R,CHARD MONCKTON MILNES was born in the year - OUDL Home

The Theatre in the 'Seventies 139mitted elsewhere. What was to be done? A happythought occurred to Byron: here was an opportunity ofserving Tom! Society, written with an eye to the HaymarketTheatre, where Sothern was acting, had beenrefused contemptuously by the manager—Buckstone—who pronounced it 'rubbish'. It had then been offeredto various other London managers, with the same result.Truth to tell, it was a queer, out-of-the-way thing, almostmonstrous in its disregard of the conventions. However,owing to the instrumentality of the faithful Byron, it hadbeen tried for a week or two in Liverpool and had beenfavourably received there; and needs must when the devildrives—in the shape of empty benches. So Society wasproduced at the little Prince of Wales's Theatre, TottenhamStreet, Tottenham Court Road, on the night ofNovember 11th, 1865; and that night a new form ofdrama took root—teacup-and-saucer drama some peoplecalled it. Anyhow, Robertson had the gratification ofsending Buckstone a box for the hundredth performanceof the play, reminding him—good-humouredly I am sure—of the opinion he had expressed with such curtness. Tocut the story short, Society was followed in due course byOurs; Ours by Caste; Caste by Play; Play by School;School by M.P. M.P. was the last of the comediesRobertson wrote for the Prince of Wales's. It was producedon April 23rd, 1870; and on February 3rd, 1871,at the age of forty-two, Robertson died. That regimentaldoctor was not far out in his diagnosis.And this brings us to the 'seventies. But before treatingof the 'seventies let us inquire what the condition of thestage was when Robertson began his series of comedies atthe Prince of Wales's, and what precisely were the natureand substance of those comedies. First, as to the state towhich our theatre had fallen at the time of the productionof Society. It was a theatre, so far as the higher aims of