Part 2

[7] _Holman._--This is one of those actors who should receive a hint to pay more attention to their author and less to themselves. Cibber wrote as well as acted for the stage, and succeeded: Holman has written too; but, “haud passibus æquis!”

Scribimus indocti doctique.--HOR.

[8] The great and unrivalled talents of this lady in tragedy are such as would justly subject us to the imputation of vanity and folly, were we to attempt to enumerate them. With such a distinguished favourite of Melpomene before our eyes, it is painful to think that tragedy should be in this nation overlooked and neglected, as is evinced by the cold manner in which the productions of our best dramatic writers are received upon the stage, though aided by the magic powers of her, who carries us into whatever regions the fiction of the poet places in our view.

Irritat, mulcet, falsis terroribus implet, Ut magus; et modo me Thebis modo ponit Athenis.--HOR.

Let not poets any longer arrogate immortality to their works, when we see the productions of Dryden, Otway, Southern, and even Shakespear himself, placed upon the shelf: And for what? To please the taste of a public, vitiated by the unseemly trash, issuing from the pen of O’Keefe, Reynolds, Morton, &c. &c.

Whose happy arts attention can command When fancy flags, and sense is at a stand.--POPE.

[9] We think it sufficient to observe of this gentleman, (whose talents as an actor are too well known to require commendation here,) that his Coriolanus and Macbeth are noble instances of his powers, and that he has brought Hamlet to the achme of perfection.

[10] Who, that has witnessed the admiral efforts of Mrs. Jordan in low comedy, does not regret to see her attempt such parts as Lady Teazle and Estifania? After these extraordinary undertakings, we shall soon expect to see Mr. Bannister, jun. in Richard III. and Mr. Suett in Beverley or Macbeth. As Mrs. Amlet says in the Confederacy, “We are all for appearing above what we are, and that is what ruins every body.”

[11] The satirist, averse to exhibiting scenes of folly, fixes with delight on beauty and excellence: as the traveller, weary of the uniformity of a dusky heath, wanders with joy over fertile plains and enamelled meadows. Seldom have we received more various and rational pleasure than from the truly excellent performances of Miss Decamp. With a face well adapted to express the sentiments of the soul, an elegant and graceful person, appropriate action, and a knowledge of her author’s meaning, which good understanding alone can give, this young lady bids fair to obtain general and unrivalled approbation. But, as the human mind, however variously gifted by nature, has still some single object in which it is peculiarly fated to figure, some cast of character which is exclusively its province, we would strongly recommend it to this young lady to study Mrs. Jordan’s comic characters, without meaning to preclude her from those occasional variations, which no one can undergo with more justice and versatility than herself.

“Reddere personæ scit convenientia cuique.”

[12] It is surprising that the Manager should remain ignorant of the most important part of his office, namely, an appropriate distribution of parts. Packer, some thirty years ago, might have been a tolerable actor; but surely he has had time to “strut and fret his hour upon the stage,” and should now be “heard no more.” The character of the Danish usurper, in his hands, is deprived of all its interest, by losing that crafty, yet daring, villany which Shakespear intended to portray. The fine soliloquy, “O my offence is rank!” &c. is entirely omitted, in pity, we suppose, to this old man’s infirmities: but, it is time to inform Mr. Packer, that, when he attempts parts like these, “O my offence is rank!” would be no improper exclamation.

[13] In the veteran King we see an actor of sterling excellence and merit. He possesses real humour unadulterated with buffoonery; a most rare quality in the present state of the stage! But “Vitæ summa brevis, spem nos vetat inchoare longam.” Mr. King’s infirmities are now growing fast upon him;

--------------------“His way of life Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf!”

And it is with infinite regret that we look forward to the time when he shall retire from that stage, of which he has so long been a distinguished ornament.

[14] Mr. Charles Kemble’s powers are daily expanding into excellence; and we look forward with pleasure to the future eminence of this young actor.

Yet shall he mount, and keep his distant way, Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate.--GRAY.

[15] The power of managers to obtrude themselves upon the public in what characters they please must often be abused, by laying them open to the attacks of vanity; while, from their high situation in the theatre, we presume the real truth is not likely to offend their ears. The humorous author of the Connoisseur hints at a reverend bishop, who kept his chaplains in a state of such extreme servility, that it was their custom to ask him at the conclusion of every deal at whist what his lordship would please to have for trumps? Mr. Wroughton may not perhaps be so highly pampered as the above-mentioned bishop, but it was thought necessary to enlarge upon the frequent absurdity of his conduct, that future managers may profit by his evil example.

“Bonum est fugienda aspicere alieno in malo.”--PUBL. SYR.

[16] Barrymore is one of those personages, to make use of Pope’s words, “Who never changed his principles or wig.”--As his action and voice are uniform, so is his wig; as his gigantic method of uttering trivial sentiments is uniform, so is his wig: pity the wig is not a better one!

[17] The dramatic productions of Mr. Colman have a real claim to the title of motley. As a proof of this assertion, we beg leave to refer our readers to the Mountaineers and the Iron Chest, in both of which plays are lines not unworthy of a Congreve or a Rowe; but these are debased most miserably by others, which are beneath the notice of criticism. Upon the whole, it appears, that the genius of this gentleman is happily adapted to the size of his theatre:

Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam Jungere si velit, et varias inducere plumas Undique collatis membris; aut turpitur atrum Desinat in piscem mulier fermosa superne Spectatum admissi risum teneatis, amici?--HOR.

It may be worth inquiry, why the public should permit the performance of the Iron Chest at the Haymarket, after the decided sentence pronounced upon it at Drury-Lane; as it must be obvious to the most ignorant spectator, that the play was cast with much greater force at the last-mentioned theatre; for, while we respect the talents of Mr. Elliston, we hold it something like blasphemy to place him in competition with Mr. Kemble, the first tragedian of the age; and how must the broad farcical humour of Fawcett suffer in comparison with the acting of the late excellent Dodd! Perhaps it may be urged, that Fawcett stood next to Dodd in the personification of such characters as Adam Winterton: if so, it must certainly be, as Virgil expresses it, “Proximus, sed longo intervallo.”

[18] We wish that Mrs. Goodall would avail herself of our friendly hints; she might certainly become an actress of some merit: at present she gives us an idea of a well-constructed automaton.

[19] Strange that so few actors can play the gentleman!--As to Mr. Russell,--but it would be a waste of time to expatiate on his demerits. All our astonishment is to think that he should _attempt_ such characters as Charles Surface; especially as the excellence of Smith is still fresh in the minds of the public.

----------Quid enim contendat hirundo Cycnis? LUCRET.

[20] The part of Bullock was performed, by Mr. Wathen, not for the public benefit, but his own. The good nature of a British audience was never better exemplified than in the above instance.--Surely there never was such an age of toleration!--Dibdin’s song of the _Waggoner_ was also sung by our hero, to exhibit his talents in another point of view. To say the execution was intolerable is far from sufficient, and yet we have neither time nor patience to say more.--All was hushed! for, at least half the audience was asleep.

Somno positi sub nocte silenti Lenibant curas et corda oblita laborum.--VIRG.

[21] We are astonished to see this man figuring away in such characters as the Baron of Oakland, Mr. Hardy, and Sir Francis Wronghead.--When will managers learn their duty to the public? and when distinguish between unaffected humour and unnatural buffoonery?--To Hollingsworth we may apply the lines of Peter Pindar:

“Of acting I have seen enough, “Most vile, most execrable, stuff; “But none so bad as thine, I vow to God!”

THE END.

Transcriber’s Notes

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

The original text used the long s. This has been changed to the regular s.

The footnotes have been renumbered and moved to the end of the book.

A few obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Archaic and irregular spellings have been retained.