith, Wordsworth, and some fifty\nother artists, writers, musicians and actors.\nOnce Shelley called for a loan\nfor Leigh Hunt: ....was refused....\nWilliam Blake (1757-1827) not re-\nported to ever have been seen there:\nthis pleasant old Rogers, banker and\npoet, \" had not heard of him \".\nMrs. Robinson, the actress, (1758-\n1800) lived here \" in a small house\ncirca 1798.\nKING STREET.\nST. JAMES'S THEATRE.\nIn 1835 the architect Beazley (1786-\n1851) built \" a small neat theatre \"\non the scuth side of this street where\nthe letter K of the word King is\nplaced ; for Timbs says that it occu-\npied the site of Nerot's Hotel, num-\nber 19; adding that the interior of the\nTheatre resembled that of the Palace\nof Versailles. It was built for Braham\nthe singer (1 774?-1856) at a cost of\n£ 50,000 and £ 8000 for the site.\nRachel acted in this playhouse in 1841.\nST. JAMES'S SQUARE.\nOn the west side, says Cunningham,\nlived Madame Davis (flourished 1663\nto '69): Madame Mary Davis, briefly\nMoil Davis, <c the dancer, and mis-\ntress of the King She was doyvn\non the rates book as living on the\nnorth side, and paid £5.0.0. presu-\nmably per year.\nPALL MALL.\nAt No. 79 lived Nell Gwynne\nfrom 1671 to 1687. Later the house\nwas the cradle of the Society for the\nPropagation of the Gospel in Foreign\nParts.\nIn 1671 Evelyn saw Mrs Nellie\n•• Looking out of her garden on a\nterrace at the top of the wall\" and\ntalking to King Charles.\nClose to the Opera House (King's\nTheatre, Haymarket) Mile. Guimard\nin 1786-87 takes the House numbered\n10 Pall Mall (0.\nIn 1793 Michael Kelly also lodged\nin this street, and in Suffolk Street,\nHaymarket, close by.\nIn June 1763 Casanova, oncoming\nto London, takes a house of three\nstories at a rent of twenty guineas a\nweek : leaving it he goes to Soho in\nFebruary 1764. (q. v.)\n■mm. —tmmmm i i i i—wmmmmwm in n mi mi\nPLATE 3 C\nHAYMARKET & PALL MALL.\nOPERA HOUSE.\nFirst built by Sir John Vanburgh in\n1705 it was burnt down in 1789.\n(R. Lowe says 1788). A new buil-\nding designed by Michael Novosielski\nwas opened in 1791 (x), and in 1816-18\nit was altered and enlarged by Nash\nand Repton, It was again destroyed in\n1867. In 1872 it was rebuilt: in\n1892 demolished. A thorough history\nof this Opera House is needed.\n\" ORANGE\" COFFEE HOUSE.\nThe 44 Orange \" Coffee House or\nPrince of Orange Coffee House, oppo-\nsite King's Theatre at the south east\nextremity of the Haymarket,\nCasanova visited it in 1763 and\nfound there Vincenzo Marinelli.\nSPRING GARDENS.\nColley Cibber lived here in a house\nnear the Old Bull Head Tavern from\n1711 to 1714.\nTHE COCKPIT PLAYHOUSE.\nThe Cockpit Playhouse stood\nbetween Downing Street and St. James's\nPark. It was the private theat-e of\nCharles 11. To me it seems obvious\nthat the designs by Inigo Jones re-\nproduced in the Architectural Record,\nVolume XXXII, page 263 et seg. and\nin the \" Architectural Review \", in\n1925, are for this Theatre (2).\nLOCKET'S.\nThis was a famous ordinary, which\nstood on the site of Drummond's\nBanking-house, at Charing Cross.\nJevon, the actor and dramatist, de-\ndicates his Devil of a Wife (4to 1686)\nto his friends frequenting Locket's or-\ndinary.\nWHITEHALL.\nSCOTLAND YARD.\nHere lived three Theatre architects:\n(1) Inigo Jones: and here died his\nsuccessor Sir John Denham, the poet\nof Cooper's Hill: here lived (Denham's\nsuccessor) (2) Sir Christopher Wren; and\nhere, in a fantastic house, immortalised\nby Swift in some ludicrous lines, lived\n(3) Sir John Vanburgh.\nVanburgh's house was designed and\nbuilt by himself, from the ruins of\nWhitehall, and was destroyed by fire\nin 1697.\nBANQUETTING HALL.\nThis was designed by Inigo Jones\nand used for the Masques of Ben\nJonson and Jones : it is here marked\nChapel, being converted into one in\n1724 by George I.\n\n(i) See \" The Mask Vol. XI. No. 4,\nPP 174-175-\n(1) See plate 10.\n(2) See plate 7."}, {"page_pdf": 24, "page_imprimee": "102", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.24", "texte": "WESTMINSTER.\nDOWNING STREET.\nHere was \"a neat little Theatre \"\nowned by the Blake Delavals about\n1762. 1 should like to hear something\nof this little playhouse.\nGARDENER'S LANE.\nWenceslas Hollar, the engraver\n(1607-1677) died here.\n\" The rewards of all his diligence,\n\" now that he had reached to the\n\" verge of his seventieth year, were\n\" such and so insufficient, that they\n\" could not prevent the assault of an\n\" execution upon him at his house in\n\" Gardener*s-lane, Westminster, He de-\n\" sired only the liberty of dying in\n\" his bed, and that he might not be\n\" removed to any other prison but his\n\" grave\". (0 Not a bad engraver\neither.\nGREAT GEORGE STREET.\n\" Lord Byron's body lay in state for\n\" two days, at No. 25 in this street,\n\" then the residence of Sir Edward\n\" Knatchbull, now the Institution of Civil\n\" Engineers. 1 remember the funeral, and\n\" saw the coffin carried to the hearse.\n\" The street was blocked up by specta-\n\" tors from a very early hour \". (2)\nTOTHILL STREET. LINCOLN HOUSE.\nHere in 1664 lived Sir Henry Her-\nbert, the inspector of plays under\nCharles 11.\nHere Betterton was born in 1735\nST. MARGARET'S.\nNicholas Udall (1505-1556), author\nof Ralph Roister Doister, one of our\nearliest English comedies, is buried here,\nand also Wenceslaus Hollar, the en-\ngraver (1607-1677).\nBetterton was baptised here.\nWESTMINSTER ABBEY.\nPOETS' CORNER.\nHere is the Monument of Edmund\nSpenser (1552 ?-15 59), author of \" The\nFaerie Queene \", erected at the expense\nof Anne Pembroke, Dorset, and\nMontgomery, and renewed in 1778 at\nthe instigation of Mason, the poet.\nSpenser died in King-street, West-\nminster, \" from lack of bread \", and\nwas buried here at the expense of the\nEarl of Essex.\nA monument to Shakespeare, who\nis supposed to be buried in Stratford\non Avon, was erected here in the\nreign of George 11, from the design of\nKent; when Pope was asked for\nan inscription, he wrote:\n\" Thus Britons love me, and preserve\n[my fame,\nFree from a Barber's or a Benson's\nname. \"\nThis proved in the nineteenth century\nto be not quite incorrect on three out of\nfour points. Close to the monument of\nShakespeare is a slab in the pavement\nto Henry Irving (1838-1905).\nThere is a monument to Michael\nDrayton (1563-1631).\nIn the south Transept were buried\nSheridan, Garrick, Henderson, Dave-\nnant and Nancy Oldfield.\nA tablet to Ben Jonson was erected\nin the reign of George 11., a century\nafter the poet's death.\nIn the cloisters are buried Betterton,\nMrs. Bracegirdle and Samuel Foote.\nThe body of Byron, now a forgot-\nten poet, was refused admission to the\nAbbey.\nPLATES 3 C & 4 C\nMARSHAM STREET.\nBetween 1737 and 1740 Mrs.\nCharke, daughter of Colley Cibber,\nlived here, Had her little faults, was\nnot after money, and for this reason\nhistorians should pay her far more at-\ntention than the Guimards, Clives, Clai-\nrons and Co. who were commercial:\nthe historians honour them too much.\nLAMBETH.\nMARSH STREET.\nAt No. 29, \" near the Turnpike \",\nwhere the railway arch crosses the\nWestminster-road) lived, in 1787, Fran-\ncis Haward, one of the best of our\nEnglish engravers. His \" Mrs Siddons,\nas the Tragic Muse \", after Sir Joshua,\nwas engraved in this house, and will\nperpetuate his name.\nASTLEY'S AMPHITHEATRE, West-\nminster Bridge Road.\nIt is no new fault of modern English\nHistorians when one contradicts the other\nabout the far off matters relating to the\ntheatres of Shakespeare's time; for the\nHistorians of yesterday did just the\nsame thing about Astley's Amphitheatre.\nBrayley, 1824; Cunningham, 1850;\nTimbs, 1867 ; and Haydn, 1878 even\ndisagree when the first circus was built.\nOne say 1770, others says 1773, ano-\nther says 1774. They disagree about\nother and later facts.\nAs the Shakespeare drama and the\nAstley Circus are never doubted to\nhave been as perfect examples of play\nand ring as our island has ever seen\nit is entirely the fault of the insipid\nor pompous people for whom they\nwere created that the record of\nthem is lost or so inexact. Of lesser\nthings one would not expect to see\nrecords.\nHad they been a serious people they\nwould without any excess of earnestness\nhave recorded all about the buildings,\nperformers and performances. Instead\nof leaving it to casual reporters the city\nwould have seen to it. It is the city\nwhich is insipid and pompous, not the\npublic. The public has only to enjoy;\nthe city has a duty to perform.\nIn Shakespeare's and Astley's case\nthis duty was not performed. Records\nmight easily have been printed so that\nin case of fire some copies would be\nhanded on to other centuries.\nWhether precise records are kept\ntoday of all the Dramatic performances\n1 do not know. The most precise re-\ncords exist of the Italian Theatre.\nTHE SURREY THEATRE or Royal\nCircus, in Blackfriars Road.\nThis was opened in 1782 by Messrs\nHughes and Dibdin, in Qpposition to\nAstley. The interior was rebuilt in 1799.\nIt was burnt down in 1805, (Baker\nsays 1803). Rebuilt by Cabanal junior,\nthe architect, in 1806. Destroyed by\nfire in 1865 and rebuilt the same year.\nHALFPENNY HATCH, Neptune Place.\nHere in 1770 Astley first exhibited\nequestrian performances, without a li-\ncence, before he took the ground on\nwhich to build his amphitheatre.\nWESTMINSTER BRIDGE ROAD.\nIn 1788 Apollo Gardens (or Temple\nof Apollo) were opened opposite the\nAsylum. They were suppressed about\n1793. The proprietor was Walter\nClaggett, once lessee of the Pantheon.\nIn 1792 Fantoccini were being shown\nhere.\nIn 1835 was the Dramatic Authors'\nSociety's head quarters in this road at\n9 Griffeths Buildings ? In 1836 was\nit at 2 Agnes Place, Waterloo Bridge\nRoad ? Can any reader inform me on\nthis point?\nHERCULES BUILDINGS.\nIn 1793 William Blake removes\nfrom 28 Poland Street to No. 13\nHercules Buildings on the east side,\nstaying there until 1800 (0. He writes\n\" The Tiger\" 1793-94.\n\n(1) Oldys.\n(2) Cunningham.\n(i) In 1863 No. 13 becomes No. 63\nHercules Road: in 189 c it becomes No. 23."}, {"page_pdf": 25, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.25", "texte": "THE MASK\n1926\n9"}, {"page_pdf": 27, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.27", "texte": "THE MASK\n1926\n16"}, {"page_pdf": 29, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.29", "texte": "THE MA SK\n1926\n10"}, {"page_pdf": 31, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.31", "texte": "the ma sk\n1926\n15"}, {"page_pdf": 33, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.33", "texte": "THE MASK\n1026\n11"}, {"page_pdf": 35, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.35", "texte": "THE MASK\nI Q 2 6\n14"}, {"page_pdf": 37, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.37", "texte": "THE MASK\n1926\n12"}, {"page_pdf": 39, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.39", "texte": "THE MA SK\n1926\n13"}, {"page_pdf": 41, "page_imprimee": "103", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.41", "texte": "In 1794 0) James William WaJlack\nis born on August 20th in these Buil-\ndings; the number uncertain. He was\na son of William Wallack an actor at\nAstley's Amphitheatre.\nPLATES 3 E\nSOUTHWARK.\nBANKSIDE.\nIt seems that four theatres were in\nthis bit of ground or very near it. To\nbegin to retell why, would take two\nvolumes. One volume to state what\nhalf the authorities surmise, and another\nto refute these authoiities and to say\nwhat, in all probability, may have been\nthe precise number of theatres and\nwhere possibly each one stood. The\nbooks I have read on the subject are\none clatter from beginning to end;\nonly is Mr. George Hubbard reasonable,\nbecause all he has to say he confines\nwithin forty-four pages (large type) and\nhelps with a quantity of plans. Plans\nmay be useless as some writers assert.\nI prefer them to an overdose of patter.\nIf anyone knew about these buildings\nall would be well. He would then\nstate in thirty or forty lines what he\nknew and the Muse of History would\nsmile again. As it is she weeps over\nthe whole affair.\nIt is said that the following were the\nfour Theatres and the dates of buil-\nding : Rose, 1584: Swan, 1598 ;\nGlobe, 1599: Hope (circa) 1613.\nI gave three whole days to the search\nfor some precise and authoritative state-\nment worth hearing; not one emerged.\nLet us pass on to simpler matters.\nTHE CLINK.\nA prison and liberty in Southwark.\nThe site is now covered by the railway\nlines from Cannon Street Station. A\nnumber of celebrated beings were allow-\ned the captivity of the Clink, among them\nbeing William Haughton, the dramatist\n(flourished 1598), and John Duke the\nplayer, (flourished 1590-1609); he\nlived in Hollywell street.\nTHE LIBERTY OF THE CLINK.\nAmong well-known inhabitants were\nPhi! jp Henslowe (...?-16i6) the theatre\nmanager, who lived here from 1577\ntill his death. Also, so it is said, Ed-\nward Alleyn, the actor, (1566-1626),\nbut this is not certain.\nST. SAVIOUR'S.\nAmong those buried in the church\nare; Edmond Shakespeare \" player \"\n(~..— 1607), buried December 31 st\n1607. 41 Presumably the brother of\nWilliam #\\ (0\nLawrence Fletcher, an actor, (flou-\nrished 1595 to 1603), buried Septem-\nber 12th 1608.\nPhilip Henslowe, the theatre mana-\nger, buried in the chancel, January 16th.\nJohn Fletcher, dramatist, (1379 to\n1625), buried in the church, August\n29th, 1625.\nPhilip Massinger, dramatist, (1583\nto 1640) was buried in the churchyard,\nMarch 18th, 1640. (2)\nPLATE 3 G & 4 G.\nROTHERHITHE.\nGeorge Lillo (1693-1739), author\nof \" George Barnwell \" and other plays,\nwas a jeweller and lived here in 1735.\nROGUES LANE.\nIn Rogue's Lane is St. Helena\n(Gardens) opened in 1770.... music\nand dancing every evening ; it had a\nsmall open air Theatre with boxes and\nstage by 1775.\nPLATE4 A\nRANELAGH.\nThis was a place of public enter-\ntainment opened April sth 1742.\nThere were several buildings some\ndesigned by Capon; so says Timbs.\nWilliam Capon of Drury Lane was\nborn 1757. 1 can find no mention\nof an earlier Capon.\nThe site was that of the gardens of\na villa of Viscount Ranelagh, at Chel-\nsea, The principal room, the Rotunda,\nwas, it is said, erected by the architect\nWilliam Jones, and the word 44 erected \"\npoints to his manual labour : that\nhe designed it is obviously doubtful;\nhis name is not recorded in the Oxford\nConcise Dictionary of Biography. The\nroom was 185 feet in diameter, with\nan orchestra, tiers of boxes all round,\nand in the centre a huge coal fire. The\ncoup d'oeil, Dr. Johnson declared,\n44 was the finest thing he had ever\nseen.\nThe aim was to have a place in\nLondon rather like the Parisians had\nin the Foire de St. Germain and the\nFoire de St. Laurent,\nCADOGAN PLACE, Sloane Street.\nThe last London residence of Mrs.\nJordan, the actress (1762-1816) was,\nabout the year 1812, at No. 3, (in 1850\nit was No. 30), at that time the third\ndoor from Pont-street. Here John\nTaylor dined with her and Mrs.\nAbingdon.\nPLATE 4 B\nLOWER BELGRAVE PLACE.\nAt No. 27 Allan Cunningham the\npoet, father of Peter Cunningham F.\nS. A., author of the 44 Handbook of\nLondon (1849) lived from 1824 to\nhis death in 1842.\nPLATE 4 C\nVAUXHALL GARDENS.\nIn 1661 these Gardens went under\nthe name of The New Spring Gardens.\nEvelyn visited them July 2nd, 1661.\nIn 1732 Mr Jonathan Tyers reopened\nthem after he had altered and improved\nthem : Admission I shilling from 1 732 to\n1792. Music, Theatre, refreshments,\nfireworks, marionnettes, everything you\ncould wish for was included, and in\n1859 all was ended. 1661 to 1859 is\nno short run. But how some people\nmust have missed it when it was gone.\nPLATE 4 D\nLAMBETH.\nKENNINGTON.\nA Manor in Lambeth, where our\nKings had a palace from a very early\nperiod till the time of Hery VII.\nAlleyn, the actor, and founder of\nGod's Gift College at Dulwich, was\nLord of this Manor, buying it in No-\nvember, 1604, for £1065, and selling\nit to Sir Francis Calton in 1609 for\n£2OOO.\nNEWINGTON BUTTS.\nSomewhere here was the Theatre of\nthat name in Shakespeare's time. Here\ntoo is the Elephant and Castle Thea-\ntre, built in 1872, reconstructed and\nreopened in 1902.\nAnd here the end. c. g. e.\n\n(0 Concise Dictionary of National Bio-\ngraphy, Oxford, says j791 ? Hornblow\nsays 1795,\n(1) Sir Edmund Chambers.\n(2) See \" The Mask >\\ vol. XI, No. 3.\nPage 142. Compare the list of the Italian\nand French actors who were also privi-\nleged to lie at rest under the roof of St\nSaviour's in Paris."}, {"page_pdf": 42, "page_imprimee": "104", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.42", "texte": "THE PEOPLE.\n\nKABUKI. THE POPULAR STAGE OF JAPAN\nby Zoe Kincaid. Macmillan,\nRUZZANTE. Alfred MOT tier. J. Peyronnet & Cie.\nParis. Francs 35.\nTHE HISTORY OF THE LYRIC THEATRE,\nHAMMERSMITH. Nigil Playfair. Chatto & Windus.\n/ 6/— net.\nA feeble Theatre is a danger spot to a\nNation. A Theatre is strong or weak\nin as much as each individual masters his\nown weaknesses or allows them to spread\nlike weeds. At present there are too many\ntheatrical weeds in all the English Theatres.\nIf this inability to discern between weeds\nand fine plants is careless of a great nation\nit is a curious fact that often it is the great\nnations which have encouraged the stupider\nartistes, rewarded them, flocked to see them\nand made heroes of them.\nThereby making fools of themselves.\nIt is not as though the traditions of the art of\nthe Theatre were at all vague unknown.\nThey are very clearly written down, and any\nnation which disregards them can but blame\nitself if, through indifference, it is foolish enough\nto suppose that a feeble Theatre is a blessing,\na strong one a danger.\nBut what of the People and their desire\nfor a fine Theatre?\nHave the English People or the French\nPeople any such desire ? have they a high\n\"standard, and do they grow cross that this\nhigh standard is today no longer honoured.\nWell, we, the People, prefer to credit\nourselves, the People, with the best inten-\ntions, and we hope things will be all right\nin the end, for he's a jolly good fellow any-\nhow, and some of us are better off with the\ntheatre as it is and we don't want to stir things\nup lest we lose our jolly good old percentage.\nIt's that isn'it it ?\nAnd if anyone is to lose anything in the\nprocess of putting our Theatres to rights, I am\nsure those of us who have known what it is\nto lose and go on losing everything these last\nthirty years will not be unsympathetic to those\nnew to the idea, who are in dread lest by\nkeeping straighter they might lose thirty pieces\nof silver.\nFor my part I can hardly conceive of our\nnew Theatre minus these good sports as we\nall like to consider them. They have always\n\" done their best brought their \" business\nacumen \" and a \" sporting spirit \" to the work\n(so we hear), and since they have \" worked \"\n(so they say) I cannot see how the stage of\ntomorrow can do without them.\nIt's a business like anything else, this\nmatter of running theatres ; and to attack and\nblame men because they run the theatres and\navoid financial failure, is preposterous; to wish\nthem even great success is nearer the mark ;\nbut to insist on it all being done with a little\nmore style and without a loss of status to the\nnation is perhaps to hit the bull's eye.\nWhen in 1747 the Comte de Clermont\na Conde turned his fancy in the spring\ntime of that year to thoughts of the stage, he,\nbeing a third-rate nature with a fourth-rate\nmind, turned them in the wrong direction.\nPoets, actors, actresses, dancers, gathered round\nhim; he built a private theatre; and after\nsome eight years built another; and Cardi-\nnals, Princes and tout 'Paris said the thing\nwas marvellous, the poets divine, the actors\nand actresses superb, and the dancers ad-\nmirable. They were just the very worst ima-\nginable ; but all was decked out very hand-\nsomely and the whole thing some how filled\nthe bill. They all played up to the Prince\nwho played down to them. Lanjon, the\ndivine Lanjon was he not the poet-director:\nMile. Le Due, the superb Le Due, was\nshe not the actress also \" vaguement danseuse\n/> / »» %\nopera ?\nThen came the Revolution.\n* * it * *\nTHE able men who succeed with the The-\natre in England and France seem unable\nto do this except at the expense of their na-\ntions. The able men of the Theatre are al-\nways heard asking \" What is to be done? If\na People wants tosh, loves sickly sentiment,\nadores risky plays, flocks to feeble operetta\nand clamours for concubines, shall we not\nsupply them ? \"\nThis is considered a very sensibile way\nof looking at the matter, but is, as a matter\nof fact, the very worst.\nI won't deny that able men do ask and\nreply in these words. It surprises me to see\nhow willing they are to play to a crowd\nof flashy people : a People always is ready to\nplay up : and I deny that the People of England"}, {"page_pdf": 43, "page_imprimee": "105", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.43", "texte": "and France are the fatuous idiots that our\nable theatrical managers take us to be.\nIf in other lands we find the People iden-\ntical in most things with the People of France\nand England, if we go round the world and\ndiscover that elsewhere they have noble laws\nand upright lawyers, that their religions are\nbased on practical and spiritual principles,\ntheir courts or Republics filled with honou-\nrable and spirited men, their press incorrup-\ntible and good-natured, their drainage ad-\nmirable, their systems for control of traffic,\nshipping, customs house, hospitals, lighting,\nheating, coal or gas or electric supplies func-\ntioning, railways excellent; in fact if we\nfind abroad the same perfection which we\nfind in England and France, how is it that\nwe cannot expect the same perfection in our\ntheatres : why should our theatres be one of\nthe few loose bolts in an otherwise perfectly\nrivetted vessel ?\nAnd suppose there is not all this perfec-\ntion at home or anywhere else ?... let us\nsuppose it for a moment. Why should we\nnot make perfect those things which are per-\nfect abroad since examples are ready to hand,\nand all we have to do is to adopt the prin-\nciples which led to those perfections ?\n\" Easy enough to talk and write about \"\nyou will say, \" but difficult to achieve \".\nBut a reason you never give.\nYou put it all down to the fault of the\nPeople that is to say, to all our faults,\nfor we are the People all of us. We\nJudges, high and low ; Priests, high and low;\nwe Politicians, 'Statesmen, Jockeys, Organ-\ngrinders and Policemen, Cooks and Coun-\ntesses, Writers and Bailiffs, Butchers and\nPainters, Actors and Journalists : we, all\nof us, are the People.\nAnd you seriously ask us to admit that\nwe prefer a dull and mechanical theatre such\nas we have today to one where all the gayest,\nfreshest principles of Theatrical art flourish?\nIt is preposterous. And it must come to an\nend, this modern Theatrical system : we must\nreally rouse up and mend.\nMiss Zoe Kincaid in her book on the\nKabuki or Popular Stage of Japan sets be-\nfore us more completely than is usual in such\nbooks, all that we need to know of a superbly\norganized theatre; and by organization I do\nnot merely refer to the business part of the\nachievement. Since we have gone a little into\nthat matter above, let us now go a little into\nthe matter of the Art of the Theatre.... a lit-\ntle can surely offend no one.\nIt is that which we must organize , set\nin working order; but before we might as\nwell enquire what it is—what stuff, what\nmaterial, what elements we have to work in.\n1 have touched on this matter in several\nbooks which you may or may not have done\nme the honour to read; and so I will not\noverflow those banks. Let us go on.\nYou will find in Miss Kincaid's book\nthat what I J:old you in my books was true.\nThat certain things are important to our stage;\nother things, those which we nurse and pro-\ntect, a drag on it, and, it would seem, fatal.\nThe Japanese Stage has always had very\nremarkable actors (2. It has also had a very\nremarkable Doll Theatre.\nBecause the Theatrical Nobob of today\nconsiders a Doll a baby's victim, a si lly old\nthing of rag or wax, it does not follow that\nsound men and women in other lands are not\nto look on a Doll as something with possi-\nbilities for the Theatre. In Japan they did\nand still do.\nA mad idea, what? and quite exaggera-\nted: you think so, I am sure.\n. Well, get this book and read how it\ncame about that for eighty years the Doll\nTheatre dominated the Stage of Japan and\nfor the time put all actors in the shade and\nenlisted the greatest dramatist Japan has known\nin its service. For this puppet stage Chika-\nmasu, . the Shakespeare of Japan, wrote his\nplays. Impossible, you say. Preposterous,\nyou declare. If you will read you will dis-\ncover it an ordinary fact.\nBut the Doll Theatre did not act ungene-\nrously in its victory, for it inspired the actors\nwho in future based their style upon that of\nthe Puppets. The actors then slowly began\nto regain their power; this they seem to have\nabused, and in 1802 the Puppet theatre\ndwindled and almost disappeared after having\nallowed the actors to derive their whole style\nand all their ideas from it.\n\n(1) By we I do not mean you, dear reader. You are\ntoo weak to do anything and to attempt and not to succeed\nis what too many braves are doing today in Paris arid Lon-\ndon and Kew York. By we I mean We the Nation,\n(2) \" We are never ashamed of being caught gazing at\nPunch n wrote Albert Smith.\ntl Mr Windham, when one of the Secretaries of State,\non his way from Downing Street to the House of Commons,\nwas seen to stop and enjoy the whimsicalities of Punch wrote\nJohn Timbs, F. S. A. The italics are ours. Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "106", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.44", "texte": "Today the Puppets are recovering some\nof their lost strength and thrive at Osaka.\nBut we will not linger to talk of great\nachievements such as Chikamasu and his\npuppets: let us however stop for half a moment\nto consider whether the ordinary Theatre of\nJapan the Kabuki could hold some-\nthing for us which we do not reckon with\nwhen reorganizing our French and English\nTheatres. Something not all (l).\nMasks are not used in the . These\nare preserved for the No, which you have\nread all about since you are sure to have\nbought Arthur Waley's book published by\nKnopf in 1922. So masks need not irritate\nyou. But for the life of me 1 must not dis-\nclose what is used, for I am perfectly certain\nyou would be irritated by the entire list. You\nare, we are, in a state of irritation, and un-\nless things today are precisely as stupid as\nour stupidity demands, we shall protest, spit,\ncurse, throw \" The Mask \" in the fire or\nnot even buy \" The Mask\nIf \" The Mask \" says or reports from Japan,\nChina, India, Italy or Spain anything not\nabsolutely traditionally hide-bound and dull\nas a narrow mind wants it, people will say\n\" The Mask \" talks rubbish and will squeak\n\" fiddlesticks\nThe dull narrow mind tolerates Mr. Play-\nfair and his excellent attempts to compromise,\nfirst because Mr. Playfair does it all at such\na little expense that he can't be driven away,\nand secondly because he is of such an obsti-\nnate little nature, and third and lastly because\nhe is kindly towards amateurism. There is\nthat to fear and you know it, and Mr. Playfair\nknows it and plays it for all he is worth.\nHe in his smaller way does just what\nNapoleon refused to do in a greater wayi he\nlets loose the amateur just as Napoleon refused\nto let the mob loose. Napoleon knew that\nthe mob would rally to him for a short time;\nbut he also, knew how despicable was that\nsame mob: Playfair probably does not believe\nthat the Amateur has hidden forces behind\nhis sheep-like countenance, and of course he\nmay be right.\nJudging from Mr. Playfair's book, \" The\nHistory of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith \",\nthe Amateur rather likes his freedom.\nIt is better than most Annals for it is\nshort—five years and one hundred and sixty-\nfive days, inclusive of Sundays, is the epoch\ncovered by this \" History \".\nIt adopts some of the faults of other such\n\" Theatrical Histories \": it especially ducks\nto that fault of quoting letters from men and\nwomen to say how good they found Mr.\nPlayfair's work, and criticism from papers\nsaying how bad they found it.\nAll that part of the \" History\" might\nhave well been omitted by Mr. Playfair and\nreserved for some little pamphlet to be used\nas propaganda. It spoils the handsome volume\nwhich Messrs. Chatto & Windus have produ-\nced with their usual care.\nIt is clear from the text of this volume\nthat Mr. Playfair is doubtful as to whether\nthe entire public is with him. The\nI should say.\nBut one thing is perfectly evident alls\nthrough: it is that the little manager is con-\nvinced in his bones that the People of Eng-\nland does not care for things to be too excel-\nlent. As I have said, I am one who holds-\nthat they want many things to be first class,,\nwhereas second class and third class stuff\nthey'll take if cheap enough, gettable by a\nnot-too-long train trip, and if served up in a\npseudo-artistic manner.\nIt's a pity they will take these second and\nthird class goods but what would you ?\nWho wants to see the purveyors of them star-\nving in Strand or Hammersmith? Who wants\neven to see them fail; the more success they\ncan squeeze out of things the less trouble all\nround. I meant that's the theory, isn't it ? Is\nit a very practical one? for the purveyors very\nbut on the old Nation it's 'ard, werry 'ard.\nMr. Playfair goes into a few details as to\nhow much some of his supporters made out\nof the \" Beggar's Opera One of them,\nMiss Wilson, who prepared some charming\ndances, put in £ 2000 (only £ 500 was\nactually put down), and reaped a profit of\n£ 17,000. Why he tells us this, I, for the\nlife of me, cannot guess. What does it matter?\nI wonder how long £ 17,000 would take\nto collect in Japan on the strength of any\nJapanese play known to man.\nit seems that the People are very gene-\nrous all over the earth; —for something good\nthey will pay—if not too high a price—; but\nwhen they pay for something middleclass they\n\n(i) The Russian Theatre you so much admire, may it not\nderive from the far East? Why derive from a copy why\nnot from an original, if you can't create ?"}, {"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "107", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.45", "texte": "get something queer thrown in with the tic-\nkets : when they pay for something very\nsplendid they get another sort of thing thrown\nin extra. The first thing is a certain com-\nmonness ; the second is something distin-\nguished.\nAs with books, music, pictures, so with\nTheatricals: all these things are very cunning\nin their influence on the People. Journalism\ntoo. And as each man produces the best he\ncan, we must try and tell ourselves that this\nis what Mr. Play fair has done, and perhaps\nwe may in time have to admit that this really\nis what the English People called for in the\ntwentieth century.\nThat it is less than the Italian People de-\nmanded in the sixteenth century, M. Alfred\nMortier makes quite clear to us in his admi-\nrable, very scholarly work, Ruzzante.\nAs with Kabukuthe drama initiated by\nRuzzante was the Popular Drama, and was\noriginally the invention of actors. Some-\ntimes known as Angelo Beolco, sometimes\nas Ruzzante, this Paduan was born in 1502\nand died in 1542, thereby preceding the\nJapanese popular drama (l) by about sixty-six\nyears.\nUnless talk of the Lyric Theatre, Ham-\nmersmith, has driven it out of your mind,\nyou will remember that Shakespeare was\n•also an actor; at least so they say.\nThere is no doubt about Ruzzante, whose\n•comedies surpassed those of Plautus, and\nwhose acting was better than that of Roscius.\nHow this last fact is known (but it is)\n•no -one has been able to say. They say,\ntoo, that it was Ruzzante who was the first\nto introduce masked characters on to the\nItalian stage. In 1530 he was giving six\nprose comedies in five acts in which the\nactors all spoke different dialects; one Pa-\nduan, one Venetian, another Florentine, and\nthe rest Bergamesque, Bolognese, and Greek\nmixed with Italian: which serves as some\nkind of evidence that the People to whom\nthese actors played were not a single group\nbut were actually the People.\nInstead of preparing a local titbit to flatter\nthe Paduans, instead of running a single play\n34,567 nights in succession,... a truly bril-\nliant feat reserved for duller people to achieve..\n«\nRuzzante and his comrades seem to have done\ntheir best to provide endless plays and to\nsupply the whole nation with them, travelling\nround Italy to serve them. As our English\nprovincial players often did and do still more\ntoday. Mr. St. John Ervine is not wrong\nwhen he said that some hope for the En-\nglish stage lies in the provinces.\nHe said so; whether he still so\nand is doing anything in the matter, heaven\nonly knows; a short while back he was saying\nthat the Old Vic was the same ' some hope \\\nIn Italy actors were all over the place,\nnot huddled in towns, not flocking to the\nagents to look for a job, not striking for a\nminimum wage and not being extravagantly\npaid for the exhibiting of inferior talent.\nWhat they found pleased, was the humanity\nof the simpler People, the rustics. They did\nnot represent all rustics as oafs: they felt all\nthat Shakespeare felt when he wrote the fo-\nrest scenes of \"As You Like it \", and this\nthey would interpret as they sang madrigals\nand other songs, enchanting the Academicians\nor the Princes at a Banquet or on a stage.\nOur notion was not theirs nor Japan's,\nfor our People do not demand (so it would\nseem) as much from our actors as did Italy\nand Japan. Our People know better than to\nask for water of an empty brook; in fact our\nPeople are extremely gracious and obliging,\nit being misrepresented to them that there is\nnothing doing.\nIt is a sign of the times that one of our\nleading dramatists is a dramatic critic and\none of our managers has to write the History\nof his own Playhouse.\nIn an age rich in talent, Ervine, being a\ndramatist, would be spared the critical task,\nand Playfair would have found plenty of his-\ntorians to advise him not to make any record\npublic for at least another twenty years.\nSummed up, then, these three books of three\nlands give us a good idea of what is what\nin the Theatre. The first, \" Kabuki \", gives\nus a thrill, the second, \" Ruzzante \", gives\nus pause, and the third from Hammersmith\ngives us away.\n\n(i) Their No drama, an almost Greek thing without the\nGreek horror, had existed fronGthe middle of the fourteenth\ncentury.\n\ne. g. c."}, {"page_pdf": 46, "page_imprimee": "108", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.46", "texte": "ADAVOYLE.\nMODANE. DOGANA. MAY 10. 1926.\nBY WILLIAM McDOUGAL.\nI was living so near what I supposed to be\nthe hub of things, that I came to be unable\nto tell whether or no this war, now ended, had\nmade the earth a place to live in happily,\nand to let others live as happily which\nmeans, possibly, safe for democracy.\nHad I been a bit further off 1 might have\nbeen able to see this clearer and quicker.\nBut then i was not permitted to go further 0ff....\nlest I should fare worse or fare well. People\njust wouldn't let me; they said \" you mustn't,\noh you can't\", which made me often feel\nfifteen years old and helpless.\nYet 1 am of age. I have been of age\nthese fourteen years. I am not quite stupid\nexcept* in parts I know one or two things;\nbut what I do not know when I hear these\nmustn'ts would seem to be the things worth\nknowing ; and 1 can get no satisfactory answers\nabout these things.\nThis one for example: is the earth now\na place to live in and to let live and may\n1 go and see it or mustn't I? From what I\nhear 1 mustn't: so 1 have just done it. 1 have\nescaped to Paris and am on the way South.\nI want to go in the direction of Persia but I\nam again told 1 must go home and work for\nmy country. But then I know 1 mustn't do that\nbecause my sole reason for taking a fancy\nto see Persia is .that when I am at home 1\nget no work to do. I have been there eight\nworking years and my kind of work is of no\nuse to anyone. I find I cannot pay for the rent\nof a small house and at the same time have\nanything over to pay for my wife's yearly\ndress or my own yearly suit, and the children\nare growing taller year by year.\nwhat to do? 1 am not a genius: I do\nnot possess great intellect. My work lies in\nthe Theatre. 1 am not at all lazy: I enjoy my\nwork: 1 have a bit of talent: kind friends say\na good deal: unkind ones say 1 am the grea-\ntest bit of talent on earth: unkinder ones even\ncall me \" master \" down in my little town.\nI would say of myself that 1 am quite a useful\nartist, able to do most things which have to be\ndone in a theatre, and able to do these\nadequately. I wanted to work in London,\nbut now 1 want to see Persia; because I\ndon't want to be doing nothing, and to stay\nin London would mean having nothing to do.\nBefore 1 got to London 1 lived in Edin-\nburgh. One day, after for eight or nine weeks\nweighing my words, I said \" 1 want to go to\nLondon \". 1 was told I mustn't. 1 had come\nto Edinburgh from Paisley where 1 was born.\nThe day before I left Paisley I was told 1\nmustn't go to Edinburgh. So you see that all\nalong the road from my little house in Kil-\nliecrankie Street to London 1 have been told\nI mustn't go anywhere but must stay where 1 am.\nAnd I begin to think there must be some\nsense in this general persuasion towards loca-\nlism. If 1 had stayed at home in Paisley I\ncould have still read all the books and newspa-\npers and gone to the theatre, and played golf\nand been as happy as 1 am now. Probably\nso. 1 should have read all about Mr Barrie\nin Thrums, for he too would have stayed in\nThi urns and never have become Sir James:\nI could have read his books too: Peter Pan\nwould never have been written, but other plays,\nof his would have been sent off in manuscript\nto Paisley and put on the stage there (pos-\nsibly by me) for the Paisleyites. Barrieisms\nmight even have seemed to us a bit foreign;\nwe would have probably felt that our theatre,\nshould only echo Paisleyisms to be successful-\nThen 1 should have been able to see repro-\nductions of the works of Pryde, the great\nScotch painter, who had remained in his na-\ntive city of Edinburgh. There would have\nbeen something a little overwhelming to us\nin his work on reaching Paisley because we\nshould have found it strange and Foreign.\nEdinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat would\nhave meant so little to us, they would have\nseemed so beneath our notice in Paisley. Still\nhe would of course have painted other subjects;\nthe gloom of Prince's Street on Sunday after-\nnoon painted by him would probably have\ntouched a responsive chord in our hearts.\nWe should have felt that anyhow, far away\nover the mountains, there lived others like us,\nif not of us and the Scotch mist there and\nhere would have united us but of course\ndistantly.\nWalton too: he would have been somewhere\nin the Highlands: and Bain who went to Ceylon,\nisn't he a Scotsman: well, he'd not have been\nallowed to go to Ceylon: nor Dr. John Bulloch"}, {"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "109", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.47", "texte": "to Tallis Street. We should all have been\nnow in our \" old Scotland \" presumably em-\nployed. Why did we all go ? why did some\nonly reach London and stick there (utter fo-\nreigners by the way): how did 1 get to Mo-\ndane and Bain reach Ceylon ?\nWe Scots are not the only foreigners in\nLondon. What is Augustus John doing so\nfar from his home in Wales? What is Orpen\ndoing?... he should by rights be hard at work\nin his own Ballyhocky or wherever he really\ncomes from. Where is George Moore? He\nwas in America. Why? and in London ioo.\nAnd Hall Caine, whose home is the Isle of\nMan.... he lived in London and then at\nSt Moritz. 1 daresay, that if I had the talent\n(and a copy of ' Who's Who'), I could dis-\ncover that some half million men of genius\nor talent had left home, left their villages or <\ncities and wandered up to London, then to\nParis, then to Italy, then to Turkey and to\nthe East or into A.merica.\nBut the fact that there was no work for\nthese men to do at home is not the only\nreason, and not the main reason, for their\nleaving their villages and travelling afar. There\nis another reason today. Steam and Electricity\nhave been discovered. I announce this as though\nI, being in Modane and hearing the screams\nof 130 trains, was the only one to know of it.\nBut others know this too. Even Londoners\nknow it. Yet the fact is forgotten by them\nwhen wondering how it is that Bain is in\nColombo and Beerbohm in Rapallo. Beerbohm\nshould of course by rights be in the little\nvillage of Hoop-my-zoom near Rotterdam; but\nhe once sent a telegram and then he took a\ntrain, and after this, enjoying modern inventions\nas do few others, he began to look for a\npleasant place to dwell in where he could\nlive and let live. But it seems he mustn't or\nshouldn't. If this be so, then Barrie should not\nbe in London; Pinero should be returned\nto San Alcazor in Spain; Grein to Emmerich\nand I to Paisley.\nIn fact only ambassadors should be allowed\nout of the villages, and these only when sent\nout. Any suggestion on their part, any wiry\npulling by their wives to get themselves to\nParis or Constantinople or Roma, ought not\nto be permitted.\nIt being at last recognized that the train,\nthe telegraph, the steamship and the other\nmodern inventions have urged us and made\nit possible for us to leave all our native heaths,\nwe now come to a second point. Which is,\nHow far may you wander and how far not?\nComic papers like Punc would of course\nprohibit anyone going further than a joke will\ncarry. It might any day make another subtle\nand very funny allusion to Adavoyle station\non the Great Northern (as it did recently)\nwhich would be utterly lost on anyone so far\noff as Shanklin or Alderney. That would be\ndisastrous: so from Punch's point- of view\n(always young and jolly) every Englishman\nmust be somewhere within call of Adavoyle.\nUnfortunately I have to admit that I don't\nknow where that pretty place is, and there\nwe have it in a nutshell. A joke lost a\nmiss-fire among us and all for not being on\nthe spot .... being out of touch. far\n<may you or mayn't you go seems to be de-\ncided. You mustn't go beyond the ends\nof the village.\n\nPUNCHER.\n\nWITH so many bright people governing\nthe nations so well, and the Bourse,\nand the theatres and the Wembley Exhibi-\ntions, one can live and enjoy this admirable\nlife calmly enough ....provided one lives in\nthe right spot.\nI am just now settled in Majorca one\nof the prettiest of islands.\nHere, if one is lucky, an occasional comet\nwill flash into sight; such a star came in last\nweek. Puncher, his name: Puncher Primrose\nin full. Self-made : 300.000 Hollars a year\nincome. He began to send out sparks right\naway.\n\" Say, buddy \", he cried, \" but this is\ngreat just to stand here and shake you by\nthe hand \".\nThen, before one could even think of\nwhat to say, he dashes to the bookshelf.\n\" Why think o' that \" says he, drawing out\na book with the action of Uriah Heep turned\ninto a little cow-boy; \" Look-a-here, Fran-\ncoises \" says he, \" I bought a copy of this\nbook of his (it was X. Y. Z's book) in New"}, {"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "110", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.48", "texte": "York. Fie says in it that he is sceptical as to\nwhether fourteen people will ever read it. Why\nFrancoises, you kid, I my copy to over\nforty of 4em and every jabber-feller loved\nthe darn stuff ....one of 4em cried over it\n....yes, cried, Francoises\nHe looks at me, and I hardly know whe-\nther to cry or laugh.\n44 I've got the book at home\" says he,\n44 and this next year I mean to lend it to\nfifty-two more of 4em ....one a week \".\nHe had to go after two or three hours and\nI didn't urge him to stay. As I closed the\ndoor on him (for good and all, I said), I\nrealized that I was lucky to live where I\nlive, because, were I in my old house at\nNoisy-le Sec, more such Primroses might crop\nup at any moment. So I turned on two ex-\ntra electric lights and felt better, and even\nsat ruminating on what he'd said.\nHe had practically admitted that he, the\nrich lolly-boy from the States, had not been\ngenerous enough to buy other copies of my\nfriend's book for his friends had not urged\nthem to buy copies, but had\nvented that by lending round his single copy.\nHe had cheated my friend X. Y. Z. and his\npublishers out of <£ 40. 0. 0 and was off back\nhome to cheat them of another 52. 0. 0\nwithin the next twelve months.\nOh you Primrose!\nI read some years ago in 44 The Mask \" of\nan actor having bought a copy of that maga-\nzine and the whole theatre asking for the\nloan of his copy. 44 After you've done with\nit\" was, if I remember aright, the title of\nthe article.\nI should like to lend Puncher Primrose\nround to every member of the Society of\nAuthors. There would be, I feel, very little\nPrimrose left after they had done with him.\n\nf. m. f.\n\nOPERA REGISTER.\nFROM 1712 TO 1734.\nBY (FRANCIS COLMAN) THE\nFATHER OF GEORGE COLMAN.\n(THE ELDER) BRITISH CONSOL\nAT LEGHORN.\n\nTHE Register seems not to have been published, and\nhas lain undisturbed in t\ntwo centuries.\nThe compiler of it was passionately fond of Opera.\nThe strange thing is that while Francis Colman died in\n1733 the Register goes on to 1734.\nWe shall publish the entire MS in the next few\nnumbers of \"The Mask printing it as it is Written,\nfaults and all. Editor.\nrT,HE Stage & Scenes at ye Opera Thea-\nI tie In ye Haymarket, having been altered\n& emended during ye vacant Season, They\nopen'd ye House Novr ye 26th (I) 1712 with\na New Pastorall Opera called\nThe Faithful 1 Shepherd\nye musick composed by Mr Hendel.\nye parts performed by following Singers.\nSignor Cav. Valeriano Pellegrini, ye first\ntime of his performing on this Stage.\nSignor Valentino Urbani. '2) returned again\nfrom Italy.\nSignora Pilotta Schiavonetti. (3)\nSignora Margarita Del'Epine.{4)\nMrs Barbier.\nMr Loveridge.\nall sung in Italian.\nThis was not by Subscription, but at ye\nusuall Opera Prices of Boxes 8s Pit 5s Gal-\nlery 2s. 6d.\nThe Scene represented only ye Country\nof Arcadia.\nye Habits were old.—ye Opera Short.\nNov. 29th Saturday, ye same perform*d\nagain:\nDec. 3 Wensday. Do\nDo 6 Satr Do.\nDec. 10th Wensday was performed a\nnew Pastorall Opera called.\nDorinda.\nThe Musick of this is taken out of Se-\nveral! Italian Operas by Nic° Haym\n\n(1) Grove's Dictionary says Nov. 21. Ed,\n(2) He sang the part of Silvio. Ed.\n(3) I cannot trace her* Ed.\n(4) Grove says \" the first italian who sang in England\nie, in 1692. She married Dr, Pepuseh and died in England\nin 1746. Ed.\n(5) As \" Egeo Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.49", "texte": "THE OLD OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET, 1790.\nFrom an unpublished drawing in the British Museum stated to be by C. Tompkins and drawn in 1802.\nPlate 10.\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "111", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.51", "texte": "In this Signora Margarita had no part,\nother Singers ye Same as in ye former,\nye Same Scene & Habits also & ye\nne prices. & was performed 4 times on\nOpera dayes snccessively.\nDec. 27th ye Faithfull Shepherd perfor-\nd again.\n31 Dorinda.\nJanry 3 Do.\nneither of these two Opera's produced full\n>uses. Mr O. Swiny ye Manager of ye\nieatre was now setting out a New Opera,\nsroick. all ye Habits new & richer than\nformer with 4 New Scenes, & other De-\nations & Machines. Ye Tragick Opera\nis called\nTheseus.\nYe Musick composed by Mr Hendel.\naestro di Capella di S. A. E. D'Hannover.\nThe Singers,\nil Sig.r Valentino.\nla Sig.ra Margarita, ed la Sua Sorella.\nil Sig.r Valeriano.\nla Sig.ra Pilotta.\nMrs Barbier.\nye Opera being thus prepared Mr Swiny\n>uld have got a Subscription for Six times,\nt could not.—he then did give out Tickets\nhalf a Guinea each, for Two Nights ye\n>xes lay'd open to ye Pit. ye House was very\n1 these two Nights.\nJanry (1): 1 Oth Saturday. Theseus ye first\ntime 7* Gui.\n14. Wensday Do ye 2nd V 8 a\nGuin—\nafter these Two Nights Mr Swiny Brakes\nruns away & leaves ye Singers unpaid\nScenes & Habits also unpaid for. The\nngers were in Some confusion but at last\nncluded to go on with ye operas on their\nm accounts, & divide ye Gain amongst\nsm.\nJanry 17th. Sat: They perform'd ye Opera\nleseus at ye usuall Opera prices.\nJanry ye 21th. 24th & 28th ye Same\nain.\nye House was better filled at this than\nye former Two Opera's, having perform'd\nnow Six times Successively—for variety on\nnry 31. Sat they perform'd Dorinda.\n:b. 4. Wens. Theseus again\n7. Sat. Dorinda\n11. Wens. Theseus\n14. Sat. Theseus again\nLent. 17. Tuesday Ditto\n21. Saturday. The Faithfull Shepherd.\nThe Singers wth much difficulty got a\nSubscription for a New Opera called\nErnelinda.\nMonr John James Heidegger, managed\nboth this & ye former Opera for ye Singers\n& ye Subscription was for Six Nights paying\n10 Guin for 3 Tickets each Night, they not\nto give out above 400 Tickts a Night.\nThe Singers were Sigr Valentino: la\nSigra Margarita, la Sigra Pilotta: Mrs Bar-\nbier: Sigr Valeriano :la Sigra Vittoria Al-\nbergotti(2) newly arrived &ye first time of her\nSinging on this Stage—she is a Romana.\nThis Opera was first perform'd on\nFebry. 26th Thursday Ist Ernelinda\n28th Saturday 2d Do\nMarch. 3 Tuesday 3d Do\n7 Satr 4th Do\n10 Tuesday sth Do\n14 Sat 6th Do & last night of\nye Subscription.\nThe House was very full all these Nights.\nye D. D'Aumont ye Fr. Ambassador was\nevery night at Ernelinda during ye Subscription.\nMarch 17th Tuesday. Theseus.\n21 Satr Dorinda, wth ye Addi-\ntion of a Serenata of 8 Airs\ncomposed by Sigra Albinoni.\n24 they gave out in ye printed\nBills that they would revive\nye Opera Rinaldo, but by\nsome accident it was put off,\n& no Opera perform'd this\nday.\n28th Sat: Ernelinda, for ye Benefit\nof Sigra Pilotta, ye part of\nSigr Valeriano, was perform'd\nby Sigr Pietro Guacini, newly\narriv'd from Italy, ye Pit &\nBoxes open'd together a 7a\nGuin a Ticket, ye House\nwas very full this night.\nApril 4th this being Passion week no\nOpera was perform'd.\n11 th Sat. Ernelinda for ye Benefit\nof Sigr Valentino, in ye same\n\n(1) 1713. (Ed.)\n(1) Valeriano received £ 650 for the season. (Ed.)\n(2) Can find no trace of lier. (Ed.)"}, {"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "112", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.52", "texte": "manner as on ye 28th past:\nonly Sigr Valeriano perform'd\nhis own part.\n15th Wensday. Theseus, was de-\nsign'd to be perform'd, but\nfinding they could not get\nCompany sufficient, it was\nput off untill the\n18th Saty Theseus was perform'd\ntho a thin House.\n25 Apr. Saty for ye Benefit of Sigra\nMargarita, was perform'd ye\nTwo first Acts of Dorinda.\nwith ye Addition of ye fol-\nlowing Acts out of Severall\nOperas.\nI Con vezzo lusinghiero, from\nc. I-,., „ ) ye Opera of Hamlet\nbigra rilotta \\ d • l i j r t\n5 f rna che la doglia, rro ye\nI Opera of Hercules.\nI Del Fallo su'l camin. from\n/> • ir i » ) Clotilda.\noigr Valentino < to, • a • j-i ..\n5 I 1 i otrmgo, o mio duetto\nv from\n, I E vano ogni pensiero. from\n1 Amore m' infiamma col\n\\lampo d'un sguardo fro\nSigra Margarita \\ Camilla.\nI Love wou 'd invade me\nf from ye Opera of Tho-\n\\ myris.\n[ Di se senti, su'l bel Volto.\nr» i . ) from Antioco.\nis. ai icr \\ ume ajaj-0> Arcier ben-\nv dato from Hercules.\n( Solo pieta vi chiede, 1' inna-\nSigra Mannina I mora to Cor. from Etearcus.\n( Di luci adorno.\nConcluding with ye Chorus\nof Clotilda.\nMay ye 2d Ernelinda for ye Benefit of\nSigr Valeriano.\n9 Rinaldo was revived for Mrs Bar-\nbier's Benefit. She perform'd\nye part of Rinaldo.\n15 Theseus for ye Benefit of Mr\nHendel ye Composer.\nHere ended ye Operas for this season.\n17 13.\n\nREALLY, NOTHING REAL.\nAT 4 o'clock. we w (l) in\norder to give him an account of our\nlt visits to Bressant (2) and Delaunay, (3)\n\"He manifested, on hearing of what took\n\" place, great indignation, his voice, usually\nso unctuous, trembled tviih anger.\nWhat! do you mean to tell me that\n\" Delaunay said.... but I had arranged his\n\" holiday, so as to have him back\nmiddle of September on purpose.\n\" ' Mark y°il this* Nothing in the thea-\n\" trical World is real. The attempt to -\n\" ceive is itself false ' \".\nDe Goncourt on Edouard Thierry, 1565.\nAND M. Edouard Thierry ought to know\nsince he was administrator of the Fran-\ncaise for twelve years.\nI mmmmmmmwmmnmMwmfmwMMwm—* ruirn mr~ 11 11111 inr TrrwM~nrirrnnniiirriWMmTnTWTmnmim 11 iwininfininnwiiiy ibi w biim 11 m■ i w\nUNDER the headline \" What is right with\nthe Theatre\" Mr. Arthur Bourchier\n\" the celebrated Actor-Manager\" released\ninto a London Journal, begins cheerfully;\nbut before he has completed his first twenty-\none short lines he is found telling us what\nis Wrong with the theatre.\nIf there is one silly pose in the Theatre\nworld sillier than all the rest, it is when the\nactor or manager pretends that there is no-\nthing wrong with the Theatre. The next\nin order of silliness is that pretence that he\nalone can find the true fault —if any: and\nthe third stupidity is that he pretends that he\nis so prejudiced against this one very little\nfault.\n£ s. d.\nMOST actors and managers object upon a\nsound basis of commonsense. While\nthey say \" this is bad for \"we see clearly\nmi « •\nthat what they arre trying to say is \" This is\nbad for busines\nThen why not say it?\n*\n\n(1) Eduard Thierry (1813-1894), Administrator of the Co-\nrn edie Francaise from 1859 1871: his days were spent in\nhaving to hear the complaints, arrange the differences, and\nprovide for the wilful absence of all the actors and actresses\nof that troupe,\n(2) Bressant, actor; (1815-1804).\n(3) Delauay, actor; (1826-1903).\n(4) These actors had behaved to the De Goncourts in an\ninsufferable manner about playing or not playing in the bro-\nthers' new piece. Ed."}, {"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "113", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.53", "texte": "Mr. Bourchier is like most other actors or\nmanagers.\nMr. Bourchier says :\n\" 1 submit that when our art is made an\nadjunct of the Stock Exchange both the\npublic and the art are going to suffer \" ;\nwhich sounds noble but is typically Betty\nm. Martin.\nWhat he is trying to say is that it's bad\nfor business not Sir Martin Harvey's busi-\nness not Sir Gerald Du Maurier's business,\nbut Arthur Bourchier's business.\nMr. Bourchier objects to monied men run-\n, ning theatres.\ni Lord Rothermere who ran ' Polly \", back-\ned it with his legion of papers and lost\nthousands trying to make it a success, is de-\nlighted to open his columns to Mr. Bourchier.\nMr. Bourchier immediately slams the door in\npoor Lord Rothermere's face.\nConsidering that a journal is every bit as\ndifficult to run as a Theatre, it seems a bit\nunsympathetic of our Bourchier \" the cele-\nbrated Actor-Manager\". But all is but\ni ' seems in that world: remember what\nTnierry said, Lord Rothermere, and don't\n* go near theatres until things wake up and\nbecome a bit more real.\n\nTHE CHANCES\nFOR AND AGAINST\nGOOD THEATRES IN PROVINCIAL CENTRES\nIN ENGLAND, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE\nMADDERMARKET THEATRE OF NORWICH.\nJ had often heard of Nugent Monck as being\nan extremely able man in theatrical things.\nI had heard this from dramatists who are al-\nways to be relied on to recognize those who\nhave helped them. It appears that Monck\nhelped his dramatist, and of course the fact is\na feather in the cap of any stage director.\nAnd so I wanted to discover more about\nhim. I found it extraordinarily difficult. One\ncannot always get away for a trip to Nor-\nwich where his Maddermarket Theatre is\nplanted ; and besides, there is danger in one's\nown impressions\nBy that I mean that one may have too\nlow a standard of theatrical work and come\nback raving to the skies over wonderful Mr.\nMonck ; or one may have rather too exalted\na standard and be bitterly disappointed.\ny - T|U I*\nthis danger I saw could be avoided if I\ncould obtain impressions from those who had\nbeen to see the Norwich performances and\nfrom those who had worked in the Theatre,\nand from some true East Anglians. Two\nEast Anglians I asked were very satisfied\nwith what Mr. Monck had achieved and were\nentirely for the Maddermarket. On the strength\nof this I was about to solicit a testimonial on\nbehalf of this playhouse from the church of\nNorwich, but pulled up sharp when 1 heard\nthat the good pastor, vicar, or bishop of Nor-\nwich, which ever he may be, was \" indif-\nferent ; I wondered then what to think. I\neven wondered what was wrong with my\nfeelings that they should be so hurt—as hurt\nthey were. East Anglians and their spiritual\npastor and master should be in harmony, I\nthought, and that harmony should link them\nto Shakespeare, and that again should bring\nthem together in their special theatre which\nis so entirely devoted to Shakespeare.\nSo I puzzled what sort of place this could\nbe—it is 1926, of that I am sure where\nits great spiritual leader, the pastor fido of\nthe flocK, was indifferent to such an honest\nand such an intelligent wish to exert every\neffort to achieve a good playhouse, to play\ngood plays, to the bettering of the good spi-\nrits of old Norwich."}, {"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "114", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.54", "texte": "npHERE is a very sweet and, to my mind,\nX perfect, elderly lady living near Norwich.\nI will not snapshot her and put her publicly\nbefore you because she is far too beautiful\nfor us to spoil;—but since snapshots are made\nof every famous man and woman today (and\nshe is assuredly one of the famous ladies of\nEngland) I may be excused for making a\nsketch of her in my own way—not for a fee\nand not for publicity's sake, but solely for the\nsake of the artists and their little Theatre in\nNorwich.\nThis lady has the heart of a saint in the\nperson of a Jenny Lind. She seems to be\nsinging as she talks, and what she says, even\nthough it be only what is writ down for her\nto say in the \" libretto \" of a charming life,\nseems to pervade the room, park or Theatre\nwhere she alights (for there is something of\nTaglioni as well as Jenny Lind in her), and\nto spread goodness.\nBy that 1 mean downright Christian good-\nness of the sweetest, most old-fashioned kind.\nEven sour-faced scandal mongers, when\nblessed for two minutes by being near her,\nlose twenty of their wrinkles and cease their\nvillainous chatter for twenty seconds after-\nwards. What a miracle.\nOrdinary actors who are favoured with a\ntwo minutes audience (and really there is some-\nthing queen-like about this lady) become like\nordinary beings and forget the artificiality of the\nprofession in the presence of this irrisistible\nlittle piece of truth.\nAnd this lady had visited the Maddermar-\nket Theatre.\nOn hearing that 1 said to myself \" The\ngood fairies will now recognize the spot—\nsome will for ever haunt it \".\nWhen I was in her presence she spoke\nof the little playhouse with pleasure.\n1 was only once in Norwich.... I regret\nto say that I am ignorant whether it possess\na Cathedral or merely a large church or two;\nso 1 am equally ignorant what the title of\nthe head of the Norwich church may be.\n1 am ignorant but not at all indifferent about\nthis. May 1 advance this as my apology for\ntaking the liberty of asking whether the church\nof Norwich makes our little Maddermarket\npeople happy.\n1 do not know the faults of the Madder-\nmarket, but I can see one or two virtues;\nand these are the cardinal virtues :—loyalty\nof the workers to their leader, the aim to do\ngood things, the labouring incessantly, the\nconstant striving under a tireless director not\nat all eager for gain or for an exaggerated\npersonal success.\nThese virtues seem to me, it I remember\naright, to be the very ones- held up by the\nChristian church as great virtues. What en-\ncouragement then does the Church of Nor-\nwich give to its Theatre? 1 haven't the fain-\ntest knowledge, but, as 1 say, I have heard\nthat ' indifference ' towards the plucky little\ngroup is the only recognition the church has\nso far been pleased to give.\nNow it seems to me that if this is true, if\nthe place where love for fellow-man is sup-\nposed to blossom all the year round, is unable\nto do more than offer grudged indifference,\nthen even though the most ideal theatres in\nthe provinces of England should play their\nparts perfectly, it would be of no avail if\nChristianity is unkind. Especially true is this\nof England.\nFor there are certain centres where Thea-\ntres are trying to provide happiness for the\nhardworking inhabitants, and indifference ought\nnot to be the dull note struck by any leader\nof even the most heavenly choir.\n1 have thought it could do no harm to\ntouch on this matter of the attitude of church\ntowards these theatres which have an aim so\nfar from the commercial one, because perhaps\nthis fact is not fully appreciated.\nNow to turn to some consideration of the\nTheatre, its director, its methods and its re-\npertory.\n(To be con"}, {"page_pdf": 55, "page_imprimee": "115", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.55", "texte": "DORSET GARDENS\nTHEATRE. 1671-1720.\nDESIGNED\nBY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.\n\n(i)\nTHIS was the position of that famous new playhouse\nwhich the Duke's Servants opened in 1671, the\nyear of their leaving the Lincoln's Inn Theatre.\n®J I wonder whether our agitators in London ever\nstop in the midst of one of their agitations to consider\nthat we actors didn't mind in the very least being called\nServants, and that we're not sure that we *ve gained any-\nthing by being knighted. We *d have preferred to have\nbeen born Dukes, but, not being able to arrange that, we\nthought it best not to sink to the level of door mats\nso we jolly well followed the Duke.... positively without\none cringe. And we are an agitated set of beings too\nthat's the odd thing : we have to be its's part and parcel\nof our calling ; but it really didn't harm us to be called\nservants. Some may recall the phrase so often employed\nby Irving towards the Public; \" Your affectionate and\nloving servant\": it's so deucedly useful to us to have\nsome one we can serve.\nIt gives everything a certain zest. And then to escape\nhaving ninety nine masters by having one what an\nescape. It's a risk, of course, but it's not ninety nine risks.\nTo serve some one who made obvious errors now and\nagain that was a good deal in those days - in 1671 :\nBut we have advanced beyond that —* we are free at last.\nHOW AWFUL.\n(i) See 14 The Mask n. Vol. XII, No. 2, Page 62.\n\nSOMETIMES CALLED THE DUKE'S PLAYHOUSE.\nPortion of Strype's Plan of the Ward of Farringdon Without.\nLondon, in 1720, when the Dorset Gardens Theatre. opened\nin 1671, was still standing.\n\nTHE MASK\nA REVIEW FROM THE WEEKLY\nMANCHESTER GUARDIAN\nAPRIL 16th, 1926.\nREPRINTED\nBY KIND PERMISSION.\n\" HfHE MASK \" has taken to reproducing old plans of\nA London, Paris, Rome, and the April number has eight\nplates (eight more will follow in the July number) of a\nvery interesting plan of London by R. Horwood (1792-\n1799), The editor forestalls the inquisitive reader who\nmight think that \" The Mask \" is becoming an archaeolo-\ngical magazine by explaining that the cities. have had a\ngreat influence upon the theatres and those connected\nwith them ; doubtless the converse is equally true. \" The\nMask \" is nothing if not historical, and its object is to\nmake history live. Mr. Gordon Craig has got together\nan astonishing number of references to actors, authors, and\nothers in connection with the plan, and they make good\nmixed reading. Possibly some of them are apocryphal, for\nto history is attached a mighty fringe of legend which is\nsometimes almost as good. If all this is not quite relevant\nto the theatre, we may take it as good in itself and ex-\npand our conceptions of \" The Mask's\" functions.\nIt is still a magazine of the theatre and it continues\nto provide the stimulating and even the provocative. A\nrun through its pages suggests that there are very many\npeople interested in the theatre, anxious to do their best\nfor it, and unable to agree with one another about the\nbest way. There is an article here by Mr. Ashley Dukes,\nreprinted from the \" London Mercury,\" which makes one\nquite uncomfortable, so much seems to be going wrong.\nPerhaps things are going pretty well with him, but that\nisn't enough; he is troubled about these realists, both actors\nand authors. I fancy it is comparatively easy to get into\n\" The Mask \" anything that denounces or depreciates rea-\nlism. Of course it is not easy to define it, and I think\nthat those who are classed as realists must read with some\namusement the tale of their ideals or their limitations.\nWhen anything about realism appears in \" The Mask \" I\nalways feel that it is aimed at me, or at least that 1 am\ninvolved in it. Of course this isn't so, but I have some-\ntimes tried to induce Mr. Craig or his friends to explain\nprecisely what they mean. Perhaps they are too polite or\ntoo kind to do so. If it is wrong to write these so-called\nrealistic plays and novels we must give it up. It will be\na bother for those of us who can't do anything else;\nBut let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer,\nEre we will eat our meal in J ear, and sleep\nIn the affliction af these terrible dreams.\nThat shake us nightly.\nor at least as often as \" The Mask\" comes out. And\nthe curious thing is that I can read Mr. Dukes or Mr.\nCraig or Mr. John Semar and agree with most of what\nthey say. Yet I cannot arrive at their conclusion that I\nought not to exist. It appears that Mr. Craig complains\nof Mr. Shaw for thrusting other dramatists off the stage.\nBut as I understand them these enthusiasts want to thrust\nme off—to S3y nothing of better men. Perhaps I mis-\nunderstand ; perhaps they don't mean that it would be a\nbetter world without Shaw, Galsworthy, Granville-Barker,\nand the rest. I can understand the contention that there\nis too much realism in the theatre and that the proportions\nshould be readjusted; but I cannot understand anyone who"}, {"page_pdf": 56, "page_imprimee": "116", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.56", "texte": "thinks our lives should have been enriched by something\nbetter than the men I have named at the cost of their\ntotal extinction. Let us say, for instance, that to plays\nwithout words, involving all possible beauties and niceties\nof production, we give a half of the theatres, to poetical\ndrama three-sixteenths, to miscellaneous fantasies three-\nsixteenths, to melodrama three-thirty-seconds, and to\nrealism one-thirty-second. Oh, let us have our thirty-\nsecond! Though, by the by, of course there isn't any\nsuch thing as realism.—\nThings seem to be going wrong everywhere. I have\nnever been to the Old Vic, I am sorry to say, but I\nthought that, without being an ideal affair, it did bring an\nappreciable Shakespeare before a great number of people\nwho were stimulated and amused by him, But—no. It\nseems that this is all wrong, and that the Sadler's Wells\nscheme is all wrong too. I don't clearly get at the rea-\nsons why they are wrong, but they are, and \" the work\nof Henry Irving, Sir Squire Bancroft, Sir John Hare,\nSir H Beerbohm Tree, and Sir George Alexander did\nmore for national education than six Old Vies could ever\ndream of doing. \" I have great admiration for several of\nthose actors, but it never occurred to me that Sir George\nAlexander had anything to do with national education.\nI can't think that it often occurs to Mr. Craig. I some-\ntimes wish that I was a millionaire ; I think I should give\na trifle to the Sadler's Wells project, though \" The Mask \"\nassures me that it would be \" a silly thing to do \". But\nwhat duffers these millionaires are not to go into the thea-\ntrical line! Why doesn't one of them put 000\ninto Mr. Craig's hands, do his best to help, and go down\nto history in his company ?\nPerhaps Mr. Craig is tired of receiving compliments.\nThe most piquant thing in this \" Mask \" is a correspon-\ndence— perhaps only the beginning of a correspondence—\nbetween Mr. Bernard Shaw and Mr. Craig. It seems\nthat Mr. Craig set it going in the January number, and\nnow Mr. Shaw controverts the accusation or suggestion\nthat he takes up too much of the stage and pushes other\npeople off. Incidentally he says to Mr. Craig: \"In the\nnineteenth century they did not know what you were talk-\ning about: today they may not know much better *, but\nyou are the most famous theatre man in Europe \". This\nis rather a nice thing to have said about one, though\nMr. Craig might retort that fine words butter no parsnips.\nMr. Craig's rejoinder to the letter is a little disappointing.\nIt might have opened out some interesting questions of art\nand morals and social affairs. Mr. Craig leaves these for ano-\nther day. Unfortunately Mr. Shaw addressed him with\nsome familiarity, and Mr. Craig takes up space with a\nrather round-about reproof. The real clash has yet to\ncome, but evidently these distinguished men will not agree\nvery well. Then, too, there is this *' sentimentally idiotic \"\nproposal about Stratford-on-Avon and the interesting sug-\ngestion that Mr. William Poel can do all that is necessary\nwith a quarter of the money that it is proposed to raise.\nOH, \" THE MASK \" KEEPS US ALIVE\nI am a humble admirer of \"The Mask \". I once wrote\nsomething about it that was quoted—l was going to say,\nfor years. Now Mr. Lennox Robinson and Mr. St. John\nErvine have said handsome things and cut me out. 1 am\nrather jealous and would like to get back again.\nWELL \" THE MASK \" IS GOOD FUN,\n\" THE MASK \" BELONGS TO THE GREAT WORLD.\n»\nI wish I could think of a first-rate epigram about it.\nALAN NOBLE MONKHOUSE.\n\nTHE COLOSSUS.\n\nIwas pleasantly occupied writing these brief chapters on\nMr. Bernard Shaw for a book on \" The Propaganda Theatre \"\nwhen the Colossus hammered at the door, and, crying out\n\"the Philistines are upon ns \", fell upon me; two seconds\nlater, panting, shaking me by the hand, and cheery as ever,\nhe was saying \" I congratulate myself we have had a\nsplendid victory And off he went, and I heard him saying\nas he went down the street to everyone he met \"We have\nstormed the Theatre.... we have had a splendid victory\".\nNot over the Theatre: for the Theatre is where it was....\nintact.\nOver the Philistine, I hope, over the one and only Phi-\nlistine.... the Colossus himself.... Goliath, (ie, the Conspicuous)\n\" And he had a helmet of brass upon his head \".\n\"I BEING FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE ARTS,\nBernard Shaw.\n« The Sanity of Art ». 1907.\nI said in my first note on the Colossus that I did not\nread anything Mr. Shaw writes because he prevents me.\nIt was this line about being familiar with the arts\nwith all of them too at which I lingered so long that\nI forgot to read any more that day.\nTo know something of an art seemed to me good :\nto know much of any one art seemed even better: to\nknow a good deal of several arts might perhaps do: but\nto be familiar with them all seemed ridiculous. And to\nannounce it as something to be proud of is so queer.\nI have never known of any artist who said so, did\nso, or dreamed of pretending to \" be familiar with all\nthe arts\nSUA WISHNESS.\n\" Don't spell it with a v Samuel don't spell it. with a v \",\nI am well punished for saying Mr. Shaw is dull that\nbell in my valley is always now reminding me of all\nthat 's Shawish. Daily I think of him ; I might be a disciple\nof his, or in his camp. You can say Shakespearean, Georgian,\nbut you can't say Shavian for long, spite of the Oxford\nDictionary. *\nShawish is the word ; even Shavish is too elegant.\nFor elegance is smooth, natural, easy, as a rule; and what\npertains to Shaw, if honest, is essentially inelegant and\nutterly towzled. That he reaches out for elegance is true,\nbut he never achieves it.\nHe admired Henry Irving from top to toe. I have\nonce before (in 1904) pointed this out. He is indeed\none of Irving's disciples, but not one of his apprentices (0.\nYet, should you read Mr. Shaw's \" Dramatic Opinions \" first\npublished in the \" Saturday Review \" from 1895 to 1898,\nyou would not at first be struck by any apparent admi-\nration of Irving. You might notice what you take to be\na Shawish dislike for him a dislike pitched in rather a\nhigh voice, and this might prevent you from supposing\nhim to be a true Irvingite.\nDisciples must be followers,... or difficult:—and Shaw\nwas the difficult disciple. Not that he bothered Irving to\nany appreciable extent; but he was seen to be in diffi-\nculties about Irving; he did so admire and yet he did\nso wish him out of the way.\nHe marvelled at his address, and, like a wise fellow\n\n(1) Pinero was an apprentice, Martin Harvey too."}, {"page_pdf": 57, "page_imprimee": "117", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.57", "texte": "he practised, at all sorts of meetings, to hold the head like\nthis, to let the left arm rest gracefully on the hip, the\nright one in the first position, and to shoot out his words\nso as to reach the back row of the lecture room ; to keep\nhis feet from shuffling and his tongue from talking bal-\nderdash.\nAlas, this he was utterly unable to do.\nSomething virgin-like in Mr. Shaw, that sterling honesty,\nmade a heroic effort to resist the temptation to do as\nothers have done before him and will do after him. But,\nwhen he stood up to speak, it was always as a smart\nyellow-liveried journalist, never as a wise man, that he\nspoke.\nHe entertained some, even most, of his listeners, who\nnaturally came to hear him because of that veiy Shawish-\nness which he made a virtue of since he would not rid\nhimself of it.\nIt was this touch which seems to have struck Count\nTolstoi that other socialist who, they say, (' let them\nsay '), gave up all he possessed. I recall seeing a long\nletter from from Mr. Shaw to Count Tolstoi, and the reply\nprinted side by side in an Italian newspaper in 1919 or 1920.\nI forget when the letters were written, but I recall that\nMr. Shaw's was very long and Count Tolstoi's was very\nbrief. Tolstoi seemed to regret Mr. Shaw's perkiness. Well,\nit certainly does not become a Colossus,\nMr. Shaw on the other hand never objects to perkiness\nhe is a sweet-tempered man, and, to the perky, the cheap\nand the familiar, he has ever given a kindly welcome.\nIn fact he revels in all that. For it means something\nto him it means up-to-dateness, go, the cream\nof somethingistic.\nFrom his writings you would expect him to be loose\nin his carriage, comic in his gestures, and without know-\nledge of the first, second and third positions of the dancer.\nBut Irving taught him what an immense aid is a fine car-\nriage, a noble gesture and the art of the dancer, and he\ndecided to see whether he could not achieve a smattering\nof all three. He achieved that.\nAnd I cannot look at Mr. Shaw standing to address a\ncrowd of people without admiring it all. He does it\nadmirably, but it is all put on and graceless. It is some-\nthing learnt and applied according to a book of rules.,..\nStill, it is of a piece with his work. And what he\nsays when he rises to speak is what grieves those who\nhave always tried hard long ago to forget the very things\nhe struggles so Shawishly to remember. Gordon Craig.\n(To be continued).\n\nGROUND PLAN SHOWING THE COCKPIT THEATRE.\nFrom Fisher's Plan of Whitehall (c. 1663-1670) engraved by Vertue.\nSee also the Frontispiece Plate 7, face page 87,"}, {"page_pdf": 58, "page_imprimee": "118", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.58", "texte": "BOOK REVIEWS.\n\nDRAMA TIC THEOR YIN SPAIN,\nedited by H. J. Chaytor M. A.\nLIFE IS A DREAM by Calderon,\ntranslated by Birch & Trend 2/6.\nTHE BANKSIDE STAGE-BOOK,\nH. W. IVhanslow,Wells Gardner,\nDarton & Co. 4!—.\nMR. Chaytor prints for us slices of\nSpanish, a language few of us\nknow, and so I have to turn to my\nold and trusted friend Barrett H. Clark\nbefore 1 can discover what it really is\nthat Lope de Vega is trying to say.\nIn Mr. Clark's \" European Theories\nof the Drama \" you get it in English;\nhere 'tis all Spanish. Perhaps this\nbook is wholly for students of the\nSpanish language, but would a transla-\ntion of the Spanish slices placed at the\nend of the little book have done any\nharm ? I, for one, would have been\npleased to learn what it is that Molina\nsays about the \" ignorancia \" of Dona\nSerafina in \" The Orchards of Toledo\";\n(Mr Clark helps me to the word orchards\nbut says nothing about Serafina).\nWhat a pity it is that in the process\nof becoming M.A, Mr. Chaytor lost\nsome common sense: what a pity that I,\nas representing ordinary artists outside\nall universities, in not becoming M.A\nhave not such learning as his. Cannot\nlearning and mother-wit come closer\ntogether somehow .... some day?\nThey come closer in Mr. Birch and\nMr. Trend's translation of \" Life's a\nDream \", and Mr. E. Le Bas helps a\ngood deal with his stage plan and\nhis two illustrations.\nI will not compare his work with\nthat of Mr. Terence Gray or Mr. H.\nW. Whanslaw but no doubt the three\nwill be classed together by the amateurs.\nI find Mr. Whanslaw and his book\nsuperficial, and Mr. Gray pretentious,\nthough both of them are tidy. Mr. Le\nBas seems to be at ease in a castle\nor a dungeon (the two designs in the\nplay book) and puts on no side. I think\nhe is rather too fond of platforms and\ns'eps, and I would suggest to him that\nthe use of two flights of convex steps\none behind the other is an error. If\nthe front steps are to be convex let\nthose behind them be concave. And a\nwell-shaped arch is always finer to see\nthan an ill-shaped one. I once made\na model with an arch in it and I, too,\nmade it as Mr. Le Bas does, low and\nsprawling, and only after a long journey\nto India did I discover on coming home\nto London how ugly my arch was. I\nthen broke the model, gave up scene-\nries, and Fleet Street claimed me. But\neven here in this little Wine Office\nCourt Inn, the arch is shapely, not\nsprawling. But I wish Mr. Le Bas good\nluck and lots of practice.\nAs for Calderon's masterpiece, it\nremains to this day unknown to the\nEnglish stage presumably for lack\nof a suitable translation.\nIt seems incredible, but so it is ;\nfor, if a good translation existed, Mr. J.\nB. Trend would know of its existence,\nhe being a Spanish scholar who has\nlived in Spain, has written \" A Picture\nof Modern Spain \" (1921) and trans-\nlated Spanish masterpieces and been\nSpanish correspondent to the Athe-\nnaeum \" in 1919.\nAssisted by Mr. Birch, one of the\nmost successful producers of an Amateur\nCompany of Cambridge University, he\nhas made my existence decidedly richer,\nfor I have come near the Calderon\nmasterpiece at last.\nI cannot pick faults in their work\nwhen under so great a debt to them\nfor the little glimpse they have given\nme of it; all I can do is to suggest to\nthose who will buy this play at once\nthat they race throught it at top speed.\nAs it progresses get quicker and quicker\neven to a hurried skip now and again.\nTaken slowly it might weary. I rather\nthink you'll be pulled up suddenly\nsomewhere between pages 50 and 60.\nWhen I came to the passage at which\nI stopped, and which I believe it\nimpossible to pass without twice reading,\nit was about 12.30 at night, I had\ngone to bed at a quarter-to-twelve and\nhad fancied sleepily I would read Act I.\nbefore putting out the light. I read\nthe whole getting faster and faster\nand skipping the jerky bits for there\nare a few of these.\nIt is assuredly a most wonderful play\nand 1 would give much to know\nSpanish,... and then to see it performed\nin Spain and await that magic passage\nbetwixt pages 50 and 60.\nI know no situation of such power\nin any other drama ; it sets one tingling\nall over. When I came to it I stopped\ndead and experienced something\nwhich I cannot express but which put\nme in a state of astonishing happiness\nand it was 1230 at night, I seemed\nto enter that state and place and time\nwhere there is neither sleep nor waking,\nand yet where there assuredly is happiness.\nNot often can one speak of a thing so\nvery rare. I tasted it last night as I was\nstopped between pages 50 and 60.\nTaken apart from the rest of the\nplay one would pass this passage. Placed\nwhere it is, it is a miracle and arresting ;\nit dazzles. Calderon is indeed something\nwe thought non-exisient a magician:\nall that is complicated and contradictory\nhe draws into his play: one cannot see\nhow he will possibly put it in order :\nhe does the most daring things all\nthat is impossible and all that is quite\nordinary here crowd together : and with\nan ease that is astonishing.\nI have seen Pirandello somewhere\nreferred to as not unlike Calderon.\nBut Calderon is certain, he has no\ndoubts, and he is a professional dra-\nmatist and gives us the impression of\na master working with extreme ease.\nPirandello is rather the reverse.\nThe plays by Pirandello are trans-\nlated into English within five years of\ntheir being performed, Calderon's are\nstill looking for some one with time to\nwaste for it would he money lost, me-\nthinks (if life is a d ream) for any poor\ndreamer in England to give a few\nyears to the translation of his many\nmasterpieces, for \"to win a friend\nor two \" in England against hi\nwaking is perhaps out of the question\n\nTHE CHARTERHOUSE OF\nPARMA. Marie-Henri Beyle (de\nStendhal). 2 vols. Chatto &\nLondon 15/—. Boni & Liverighl,\nNew York• $ 5.\nTHIS translation has appeared in both\nEngland and America, and Mr. C. K.\nScott Moncrieff who is responsible for\nit is to be felicitated on what must be\nquite the best translation that is or\never will be. Only do I object to the\nrather too frequent use of the phrase\n*' hell for leather\nBut what a trifle is this compared\nwith the hundred perfections of his work.\nThe highest praise is the simple old\none —it really does not read like a\ntranslation.\nAs for the book, it ranks with all\nthe finest lying in the world; one can\nsay no more than this.... that is a novel.\nTo lie, and to lie like truth and keep\nit up to the end.\nWhat Nietzsche meant, what Taine,\nby calling the author \" the great psycho-\nlogist of the century \" and \" the last\ngreat psychologist of France \" I can-\nnot say."}, {"page_pdf": 59, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.59", "texte": "THE SOURCE OF A HUNDRED PLAYS.\nThis design is from the book of Alessandro Caravia \"Naspo Bizaro\", (Venetia, Domenico\nNicohno 1565) It consists of \" calate fantastiche che canta Naspo Bizaro da Veniesia\nCastellan, sotto i balconi de Cate Bionda Biriota, causare la bizaria del ceruelu, e 'l\nmartello del stomego The design is not a record of any play, but a record of the people,\nplace, the whole fabric from which 100 plays of the Commedia dell'Arte were drawn.\nThe busy life of the Venetian merchant, or Foreign soldier, 7uasting his money and spare hours,\ndining in some out of the way but well known trattoria in evening. Four such men\nare here music being paid for dishes preparing ; all very merry in a solemn Venetian way\nPlate 11.\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 61, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.61", "texte": "THE SAME SCENE BY NIGHT.\nHere is the same place, the same fabric, but only the musicians left; — night time ; music not\nof the paid kind. Have we here Naspo Bizaro himself \"sotto i balconi de Cate Bionda\nBiriota\"? Anyhow he can sing his own song.\nPlate 12.\n\nTHE MASK\n1926"}, {"page_pdf": 63, "page_imprimee": "119", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.63", "texte": "I suppose they were thinking hard\nat the time of reading; or, writing too\nlong after reading Chartreuse de\nParme, they either hated the whole\nart of the novelist or had forgotten\nwhat it was they had felt they had\nhad to say.\nBy dint of thinking some more, and\nafter certain long and searching queries\ninto the looking glass, these tough old\noracles decided that he was a psychologist.\nWhat a conclusion!\nWhat if he is a psychologist?... who\ncares whether Vitruvius was a carpen-\nter ?\nThe truth is, that this Stendhal,\nthis terrible fellow, was one of those\nrare things so seldom found today even\nin Chelsea or Montparnasse; a thing\ntoo useless for words, and not a cosa\ngrata at court ; that thing which begins\nwith an A, has an s in it, and is not\nan ass, because of two ts and an r,\nand an i: but I have received orders\nfrom headquarters that the thing is not\nto be mentioned in \" The Mask \" more\noften than is absolutely necessary be-\ncause it makes the wives of a few\ninfluential if industrious linendrapers\nthat cross. And indeed it is hardly\nnecessary to say what Stendhal is, for\nit is clear to you.\nHe was that, and there is no more\nto be said about it; he was abnormally\nthat, there is no doubt.\nI wish I had ten thousand pounds\nto erect a memorial to him, and on\nits base engrave chapters of his book.\nIt would be a monument worthy of him.\nAnd I would ask our three best poets each\nto write a verse. These I would have en-\ngraved there too, by Gill, and Johnson and\nby Baccigallupo. And our best prose wri-\nters would be asked for three lines,\njust to show how often three lines of\nprose can be more perfect than even\nthree lines of the best poetry. Not\nhaving ten pence, I fear that Mr. Wells,\nMr. Shaw and Mr. Scotson Umbridge,\nwhose head popped round the corner\nof my door the moment I mentioned\nthe ten thousand pounds and the prose,\n....I fear that these great writers will\nbe out of that job.\nBut magic (if you know what 1\nmean) still rules all things; and the\nmonument is going up even without\nthe help of that inadequate ten thou,\n\n* mw—wm 111 Hi II mi—l mill mi I ufii—wi ■■■■! iw n m iMWßinwnwwmiinrwinr~ iTrmirfTnii i i i«i>iiiiniiinr«w»mw\nLITERATURE IN THE THEA-\nTRE by W. A. Darlington. Chap-\nman & Hall. 12/6 net.\n■ mimmmmmssmmammmßaammmmmammmm n rnim—— ■ mi——»\nAS everybody in London knows,\nMr. Darlington is the Dramatic\ncritic of the \" Daily Telegraph and\nthis new book of his forms a compa-\nnion volume to his earlier one, \" Through\nthe Fourth Wallpublished in 1922,\nand all but one of the essays have al-\nready appeared in either the \" Fort-\nnightly Review \" or the \" Daily Te-\nlegraph \".\nHere we find chapters on the Bro-\nthers Capek, on Personality and Tem-\nperament, on Stage English, on \" What\nthe Public Wants on various books\non the theatre, and many like subjects.\nThe author is a quiet and steady\ncritic without any pretentions. The\nnimble capers which George Jean Na-\nthan cuts are not for him...: in fact\nMr. Darlington does not approve of\nMr. Nathan... and considers him out\nto \" flout and annoy \". Yet the Nathan\nmethod seems to achieve something.\nWhen dealing with a rigid pose of\nindifference, the provocative method has\nits uses.\nOne thing that strikes us in Mr.\nDarlington's new book, as it did in the\nlast, is that he appears to have prac-\ntically no interest in the important part\nof the newest movement in the Thea-\ntre. It seems as if it would be hard\nfor a man to write 207 pages, treat\nof a good many theatre books and\ntheatre problems, and never find it\nnecessary, for instance, to have a word\nabout the foremost figures in that\nmovement, ...Mr. Gordon Craig, Stani-\nslawsky, Reinhardt, even if it were only\nto oppose or disapprove these men.\nThat is where Mr. Darlington's weak\nspot is revealed. And it is very weak.\nAs the dramatic critic of one of the\nleading English dailies it is his business\nto know a little better as to what's what\nand who's who, and to say something\nto his audience on that which is vital\nand progressive in every movement in\nthe theatre.\nFor the \" Daily Telegraph \" is a\ngrand old journal, and it might seem\nto people not a little unworthy of such\na journal that its columns were not\nmore able to cope with the work of a\nman who is described as England's\ngreatest man in the Theatre \",... Gor-\ndon Craig, and this description we\ntake from the \"Daily Telegraph\" itself.\nIt's not Mr. Darlington's word ; it\nis merely the opinion of '* the greatest\nproducer of Scandinavia, Johannes\nPoulsen, acclaimed the greatest actor\nDenmark has ever produced\".\nThis also from the \" Daily Tele-\ngraph \".\nIt may interest our readers to have\nthe full statement by Mr. Poulsen in\nthe *' Daily Telegraph \" as reported\nby Mr. Hayden Talbot:\nStarting off by saying that \" in all\nGreat Britian and in all the United\nStates the theatre is in the hands of\nmerchants \", he came at last to Shaw:—\n\" Shaw is a contrast merchant.\n'' Tell him it is pouring cats and\n\" dogs—and he will prove it is a beau-\n\" tiful sunny day. He will prove it\n\" with a kind of superficial brilliance\n\"and satirical wit that passes for genius.\n\" England's greatest man in the theatre\n\" on the other hand is considered by his\n\" fellow-countrymen to be quite mad.\n\" I refer to Gordon Craig. There is\n\"an artist. But England will have\n\" none of him. But what else is to\n\"be expected of a nation which\n\" counts any kind of expression of\n\" emotion bad form \". (')\nNow Mr. Darlington might have\nhad the thought to say that;—but it\ntakes more than thinking;—it requires\ncourage, conviction, and a true love of\nthe British Stage.... and rather less fear\nof some of its servants.\n(l) The Daily Telegraph. December\n24th, 1913.\n\nTHE NEW SPIRIT IN THE\nEUROPEAN THEATRE. Huntly\nCarter. Ernest Benn. 25j —.\nIF the author is to be trusted to re-\nport faithfully about this new spirit\nin the European Theatre, then this\nparticular flame is a very violent one.\nAnd, unlike a good red herring, it\ncannot claim to be more brilliant than\na rich dull black.\nThe author laughs at Stanislawsky:\nhe asserts that his group was \" useless\nfrom the start\" because presumably\n(for all we know) it couldn't be\nbrought to pander to Bolchevic propa-\nganda.\nWell, that settles the book for me;\nit decides it as utterly bad and\nfalse.\nI am not at the moment a special\nadvocate for Stanislawsky, Tchekov,\nChaliapine or any Russian. In fact I\nam anti-foreign these days. On seeing\nit announced that the ever-charming\nMadame Rubenstein had passed the\nfrontier and was performing at La\nScala in Milan, I marvelled.\nWhen I read in our very patriotic\njournal the \" Daily Mail\" of the won-\nders of the new Russian Restaurant at\nNice, I took another glass of red wine\nand said nothing : but on seeing the\nartistic Mr. Carter busy with his boom-\ning of Russian goods and hearing\nh m chattering about the new spirit in\nRussia I thought of some of the sly\ndigs at our English stupidity I had\nheard when I lived in Russia. The\nsly Russian bear would know how to"}, {"page_pdf": 64, "page_imprimee": "120", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.64", "texte": "do this and that, said these excellent\npeasants dressed up as Russian middle-\nclass gentlemen.\nNo one who wishes to see Europe\ncome to its senses will want to read\nthis book, for it is crazy about Bol-\nchevism and Russia; the author finds\ncommonplace and hideous things \" beau-\ntiful \" and lakes himself even more\nseriously than usual. He began his\ncareer well in going to see the Euro-\npean Theatre fifteen years ago, but he\nhas not stopped to study any of the\nthings he has seen. He has no feel-\ning and no wit. I won't say he went\nto look at it all in the poke-the-nose-\ninto-it way of Paul Pry, but since he\nbegan his studies he has not advanced\nat all. He lacks self-discipline.\nHe is old-fashioned ; he belongs to\nthat order of mind which has a paltry\nlittle fixed idea (and that a dark one)\nand hunts this all the year round, like\na cat running round after its tail. It\ncan't be good for the health.\nHe also reveals a certain wild con-\nceit, for he seems to say on every page,\n* / alone know what is good in The-\natre and I alone can tell you what\nhas to be done\".\nNow he is an able journalist, this\nman, but he is that and nothing else.\nHe has an unerring instinct in no-\nsing out what is rotten in Russia.\nThis he reveals to us in his book as\nthough it were excellent, and keeps on\nspeaking of the Labour party.\nHe is full of reading and the phrases\nof the day, but he is ignorant, this\nMr. Carter: let me add that it is the\nvery last thing he suspects himself of\nbeing.\nI am surprised that he was able to\nfind a publisher willing to spread the\nBolchevic damnations, for they are not\nmere stupidities.\nTill recently I always credited a\ncertain Moscow Theatre with having\nrepresented Mr. Chesterton's play about\n\" Thursday\" honestly. I now learn\nthat they have distorted it and made\nit serve the propagandists\nA theatre which takes a side, which\nsells itself to any kind of propaganda\nwhatever, is a contemptable theatre.\nHold what opinions you like, but\nhold them in when you turn to your\nworkmen's tools, which should -never\nbe the slaves but always the servants :\nhow ? by obeying the old laws,\nnot of time, wages, and so forth, but\nthe laws of the good craftsman who\ntakes his orders from one man only,\nthe artist.\nAnd if today the artist is not ho-\nnoured by the state, while the theatre\nmanager (seldom an artist) is honou-\nred what of that ? It is a grave\npity but what of that ? Patience!\nand shuffle the cards.\n\nDOSTOEVSKY by Andre Gide;\n( Translated from the French).\nDent & Sons. 6/ net.\nMSAMSSAMMMMMMMTMMMBMTMMMMMMMMSSAMMMMMMSAMTAMAAMMMMMMTKM 'I I> N N 1110 ■IMW N N HIM\nI cannot find in the history of man\nany proof that, when the artist is\nstill in the stage of conflict and strug-\ngling with problems, he produces works\nof art which are of value. .. for, beset\nwith doubts and fears, his vision can-\nnot act: when deceived by prejudice\nhe finds all things grey and out of\njoint and the situation is even worse:\nonly when he is firmly persuaded may\nhe be said to understand.\nMany have admired the writhings of\nLaocoon many still do : if you are\none I put it to you that you do not\nlike them daily.... that twelve hours\nof unrelieved Laocoon is not what you\nlike.\nAnd what I read of in this book\nby the fine French critic Gide is ra-\nther too much like unveiling a new\nLaocoon, this time alive and wriggling.\nM. Gide writes here as he writes\nalways, easily to all appearances....\nand that is the marvel. To remain\ncalm before this Laocoon, this tied\ndown but struggling mass called Do-\nstoevsky, who is ever despairing, ever\ncrying out \"Yes - life is difficult \"\nis a remarkable feat.\nThe Russian \" gravely \" saying that\nlife is difficult is just what I always\nfeel the Russian should try to stop\nsaying. Compare the Italian's eternal\n\" Pazienza \" and his electricity and his\nmuscle.\nBut do you live in five months\nsnow or rain and seven months bad wea-\nther as the Russian describes his climate ?\nIf you do, then you have probably\nfound the days short, the nights long,\nand at night you have read Poushkin\nperhaps. Poushkin we like, do we\nnot, because he doesn't say \" Yes, Life\nis hard \" : he positively remembers who\nhe is. A Russian, and Pouskin at that.\n\" I have a story \" Dostoevsky writes\nto Shakhov, \" not a very long one.\nI had already thought of writing it\nthree or four years ago, the year my\nbrother died....\"\nNow what does it matter whether\nhe had thought three, four, or even\nfive years of writing the story, or\nwhether it did happen to be the year\nhis brother died or six months later ?\nIt seems that we have come to read\ninto all these Russian details a lot of\nsignificant somethings which they real-\nly do not possess. They remind me\nof those sphinx-like glances of modern\nyoung ladies, soaked in sentimental\njazz, which mean absolutely nothing.\nWhen Dostoevsky delivers the goods\nthey are doubtless extraordinary, but\nthey are so gloomy, so eternally griz-\nzling, sighing, moaning, being sorry for\nself and others; murder - bedsides -\nidiots - Christ - rebirth - disgrace -\nfloods of tears - psychology - tears -\nsofas - sledges - snow and very bur-\nning feet.,., torment over writing, over\nthinking, over sights by day, by night,\n- Tolstoi - tea - torment - debts -\nChrist - misery\nI don't want so much of Russia or\nRussians. I hear that it's only Rus-\nsians who can write plays, act them,\nsing, dance and decorate restaurants\nand mean something all the time. I\ndelight in what is excellent in the\nwork of Russians, but all that glitters\nis not gold, and we must not go on\nraving as we do about Tchekov, Tur-\ngenieff, Russian Ballet, Piskkoff, Pookoff,\nTairoff, and the Russian restaurants\nin Paris and Nice as though we were\nwithout any ability to achieve for\nourselves in the rest of Europe and\nsome day in New York.\nYet why say some day ? Only yes-\nterday New York had it in her po-\nwer to have created the best Ballet of\nthe century for she had the creator of\nit and didn't know how to treat the\nsituation.\nEngland, France, too. They pos-\nsess creative artists and stubbornly re-\nfuse to take the trouble to learn how\nto use them.\nWell, if they wake up one day to\nfind the lands overrun with a Russian\nweed they will not blame anyone but\nthemselves will they ?\nBut couldn't they wake up and make\ngood about their own artists ?\n\nTHE THEATRE, AN ART AND\nAN INDUSTRY, by H. R. -\nhour. The Labour Publishing Co. 2)6.\nTWO introductory notes, the first by\nMiss Sybil Thorndike, the second\nby Charles B. Cochan, tell me that Mr.\nBarbour is \" a practised writer who\nknows the theatre by personal experience\nfrom the various angles of actor, dra-\nmatist and critic and that the Actors\nAssociation selected Mr. Barbour as\ntheir oracle.\nSo not knowing Mr. Barbour's work\nI looked him up in \" Who's Who \"\n(1926) also in \" Who's Who in the\nTheatre \" (Fifth Edition) ; and lastly\n\"Who's Who in Literature\" (1926) and\nfound no mention of him or his work.\nBut while that puts me at a disadvan-"}, {"page_pdf": 65, "page_imprimee": "121", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.65", "texte": "tage it does not prevent me from seeing\nthat he is an able man, and an honest one.\nHe sincerely endeavours to discover\nwhat is wrong with the English Thea-\ntre so as to help towards getting things\nmore shipshape. \"Le roi est mort; ou\nest le roi ? \" are rather queer words\nfor this rather Socialistic student to use\nbut they are merely put in for the\nsake of Theatrical effect, and he soon\nforgets them, and wanders away from\nthe question.\nHe doesn't seem to think very much\nof Mr. Bourchier or Sir Gerald du\nMaurier, Sir Frank Benson, J. L. Sachs\nor M. Darewski.\nMiss Thorndike and Mr. Casson seem\nto him to \" havd the courage of their\nart \" and \" Mr. Playfair, too, has cou-\nrage \". He does not seem to be quite\nsure of our old chief Henry Irving; he\ndoes not seem to know precisely what\nit was Irving stood for. He likes Com-\nrade Lugg and would like to see the\nActors' Association and the Stage Guild\nunited. For all I know they may by\nthis time be united....l don't believe it\nmatters very much if they are or not,\nMr. Barbour will probably study the\nTheatre from a fresh angle some day ;\nhe will write a better book if he does,\nbut meantime 1 have only one fault\nto find with Mr. Barbour, and that is\nthat he doesn't answer the question he\nputs himself, \" Ou est le roi?\"\nKings of the stage I have always felt\nwere a bit of a joke. Elliston was\nthe stage king for a time. Let us pass on.\nLet us substitute for king the word\nspirit. The spirit of the stage is a bit\ndead but long live the spirit.\nMr. Barbour, in an article in \" The\nNew Age \" (November 6th 1924)\n(about the time the book I am reviewing\nappeared) wrote of two men as fol-\nlows :\n\" In our own age and country two\n*' men have arisen who in similar yet\n\" dissimilar ways have contributed a\n\" most significant quota to the great\n\" world-theatre. Gordon Craig, the su-\n\" preme exponent of the new dramaturgy,\n\" a more or less voluntary exile from\n\" the country which, if it has not rejected\n\" him, has, at least, not allowed him to\n\" extract many plums from the Thea-\ntrical pie, prosecutes his researches\n\" into the more abstract and tenuous\n\" aspects of theatrecraft. He has added\n\" many a cubit to the stature of thea-\n\" trical exellence and the repercussions\n\"of his theory and practice on the\n\" theatres of the world are abundantly\n\" and universally visible. He who runs\n\" may read the lesson that Gordon\n\"Craig has taught the regisseurs of con-\n\" tinental and American playhouses \".\n\" Another contributor of no mean\n\" order is William Poel, whose work\n\" is no less important for all that it h\n\" less immediately evident, less definable\n\" in terms of literature and design, less\n\" spectacular. To William Poel's re-\n\" construction of the principles of Eli-\n'• zabethan stagecraft, to his methods of\n\" presentation, and to his practice of\n\" enunciation the English theatre is\n\" under a great obligation. Like Craig,\n\" Poel is possessed by the demon of\n•• experiment, relentless in his self-dis-\n\" covered academism, determined on\n\" the prevalence of his researches and\n\" theories \"•\nNow here is the answer to his cry,\n\" Le Roi est mort oil est le Roi \".\nChange the title Roi to spirit, and the\nreply is, Poel, Barker, Drinkwater, and\nCraig, for in these four men resides\nmore of the spirit of the Theatre at its\nbest than in the rest,\nAnd I am surprised that Mr. Bar-\nbour did not arrive at this obvious\nconclusion. Possibly he looked for one\nman....for he spoke of King. But what\ncan one man do with a stage in the\npredicament our English stage is in\ntoday? What can a single Theatre do?\nBut (and this is a graver question) what\ncan our English performers do today\nand tomorrow if there are no standards\nfixed, no one flag flying from four or\nfive theatres round which to rally. You\ncan't rally round a box office.\nHad I been Mr. Barbour I would\nassuredly have told my readers that\nthe solution to many of the difficulties\nof our English Stage is to establish\nfour theatres, to place Poel, Barker,\nDrinkwater and Craig at the head of\none theatre each; to support these four\ntheatres with sufficient funds (England\nis quite wealthy enough for that, and\nit is a canard, this put-up cry of\nPoor England), the support to be\nlasting even as the talent of these\nmen lasts and does not give out. (A\nlittle confidence for such confidence if\nyou please); for these four theatres to\ncall to them all the best performers,\nnot for a living wage but for something\nbetter, ....good terms, good work, good\nparts to play; ensemble to be the watch-\nword. Competition between the four\nif you will, but fair play all round.\nEach theatre to have its own Drama-\ntists who are part and parcel of the\ntheatre and not to be tempted away :\n(here Barker and Drinkwater being\nplaywrights have the advantage of the\nothers); and the theatres not to be too\n4\nnear one another.\nIn fact London might have the four,\nbut it would be better, if they were\nnot all in the one city.\nThis done, I do not doubt for a\nmoment that in five or six years our\nEnglish theatre would be considerably\nstrengthened.\nBut it will take some persuading to\nget these four men to undertake such a\ntask. They have already shown us what\nthey can do, so all we have to ask\nthem is to go on doing it and doing it\nbetter : but we must support them.\nThat we shall do no such thing I\nwill not prophesy but 1 sometimes\nwonder whether England very much\ncares what kind of Theatre it has.\n\" Whatever comes along is best\nis that the notion of the Englishman ?\nI don't know that it's far wrong.\nWere I one of the four I think I\nshould distinctly prefer not to have to\nsacrifice the rest of my life to any such\nungrateful task.\nFor, without the enthusiasm of the\nwhole Profession, what kind of joy is\nthere in agreeing to shoulder such a\nburden ? And what sort of enthusiasm\ndoes the Profession show to any of\nthese four—or to anyone else ? The\nProfession has gone to seed; it cul-\ntivates its weeds carefully : of the cul-\ntivation of anything of value it is strangely\nand unpleasantly ignorant.\nThe next time Mr. Barbour or anyone\nelse writes such a book let him search\nhis conscience and not shirk the issue.\n\nSECRETS OF A SHOWMAN by\nCharles B. Cochran. Heinemann.\n25/ net.\nEVER since this book appeared in\n1925 1 have been trying to dis-\ncover what exactly it was about.\nTo this moment I cannot say.\n1 should imagine that it is about a\nshowman could I but discover who is\nthe showman.\nCochran is but the modern equivalent\nof the genuine old article he is an\nimpresario ; to be a real showman you\nmust have a show.... and it must be\nunmistakeably your show. Cochran has\nno show of his own. So he does not\nrank with Dijaleff, Sanger and Buffalo\nBill, all of whom have had shows of\ntheir own big and prosperous shows.\nHe belongs to the more \" refained \"\ngroup of those who run other peo-\nple's shows, and from this book, it\nwould appear, has been ever ready to\ndeal in anything you like or want,\nexcept success.\nIt's hard luck on a man of affairs\nto fail, for all we look to him for is\nfinancial success.\nEveryone (I mean \" everyone who\nknows \") seems to have urged Cochran\nto do this, that and the other and"}, {"page_pdf": 66, "page_imprimee": "122", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.66", "texte": "being, I gather, a very good natured\nman, he did what he could to please\nthem all; this he seems to have done\nthe more easily owing to a natural\naptitude to do this, that and the other.\nHe could run a Bernhardt for a short\nseason and the Dolly Sisters intermi-\nnably ; Carpentier and Cowboys now\nand again with the Russian Ballet, and\nHoup-la with Duse, and Bat Caba-\nrets, and see nothing stupid in that\nsort of a programme.\nIf Cochran was clever, he was ra-\nther too frivolously clever.\nHe was only mildly ambitious ; he\nwas not entirely sure of himself; he\nlacked sufficient confidence to take a\ndifficult path. Thirty years ago when\nhe was twenty-three, he might, for\nexample, have been George Bernard\nShaw's secretary and then become his\nimpresario: he might have saved Shaw\na terrible lot of worry f Who's Who\nin Literature \" SHA W, G. 8., etc, etc.\nAgent: none; transacts his own bu-\nsiness \". did that never catch the\neye of Cochran ?\nShaw, the greatest one-man show\non earth, quite the smartest business\nman living Shaw needed an agent ;\nneeded one assistant, even as Cochran\nneeded one thing to believe in and to\nboom.\nThere was money in Shaw. Shaw,\nassisted by Cochran ; provided Cochran\nfor the sake of the final success and\nthe big bags of money could have be-\nlieved in Shaw and no one else and\ncould have taken a back seat and wor-\nked unheard and unseen ; provided\nCochran could have worn jaegers, fore-\nsworn ptarmigan, and yet retained\nhis keen business faculties (if he has\nany) ; provided all this, Cochran would\nhave been one of the very richest men\nliving today, and Shaw quite the richest.\nWhy, only last month Shaw was\nlending £i 30,000 at 5Vg Per cent\nfor housing purposes to the Easington\nRural District Council.\nWhat a pair of barges they were\nto pass each other in the night.... and\nboth of 'em so well lighted up too\nsirens advertising the existence of\neach plenty of announcements as to\nports at which each would call; all\nvery safe and snug on board,... and\nthey missed each other ! I\nAltogether a not very interesting\nbook, this; in fact not far removed\nfrom being a dull one. It is too long\nby three hundred pages, and too ex-\npensive by about fifteen shillings. But\nthere are some very charming photo-\ngraphs in the book of Mrs. Cochran,\nMile. Delesia, the Dolly Sisters and\nothers.\nA showman may fool the crowd\nall he likes; he may pretend to be\nthis, that and the other, but I think\nhe must be careful never to fool them\nabout two things: he must be,\nnot pretend to be, a genuine showman :\nand he must have a genuine show\none his own.\n\nMODERN PLAYS.\n\nTHE BRITISH DRAMA\nLEAGUE LIBRARY. 3/ - net\neach volume. Vol. 9, 10, 11, 12.\nTHE DILEMMA by J. Barry, Four\nSeas Co. (No price given).\n\nFORTUNATELY the modern play-\nwriters are the most unselfish of\nmortals.\nThe advance made since the time\nof Congreve and Wycherly, of Beolco\nand Ariosto is most marked. In those\nfar off unenlightened days, only too\nmany playwrights were heard repeating\nthat old catch-phrase \" The play's the\nthing \", meaning thereby, the per cen-\ntage. But not now. In those days\nevery playwright had debts not now.\nDebts natu'ally arouse a playwright to\naction. The vast sums amassed by\nAriosto and Beolco, Wycherly, Chap-\nman and the others prove how much\nattention they paid to per centages.\nNowadays this selfishness (which very\nlikely was the reason for the wretched\nwork done in those days) has given\nplace to a grander thought.\nNo longer does the play-writer think\nof himself; he thinks of you and\nme. While it is in his interest to\ndraw me out of my house and into\nthe theatres so that I can be one of the\nthree thousand witnessing his play, he\nis not going to avail himself of any\nsuch privilege. So year by year he\nhas been making it easier and easier\nfor me to get his plays into my house.\nI can now count on the play co-\nming to me any evening at 8.30 punc-\ntually, after I have dined: and I\ncan select my own play and get the\nbest seat in the house, and all for\n3/6 or half a crown. I may smoke\nmy cigar or clay pipe, I may sip my\ncoffee, and I can draw up to the fire\nand make all cosy and read. Why\ngo [to the playhouse any more ? It\nis an uncomfortable place, draughty\nand so public. Once there I have to\nstay till the end even if the play\nbores me. But here in my room lam\nno longer obliged to follow every play\nright through. If on opening page 10\nor 15 1 find it silly stuff, 1 have one\nmore gift for the Hospitals at Christmas.\nOr after I have read my play I can\nlook at its pretty paper cover and\nplace this new gem of industry in my\nbookshelf.\nMr Blackwell's selection of plays\nhave specially twinkling outsides. Messrs\nBenn's are also bonny to look at, but\ndo not go well with English oak, and\ncedar from Lebanon is not easy to get.\nSo much for my own impression\nas to the reason for publishing modern\nplays before they have been seen on\na stage.\nBut I am told that the true reason is\nquite another one. Some say they are\npublished because they can't get them\nacted —or prefer not to have them\nacted or to entice managers.\nThe plays by Graves, Boyd, Peach,\nPeacey and the rest are new, but they\nare a little wearisome.\nThe authors of them are doubtless\nclever men and women, and some of\nthem, may be, will write a good play\nsome day. These play writers all seem\nto me to travel the same paths, dres-\nsed in the same rig-out, looking at\nthe same things, and remembering the\ndelightful things which were said about\nthese sights in their guide-books. These\nplay-writers seem to have studied at\nAcademies or Art Schools and have\ncaught the trick of writing a play.\nTo acquire that, no real talent is\nnecessary. These play-writers are too\nclever at the learnt trick for any en-\ncouragement to be of service. Encou-\nragement is only good for the tho-\nrough bungler who makes it clear that\nhe really did want to say something\nhe had seen clearly or felt acutely.\nAnd as there may be one such bun-\ngler coming along I would suggest that\nhe peruse the old French comedies of\nthe middle ages: Lde Cal-\nhain ; Le Farce de Maitre Mimin ;\nL'Obstination des Femmes and Maitre\nPathelin for example. (0 And Ta-\nbarin t00.... stop a while.... perhaps a\nmonth or so and absorb something of\nTabarin: give a whole quarter to\nAdajn de la Halle, and the rest of\nthe year to Pierre Blanchet. Get to\nknow them well, forget all about your-\nself and your contemporaries.... Shaw,\nPinero and Jones. They know if they\nare doing what they think best but\nthat is not at all what you should do.\nFirst get clear what it is you have\nnot to write about and do me the\nkindness to listen for a moment. Don t\n\n(i) I wrote of \" Pathelin \" in \" The\nMask \" for 1924 in \" Plays Old and New \"\nand am glad to see that Mr. Masefield\nhas recently translated the play.... and\nbetter still had it performed in his thea-\ntre near Oxford and with great success-"}, {"page_pdf": 67, "page_imprimee": "123", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.67", "texte": "write about two things, two ideas,\ntwo thoughts. Write of one only.\nDon't write in two acts, write in\none ... short or long, stick to one.\nTake a real subject; avoid the myste-\nrious things of heaven and hell ; writs\nabout the earth only. Make no at-\ntempt to work out a complicated si-\ntuation ; confine yourself to three cha-\nracters ; do not change your scene ;\nput no problem to yourself, and make\nno attempt to try to solve a problem....\nbut only try to make a play. Take\nany story and write round that, only\nlet the story be one which can be\ntold in forty or fifty lines.\nThey knew how to do this in the\nyear 1250, in 1450; and by the time\nMoli&re's turn came it was easy as\nlying.\nLeave Shaw and Pinero struggling\nwith what they take to be the truth ;\nno one will contradict them. Lie a\nlittle ; someone may come to agree\nwith you.\nAnd when I say, lie a little, I\nmean write around something which\n\" hardly seems true \"as they say. It's\nas true as everything else, but as it\nseems not possibly true it is thought\nto be a bit of a lie.\nFor example, A the poet thinks B\nhis wife married him out of sheer love\nand admiration for his good looks.\nIt seems hardly true that he has just\nheard her say to a young man that\nshe hates his ugly face. The ugly face.\nThat cannot be true to A. Do you\nfollow me ? Well, lie a little about\nthis face. Never mind who laughs;\nstick to it that the face is all we\n(you and I and A) were sure it was.\nI should not go away from this face\nif I were you. There are three or\nfour dramas in it. And remember,\nwhen you get tired of the thing, ask\nyourself once more, what about that\nface ? ; because it's a hundred to one\nyou 've forgotten to explain all about\nit. That's due to your lessons in the\nAcademies and Art Schools where\nthey have taught you to bring on\nthirty faces with forty complicated si-\ntuations with fifty problems to solve\neach with a beginning and a middle\nand an end.\nThat is being all too clever\navoid it.\nHaving fixed what you will write\nabout go around your garden or up\nand down the London streets playing\nwith words which are nearly all alike\nin sound. Just to get ready. Then\ngo indoors and write like the devil.\nWhat I tell you to do is what those\nmen of the old days did.... their public\nwould stand neither foolery nor pretence.\nListen to Pathelin.\nPalhehn. Dieu y soit! (1) (il entre)\nGuillaume. (drappierj Et Dieu vous doint\njoye !\nPathelin, Or ainsi m> aist Dieu, que\ny avoye\nDe vous veoir grant voulentel\nComment se porte la sante ?\nEstes-vous sain et dru (2),\nGuillaume ?\nLe Drappier Guy, par Dieu !\nPathelin Ca, ceste paulme\ncomment vous va ?\nThat's the way to set about your\nwork, and this is the kind of play to\nread with care and continually. This\nwill help you to drive out of your\nsystem that facile empty jingle of the\nmodern play writers which seems to\nact like a poison.\nYour plays are bad, not because\nyou are stupid, only because you at-\ntempt to be far too clever, and to do\nintricate things on an empty stomach.\nBrainy and wretched aim and result.\nFill up your paunch away with\nthose false problems ; forget all about\nthem and all you think you perceive;\naccept what has been seen and known\nfor centuries. Do not try to be ori\nginal... for it is an impossibility : do\nnot fatigue your brains thinking out\nsome new character. Take an old one\nthat is already clearly drawn for you\nby one of the masters. On that make\nyour little improvisation.\nYou are not obliged to think it all\nout by yourself... and if you try to, you\ncan but get into a most complicated\nmuddle and that will end in your crea-\nting a play like Pirandello or Shaw\nor the other thinkers create.\nRun from that.\nHere is \" Pathelin \" and the French\nfarces. Put them in your pocket :\noff you go ;... avoid everyone ; don't\nlisten to their twaddle ; keep by your-\nself ; create. And believe me to\nbe, yours sincerely.\n\nHENRY GAY CALVIN.\n\nLONDON'S LOST THE A TRES by\nErroll Sherson. John Lane. / 8/— net.\nTHE worst of architecture is that it is\ntoo fascinating, attracts too much\nattention unless it is quite perfect. A\nplace of worship in the hands of a\ngood (but not a great) architect often\nbecomes, for those susceptible to the\nasides of the Muses, as dangerous as\nthe golden casket proved to the Prince\nof Morocco. One comes to worship,\nand, talking too long to oneself about\nthe beauties of the material and workman-\n(1) For mule de salut, pour : Dieu so it\navec vous !\n(2) Formule en usage pour s' infor-\nmer de la sante de quelqu 'un.\nship, one discovers that one's time and\nthe game is up ...•and the lights being\nput out. One has forgotten to pray.\nLet but a merchant cause a vast shop\nto be built for him by a c lebrated\narchitect, and no one with any sensi-\nbility will buy even a reel of cotton,\nAs we Europeans are today no\nlonger susceptible to the whispers of the\nMuses, nor in any way sensible to fine\ncraftsmanship, all is well us. Our\nchurches serve admirably for thinking\nover exactly what shade of cotton it\nis we want, and on Monday we go to\nbuy it religiously no matter how attrac-\ntive the Emporium.\nWhen it comes to theatres, things\nare as safe for us. Our theatres are de-\nsigned and built to match our theatrical\ntaste..., which is mainly a sentimental\nthing and not over-burdened as it might\nbe with judgement, either rapid or cool.\nOur theatres are built so as to be as\ncomfortable as a railway carriage, as\nflashy as a beer saloon, and as useless as\nhouse-boat.\nBut for all its apparent harmlessness\nit can terribly affect those of us who\nare at all subject to echoes, for often\nan echo of a voice from Bordeaux or\nParma, from Venice or Bayreuth will\ncurl in and out of the overhanging\ncircles and we shall be lost in a dream,\nremembering some old talk of palchl\nor parterre, shall be, I mean.\nAnd in the past two centuries there\nhas been a great deal talked about\nboth and in both, and today the mere\necho of the voices clinging to the velvet\nand the chandelier is enough to make\nus ....I mean me.... forget the play\nand the actors.\nAnd this haunting familiar of the\narchitects, this muse, even follows me\nas I peep into books. It decoys me\nfrom Betterton and Irving, even from\nMetastasio and Farinelli: I find I am\nthinking of Wren and of Fontana and\nof Gabriel the architects.\nI was when I opened Mr; Sherson's\nvery charming book; 1 was thinking\nof my old friend the architect Selva,\nof Venice, who visited Astley's Circus\nin 1780, twelve years before he came\nto build La Fenice in Venice. Giovanni\nAntonio Selva was born in Venice in\n1753, and in 1780 on arriving in\nLondon, Astley having just opened his\nnew circus, Selva dotted down a number\nof observations - whether printed or no\nI cannot say - I have never coma across\nany such book. So that the manuscript,\nwhich I possess, and which was co-\npied by the hand of his apprentice\nBeccani about 1833 is perhaps from\na note book by Selva. Therein is a\nrough plan of Astley's in pen and ink."}, {"page_pdf": 68, "page_imprimee": "124", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.68", "texte": "I was thinking of this sketch of\nAstley's, I was wondering if I was to\nsee the original reproduced in this\ncharming book by Mr Erroll Sherson ;\nI was wondering, too, where that sketch\ncould be for my copy is only by\nhis pupil. And 1 was also thinking of\nMr. John Potter, Mr. Wyatt (1746-\n1813), Mr. Beazley (1786-1851),\nMr. Rosoman, and old Pasquali, those\ncarpenters, builders or architects who\nthrew up the London theatres of the\nlate 18th century or early in the 19th.\n1 will confess it was of these enchan-\nting architects of London that I was\nhankering to read, and of the way\nthey built their theatres. Knowing that\nold Beazley had also written some hun-\ndred dramas, besides building our old\nLyceum Theatre in 1816, I was very\nkeen to get at something about Beazley.\nWhat were his aims, I wondered:\nwhat was the particular method em-\nployed by Beazley when building a\nplayhouse. I despaired of learning much\nabout Potter or Pasquali; of Rosoman\n1 felt all was possible; of Wyatt that\nall was certain.\nThen imagine how dashed I was,\nnot to find their names even mentioned\nin the admirable index of this delightful\nh00k,... let alone in the text.\nThere were some fifty or sixty (may\nbe more) theatres built in London in\nthe 19th century; and I did hope to\nfind that the men who built them would\nbe given first place in this book. But\nas usual the actors push them out of\nthe way. For it is what go:s on in a\nchurch, a shop, a theatre that matters, not\nthe shop, church, stage, as I have said.\nWhat I would insist on is that no-\nthing else matters, IF you are a true\nbargainer, devotee or theatre goer. If,\nlike me, you are easily attracted, lured\naway, cajoled by the more entertaining\ntricks of the architects, craftsmen,\nvestments, incense, the music or the\nceremony, well, you have to pay for it.\nBut I am glad to see that Mr.\nSherson, the author of this book, has\nalso been a little bit lured. For, while\nhe writes of the lost theatres, he likes\nto put in a word or two about the\nactors, the plays, and even the scene-\nries and lighting effects and of all\nthese he writes with a certain affection\nso that one is not bored, and one is\neven pleassed.\nOf Lady Archie Campbell I would\nhave liked to have read something\nfor Mr. Sherson drifts into the world\nof Amateur Theatricals, Of the Greek\nPlay at Hengler's Circus a word might\nhave been said: of Terry's Theatre\nthere is not enough. I looked out for\nthese, because I am always looking out\nfor things which strike the great writers\nof the age as worthy to record but\nwhich lesser men seem even unable to\nlook up in the British Museum,\nBut then a dozen other things are\ntold us which, wanting this book, we\nhad never heard of. To the Alexandra\nTheatre, Highbury Barn, is given more\nthan two pages, whereas Mr. Baker\n(1904) in his book on London Thea-\ntres only gave it four and a half lines.\nThere are thirty-nine excellent illu-\nstrations in this volume and few of them\nhave been seen before by the Public.\nWe also get some very entertaining\nanecdotes about Fechter* and Ada Isaacs\nMenken, which do try to make up for\nthe absence of the architectural facts\nsome of us wish to learn more about.\nBut should a book on theatres be only\nhalf a book so as to make room for\nactors ? — that's the point. I confess i\nwant it free of everything but facts\nabout the places.... for after all I can\nget the other things in the Biographies,\n\nTHE JEW IN DRAMA, by M. J.\nLanda. King. /2/6 ne/,\nDISRAELI .... He was a Hebrew.\nHe would sit at his table toying\nwith his many golden - chains, flicking\nthe dust of Piccadilly off his red da-\nmask waistcoat, that dust which floa-\nted in so mildly at the window as he\nsat writing, and he would say kind\nthings of the west-enders. But when\nhe passed beyond thoughts of these\nand disappeared in the dust of Syria,\nwe could still hear his voice singing of\nIsrael, and it is that we stopped and\nstill stop to listen to.\nAnd coming back again we would\nfind him, say, in St. James's, and with\nhim a certain Sidonia: — everyone\nasks who is he ? — Is he a foreign\npotentate — is he a prince ? — :\nu Something like them \" — said little\nBenjamin — \" one of our travellers.\nYes, our Mr. Sidonia \". The very\nleast was noble.\nSo that to be put off with old clo'\nmen, whether in Parliament or in the\nTheatre, by these later times, is to be\ndone once more.\nI object a little to that. And I\ncannot for a moment tolerate the no-\ntion which Mr. Landa suggests in his\nably made book, that we are all to\nstand delighted before the comic parody\nof Abraham, David and Jesus Christ;\nSuppose that a descent from the su-\nblime be inevitable, we need not fall\nplumb down from Mount Horeb into\nthose plains where Mr. Zangwill roams\ngathering up the bits. In fact, the\ndescent is not precipitous at all.,., and\nwe can slowly descend these gradua\nsiopes meeting hundreds of great men\nof whom Sidonia, one of the least of\nthem, was so very proud.\nMr. Landa thinks that the Jew has\nbeen badly treated by the stage ; but\nno worse than the valet, that heroic\nfigure with his heroic faults; he who\nis nearly always made out to be a\nrogue. It was not the nature of the\nvalet that the dramatist found so use-\nful : it was his situation. There he\nwas, always ready to help his master ;\nhow ? by acting like his honou-\nrable peer ?... heaven forbid ; that\nwould get nowhere, and the world\nwould be bored. But when made to\nact like a rascal, to cheat, to blunder,\nto save the situation, then, putting on\na cloak which fell from some airy\nchariot, he became transformed, bril-\nliant, impossible, victorious, and with\none tap on the ground up sprang the\nmaterial proofs of a spiritual world,\nand that was all right.\nShall the Jew appear before a Chri-\nstian world plastered with Christian\nvirtues ? Shall he so parade Jewish\nvirtues that the very hero of the play\nbecomes the villain ? This appalling\nnotion, thank heaven, was resisted by\nour sensible dramatists who prepared to\nmake something out of the situation in\nwhich they found the Jew that comic,\ntragic moment of lending on interest.\nAnd it is comic and it is tragic.\nHere is a subtle person acting like\na ridiculous Christian would act should\nhe ever or hardly ever allow\navarice to get the better of him.\nBut the Jew cannot let well alone :\nhe can not resist the humour of the\nsituation,.... this masquerade of his:\nhe makes fun of himself in this role\nand we fail to twig it.\nDoes Moli&re draw a Jew in his\n44 L'Avare \" ?... No, he shows us a\nnoble Christian.\nMr. Lancia hasn't a leg to stand\non. Fancy demanding justice for the\nJew : as well demand it for the\nMahometan or the American ; yet Mr.\nLanda demands justice. Justice !\nWhat a lot of nonsense.\nAdmiration and appreciation for the\nJew, when he soars among the immense\nfigures of his race : but when he talks\nabout 44 pounds of flesh \" and forgets\neven to send one a Christmas card,\nlet alone a ten shilling tip for the maid,\nthen, since he is parodying our wes-\n• tern world, let us laugh and bait him,\n. and hey for a bit of a rag.\n> It's not the Jew one rags; it s the\n» funny fact that he has managed to\ni forget to give.\n! One of my very best friends is a"}, {"page_pdf": 69, "page_imprimee": "125", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.69", "texte": "Jew : a man of perfect education, of\ngreat talent, attractive, and one of my\nparticular admirations.\nOnce we lingered talking by the\nedge of a lake, leaning on the wall\nwhich divided us from the water. It\nwas some years ago, and at the time\n1 did not sport a gold watch chain :\nbesides, at that time, in France, we\nseldom were seen with gold chains but\nwore black silk ribbons.\nMy friend had a fob of black silk\nwith golden buckle and straps, and I\nstopped in our talk to admire it. He\ntold me that he would give me one\njust like it: .... he was going to Paris\nin a month's time and to the Rue de\nla Paix he assuredly would go to get\njust such a chain for me.\nTo this day he has forgotten it.\nNow one does not forget such vi-\nvid little facts ; the mere cost will fix\nit for ever in one's memory, besides the\ndelights (if we have delight in giving)\nwill keep returning to jog one's memory.\nI know because I happen to be\ncomic in the other way I delight\ntoo much in giving things to people I\nesteem. But not so my old friend in\nParis: he has forgotten.... he just\nforgot on principle. On Ararat one\ndoes not play with trinkets.... and I\nnow know that this sentimentality of\nmine about gold chains and keepsakes\nwas all fraudulent hypocricy.\nFor if our friends who are Jews\nforget to give us little pounds, lesser\nshillings and non-existent watch-chains,\nthey give us so much more than most\nothers do or can in bringing themselves\nto our lands. Whether in Italy or\nin England, in France or Germany,\nwhen we want some wisdom, some\nwit, some inspiration, some work of\nart, it is very very often a waste of\ntime to look for it from the sons of\nEuropa : we call to the East, for there\nit is in abundance.\nMr. Landa, you are doing the old\ntrick you are making fun of yourself.\nWE can recommend everyone inte-\nrested in tha Court Theatre of\nthe reign of Charles II and in Inigo\nJones's and John Webb's designs to\nturn to an interesting account by William\nGrant Keith published in the \" Archi-\ntectural Review London, February\n1 925, and illustrated by ten reproduc-\ntions, two of which, by kind per-\nmission, we reprint in this number of\n\" The Mask \". We hope that Mr.\nKeith will publish an exhaustive account\nof this playhouse in a volume not too\nlarge nor too costly.\nSuch monographs upon our few im-\nportant playhouses are much needed.\n\nMAGAZINES.\n\nCONCERNIN THE VALUE\nOF THE CINEMATOGRAPH\nTO EDUCATION.\ne. g. c.\n44 The value of Cinematograph\nto education is now increasingly realised\nby the Western countries \", writes Mr.\nM. V. Subrahmanyam, M. A., L. T.,\nLecturer in History, C. M. College,\nTinnevelly, in the 44 Educational Re-\nview India.\n€J 44 The influence of the cinema-\ntograph on modern education could\nnot be denied, and the role of the ci-\nnematograph, provided it were well\ndirected, might be an excellent one\nwrites Professor Gilbert Murray.\nThe influence of the cinemato-\ngraph is a wretched one and its value\ndoubtful, write I.\nAfter a long seance in the dark,\nfull of memories of Mae Marsh which\nassuredly strengthen the weak points in\nhis researches into the 4 4 Poetical rhythms\nof American speech \" what a help to\nany young University man it will be,\nwhen in the midst of the intricacies of\nthe History of the San Marino Republic,\nto be able to have things all cleared\nup for him by Half hours with Dou-\nglas Fairbanks : what a pity that\nwhen an actor wants some help in his\nparticular branch of education, he alone\nof all the scholars will find in the Ci-\nnema nothing to be of the slightest use\nto him. But as the world is now\nbecoming right side up once more and\nlosing its topsy turveydom, thank Heaven,\nhe will be able to derive all the help\nhe needs by a course of Sanskrit at\nthe London College of Music.\n44 Provided it were well directed \"\nthe Cinema would cease to attract....\nand so would take on another existence\na less hectic one, i think.\nIt appeals because it is not educa-\ntive, is not suspected by its lovers to\nbe exerting any influence. Let but a\nfaint suspicion arise in the heart of the\npassionate devotee that it is becoming\nand the Movies will miss\nhim from their pleasant gatherings.\nHis place will soon be filled by an\nearnest student, and I do not think the\nreally earnest student will fare badly\nor be at all affected by the poison. It's\nthe kind of relaxation he needs, looks\nfor, but dare not openly indulge in.\nBut should he be sucked into the gully\nhe will sink encouraged by the\nheartening words of Mr. M. V. Su-\nbrah manyam. 44 The value of Cinema-\ntograph to Education He is gone.\nI fear we do not see him coming up\nagain,\n\nEDITORIAL NOTES.\n\nA CORRECTIO\nWE regret that in our last number\nwe attributed the authorship of\n\"Who's Who in the Theatre\" (Pitman)\nto Mr. John Palmer instead of to Mr.\nJohn PARKER.\nMr. PARKER is one of those un-\ncommon men who devote themselves\nto the Theatre, and, in the teeth of op-\nposition, he produces what seems to be\na book without any possible success in\nit; . ..a book of dates and records ;\n» Dull as ditch-water \" says young\nHopeful of that immense plajdiouse,\nthe Pessimist Theatre.\nMr. PARKER then makes this hook\na great success.\nNo theatrical manager, no critic, no\nable journalist can do without it. It\nsaves hixn from making a hundred mis-\ntakes in the course of a year. Once\nin his possession he can never, for\nexample, take Parker to he Palmer.\nIf he is an American impresario who has\ncome over to Europe fully purposed\nto engage M. and his troupe,\nhe discovers from the book that that\nvery up-to-date star died in 1763.\nIt *s true that he died in 1773, but\nthe main thing to make cLar to an\nAmerican manager is that the man is\ndead, and that we know it, and that\nhe cannot be disturbed.\nWe think, by the way, that if Mr.\nParker could find space to enter\nMoliere as 44 actor \" as well as dra-\nmatist it would be of added value to\nhis already valuable book.\n\nTHE article on the Calderon Stage\ntogether with the copy of the draw-\ning from the National Library of\nMadrid are the work of Herr Klaus\nRichter whose inte est in and know-\nledge of the stage is not merely that\nof the clever artist and historian. He\nhas been an actor, and his scenic work\nfor the stage was amongst the most\nbrilliant in the International Exhibition\nin Amsterdam and London 1920-21.\nHe is undoubtedly one of the soun-\ndest of tbe German group; his work\npossesses a charm which does not tire."}, {"page_pdf": 70, "page_imprimee": "126", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192607-01.1.70", "texte": "THE NEW SHAKESPEARE\nMEMORIAL THEATRE.... AND\nAMERICA.\n\nA LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.\nYours truly\nA. R. CAMPBELL.\nDE4R Sir:\nA friend returning from Florence\nhas given to me 44 The Mask \" for April,\nknowing that I would enjoy having so\nattractive a magazine in my hand.\n1 must express to you the keen plea-\nsure which its beauty has given me, and\nhow interesting I find its contents.\nAs an American, however, I particu-\nlarly sympathize with you in your Edi-\ntorial Note on the new theatre at Stratford.\nYou were quite clear that the Americans\nshould have nothing to do with it, but\nyou made no suggestions as to preventing\nthem : and I am writing to you to ask\n44 How are we to clear them out of it?\"\nWhen committees arrive from Europe\nasKitig for help to restore buildings in\nEngland, in France, and in Belgium, the\nAmericans will give. Already contribu-\ntions are being sought for the Stratford\nTheatre, and I am afraid the mischief is\nwell under way. Of course Americans\nwould feel Shakespeare was big enough\nto let even them sit at his feet (as ano-\nther great man preached also to the\nGentiles) and they would want to show\nin small measure what he is to them\nThey would hope, too, to express to the\nBritish what they have been to Americans\nin their great gift of Literature: in their\nHistory, and in themselves as a people\nof truth, courage, and those qualities\nwhich make them the best type of men\nin the world today. The Americans feel\nall this: but they are also busy working\nout their own destiny, and are perhaps\ntoo unconscious that they in turn, are\nnot being idealized by other nations.\nThey give because it is their habit; and\nunless you can suggest some definite way\nof prevention, they will be helping to\nbuild the Theatre in spite of us.\nPasadena, Cal.\n\nfKSBnMMMMMMMHEMBSMMMHMnBMBnHnaMMMW VI I'lIM lIMBBIHI ll«MUM»BW»\nTHE MASK REPLIES-\nDEAR Sir, —or Madam?\nIt is obvious that you think we are\ntoo critical, (impertinent even), to Ame-\nricans when we call on England to do\nthe Shakespeare work without them.\nBut you write so drily and with so\nmuch charm that you reveal once more\nhow comfortable is your land;—only a\ncomfortable land sprawling at ease, and\nso far away too, (even from a few reali-\nties) could be so indifferent to the things\ngoing on in ours. It's a tight little\nIsland—our old England—and we have a\ngreat love for it as it is ; and perhaps\nare over-eager not to see it develop\nAmericanism, ....not, depend on America\nfor its luxuries. Shakespeare, for example.\nIf you were in England, if you had\nlived there, for thirty years, worked in\nthe Theatre there, seen the growing in-\ndifference towards the Shakespearean\nDrama, realized that England needed\nsomething—some event—to act as a spur\nto its indifference to our poet, you would\nhave rejoiced on hearing of that fire at\nStratford.\n44 At last \" you would have said (as\nwe did) 44 at last England will turn and\nlook at Shakespeare and feel something,\nwill be moved to do something, and pro-\nperly \".\nShe does very properly in, to speak\nmodestly, ninety-seven cases out of a\nhundred. Shakespeare and the Dramatic\nArt stands for the ninety-eighth time\nwhere she gives at the knees.\nWe did so look to see England eager\nat last to do this little thing alone—and\nwe are cross that she failed.\nFor some there are who tell us (and\nyou are too far off to hear of it) that,\nimmediately on seeing the fire, Americans\nresiding at Stratford and in London, push-\ned forward to stake out a claim in this\nmatter of reparation or reestablishment.\nOver eagerness is not always apt,\nis it ?\nDiscretion and fine feeling wait to\nallow a man or a nation to recover by\nhimself or itself.\nNo one can be more discreet nor have\nfiner feeling than many Americans; but\nevery fine American cannot be on the\nspot on every such occasion : and alas,\nthe over pushful, those blind to old-\nfashioned niceties of feeling, are too often\nright there squatting ready for the boom\nand alive to the values of the reclame.\nYou will, we hope, study this ques-\ntion of our old England and its forgotten\npoet;—you will try and realize how 110\nuse was made of him to cheer our land\nduring the war ; will note that for over\nthree hundred years no National Theatre\nhas been put up by us for his works ;\nwill search our hearts and feel something\nof what we who love this poet feel; and\nyou too, we think, will sympathize with\nthose of us who want to see Shakespeare\nexempt from even the most loving cha-\nrity of the best of strangers, or the jol-\nliest of cousins. The Editor,\nP. S. To answer one of your direct\nquestions:—The obvious way to ward\noff that indiscreet boom-loving assistance\nalluded to above would be to make it\nquite clear that we have no need of any\nassistance. It is, I admit, our fauK not\nto have done so.\nWhenever it is quite clear to Ame-\nricans of that that no advantage,\nno reflected glory, no reclame awaits\nAmerican support be it for some unknown\npoet, be it for some living artist of\nworth who objects to the American me-\nthods of boom, it is seen every day how\nnimble are Americans (of the flashy kind)\nto clear out of their own initiative to\navoid every impulse to assist; to do no-\nthing and to do it magnificently. I am\nsure you know that this is so.\nIf as you say a Committee has come\nto your land from England askingfor help\nfor the Shakespeare Memorial you should\nlet us all hear of that Committee. We\nknowr that Englishmen worth their salt\ndo not countenance any such overtures.\nYou should send that 44 Committee \"\nback —but let us know of whom it is\ncomposed.\n\nAMERICAN CRITIC ADMITS\nGRAVE DANGER AVERTED.\ni ■■■MiswiMCTBWwwwwwi mm muaammm\n14 There was a time, not long ago,\nwhen it seemed as though the scenic\nartist was about to become the all-powerful\nforce in our Theatre. That time seems\nto have passed J. F, Smith in The\nStage Year Book 1926.\nSo thaVs over, and Mr. Smith and\nail Americans eager not to lose their\nold percentages can breathe again. But\nto think they ever got such a fatuous\nidea into their heads put it there\nthemselves.\nStill the picking the brains of the scenic\nartist..- delicious title,44 Scenic Artist \"...\nstill goes on. Twist and turn, prevaria-\ncate or lie, you all still prey on him.\n\nFINE REALITY. 1626.\nWhen Mr. George Sampson tells us\nthat 44 Coleridge was an example\nof high imagination divorced from rea-\nlity \" and that 44 he fled from reality all\nhis life \" whereas Shakespeare u never\nsundered from reality \" we must recall\nthat Shakespeare lived in Elizabeth's\nage of adventure, Coleridge in the su-\nblime age of George 111 and George IV.\nWilliam Blake also lived then and\nfled bolted from that 44 reality \".\nByron too popped over to Italy and\nwrote 44 Don Juan\n\nO LONDON 1926. O\nChaliapine at the close of the prologue\nin '4 Mephistopheles n put two diabo-\nlical fingers in his mouth as if he were cal-\nling a cab and uttered a piercing whistle.\n\" Who — who but Chaliapine would\ndare to do such a thing \" said the flut-\ntered hearts of the Londoners.\nThis whistling, as the 14 Evening\nStandard \" points out, is a long estab-\nlished piece of business. Others add\n44 written down in Boito's score But\nas all the world knows Goethe a hundred\nyears before him had underlined the bit\nof business. In the second part of Faust\nyou find it, and Goethe took it from the\npuppet play. Reality.\n\nGeorge Sampson.\n44 If 44 The Ancient Mariner \" is to\nhold you with his glittering eye, you\nmust come to him young, or he will seem\nperilously like the Elderly naval man of\na different saga \".\nYes, that's true. There really is some\nreality in remaining young.\n\nThe Stage Year Book for 1926 is as\ninteresting as ever, and valuable as a\nreference Book. What is not in 44 The\nMask \" is in 44 The Stage Year Book\n\nAll Rights reserved. July 1926.\nDire t tore responsabile Antonio Mar ami.\nTipografia Giuntina, Firenze."}]}