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

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On January 4, 1884 The Times had published ito annual recount
of "The Drama". James Ferguoon iiisbet, the pap r's cTiief clrnmatic
correspondent, expressed the opinion thtvt the "renaissance"
of the drama, now alleged to be unc er way, co ad more properly
be attributed to "the cl EC connection now established between
art and the stage, the growth of an educated t ate, and the
diffusion among c.ll clcoaeo of p. keen intereot in the drama
and its profeeeorc", than to any improvement in the quality
of -olayc. On the other hand, he had to Concede that "spectacular
sensationalism" had fallen into disrepute, and that "artistic
taste" wan now employed to an extent unknown before in the
mounting of relays. Clcu^i?n,at the Princess's, was r> good
example of this praiseworthy tendency: likewise The Ilaymarket,
St. James's and Court Theatreo he'd dictinguiche'' themselves
"for the completeness, beauty, and correctness of their interiors,
and the exact costuming of their d r amntie porconae".
In 1885 ilisbet's ; U..M. ,ry of . ramntic events showed that
this enthusiasm had abated:
If the yo; r juct closed is to enjoy any diotiaction
in the annals of the ctr.ge, it v.ill be noted for
the prodigality of its cconic dicpl.vy, and the
degree of perfection to which the ; rt of the miseen-sce'nei
has been carried. There is lit ;le else
to b@ placed to its credit.
(Timcc, 7 January 1885)
Tv.o major Droductions of LihtLkcopoarean c?roma hn.d boon ctcged
r.t Hoct End thoc''treL, "whore the merits of the actiiv; al-.->ne
could hardly be truoteO to ensure their ^UCCGSG". .-rretfa
performance of Hamlet Iv d been energetic and intelligent but
wrote I.isbet, \voefully eccentric, v.hilot rry Anderson's
Juliet woe "of ctill cnrller account rrticticclly". Irvinc hrC_
presented iv/olftli Tii^ht during the ye^r, but hie Mrlvolio h.-c1
been "quaint and curious, -;itliout bcinr rror-t", c.nd the habitual
beauties of the r;tr "o- / : nc ' oivicnt h.-. d not ourjtnined a rtlry
•which Kisbet found "li. ;lit and : i:ctcliy". Apart frora a revive 1,
earlier in the yc-r, of tlio Lyccun .C-uch v o About Nothing (fir, t
ceen in October, 182) there had been little to encourage
optimism for the future of Sh:i!:c pe^rcrn actv..c. Sc.lvini and
Sarnh Bernhrrtit h d appeared in ,h.ort acoconc of clac.-icj?.l and
contemporary nlaye, but their efforts wore hnrdly . irrnc of t.'ie