The English Stage Being an Account of the Victorian Drama   By: Augustin Filon

WORKS BY THE AUTHOR.

PROFILS ANGLAIS. MÉRIMÉE ET SES AMIS. VIOLETTE MÉRIAN. AMOURS ANGLAIS. LES CONTES DU CENTENAIRE. ETC. ETC.

THE ENGLISH STAGE

Being an Account of the Victorian Drama by Augustin Filon

Translated from the French by Frederic Whyte with an Introduction by Henry Arthur Jones

JOHN MILNE 12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON

NEW YORK DODD, MEAD, & COMPANY MDCCCXCVII

All Rights Reserved

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction by Mr. Henry Arthur Jones 9

Author's Preface 31

CHAPTER I

A Glance back From 1820 to 1830 Kean and Macready The Strolling Player The Critics Sheridan Knowles and Virginius Douglas Jerrold His Comedies The Rent Day The Prisoner of War Black Eyed Susan Collapse of the Privileged Theatres Men of Letters come to the Rescue of the Drama Bulwer Lytton The Lady of Lyons Richelieu Money 39

CHAPTER II

Macready's Withdrawal from the Stage The Enemies of the Drama in 1850: Puritanism; the Opera; the Pantomime; the "Hippodrama" French Plays and French Players in England Actors of the Period The Censorship The Critics The Historical Plays of Tom Taylor and the Irish Plays of Dion Boucicault 73

CHAPTER III

The Vogue of Burlesque Burnand's Ixion H. J. Byron The Influence of Burlesque upon the Moral Tone of the Stage Marie Wilton's Début A Letter from Dickens Founding of the Prince of Wales's Tom Robertson, his Life as Actor and Author His Journalistic Career London Bohemia in 1865 Sothern 93

CHAPTER IV

First Performance of Society Success of Ours , Caste , and School How Robertson turned to account the Talent of his Actors, John Hare, Bancroft, and Mrs. Bancroft Progress in the Matter of Scenery Dialogue and Character drawing Robertson as a Humorist: a Scene from School As a Realist: a Scene from Caste The Comedian of the Upper Middle Classes Robertson's Marriage, Illness, and Death The "Cup and Saucer" Comedy The Improvement in Actors' Salaries The Bancrofts at the Haymarket Farewell Performance My Pilgrimage to Tottenham Street 114

CHAPTER V

Gilbert: compared with Robertson His First Literary Efforts The Bab Ballads Sweethearts A Series of Experiments Gilbert's Psychology and Methods of Work Dan'l Druce , Engaged , The Palace of Truth , The Wicked World , Pygmalion and Galatea The Gilbert and Sullivan Operas 138

CHAPTER VI

Shakespeare again From Macready to Irving; Phelps, Fechter, Ryder, Adelaide Neilson Irving's Début His Career in the Provinces, and Visit to Paris The rôle of Digby Grand The rôle of Matthias The Production of Hamlet Successive Triumphs Irving as Stage Manager as an Editor of Shakespeare His Defects as an Actor Too great for some of his Parts As a Writer and Lecturer; his Theory of Art Sir Henry Irving, Head of his Profession 156

CHAPTER VII

Is it well to imitate Shakespeare? The Death of the Classical Drama Herman Merivale and the White Pilgrim Wills and his Plays: Charles the First , Claudian Tennyson as a Dramatist; he comes too soon and too late Tennyson and the Critics The Falcon , The Promise of May , The Cup , Becket , Queen Mary , Harold 174

CHAPTER VIII