Pictorial Shakespeare, 1880-1890 - eTheses Repository - University ...

198
The reason for Abbey's curt note is not evice.,t: it may
heve be ;n that he challenged toingfield's outiiority, or that
he did not. give him the proper payment (his "terms"?). The
letter does indicate some tension between professional staff
end adviser: |i .I'in^fielo 's word WE s as absolute es his
intorviu, st.g . jested , ti ;o sce»ie-pai;-ters and technicians must
have voeri unusually docile. It . ppears, moreover, that the
design policy of the c^np^ny had iailed badly in the dressing
of Fy;,melion and Galatea. Alna-Tadema gave an intervie. to
The Pall Mall Gazette in which he denied responsibility for
the costumes, and made it clear that he had not been employed
on an official basis, or attended &f*y "st; , e-reheersals n .
Miss Anderson, he pointed our, was dressed according to c
design by an Americ; 1 ;. rtist, Frank D. i illet. On the opening
iiight the actress's first act cross did not look ri,\ht:
Tadema went behind and, in the green-room, "pulleo the drapery
more iully round the upper rrr., besides making one or t..o
other little changes" (10 December Ibt3). After the second
act he v;ent behind again and "pinnect up the dres^ in front so
that, instead of ca^chin^ betv.e^n h^r feut and bul^in^ out,
it hung iree in a strright lin^". ;>ut Miss Anderson had only
taken his advice in c casual way, and his suggestion during
the reheaisrl period that r certain kind of oqii i ur_e be
adopted wr.s overruled. Tadema gave tno intervio-or ids
pessimistic vio.f of the movement to,, arc .s stage a.L-tnc-iiticity:
ti'6 >urity and simplicity oi t sto x/hich rei^noo
iu r>':tique costurae rre foreign to the very
principles of the nocorn st. ge , x ith its
c littor and sho" , its cre'Ving for un i^lcy
om< rr;ent anc c:.:-ce masses of colour.
Li; e :.:ay of the revieTj.e.o, he found the costumes 3i the
other members of the c; st ga.xU r-nd innrc,.r; to , and he v.as
s :if t to dissociate himseli from them.
.hilot in Taxless 's relationship ith th , production OA
Gilbert's play one crn ciaeern the syn )tons 01 the traditions!
mutual distn.st of "experts" enc t.oci .;icic -s , in £.^^2.^1';.
Jiliet the -tovo ont t ;,/aros the estcblis o.,t of 'ho rr.i,:t,ic
director * as fully endorsed. ..ingfielc vent so far is to
impugn the arch eolo^ic-1 accuracy of lrv:,ng ! s ..roovction,
clairdng that "his dresses x-eru i^.g..n?ry, r.u belonged t> no