The National Register.
London, England, 1814-09-04 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

DRURY-LiNETHEATILE

On Friday the Annual Meeting' of the Proprietors of Drury-lane
Theatre was held at the Crown and Anetior 'ravers,.
_ .
SAMUEL HIT BREA t); Esq. in the. Chair.•

A Report from the Committee was read, in which all the preceedings
that have taken place for the last twelve months, towards liquidating
the of claims. and settling all the financial concerns of th. Theatre,
were del fled with a clearness and pieeisian the most satisfactory. A
'end of five per cent was declared.
Mr. %V nrrattir.AD,liddre.ged the Meeting in a short speech, in which
he paid H handsatae compliment to• the management, integrity,
lents of Mr. Arnold—and he explained the manner in wllh they were
all mainly indebted to him .for the accession of that incomparahle per-
former Mr. Koan, by whose de4erved attraction, alter 133 nights of
emitinued loss, their interests had been retrieved, and the season had
concluded in the brilliant manner which they had all witnessed. The
extraordiaary powers of this eminent Actor had, as might be well inia-
gwed, erao n forth the criticisms of all Theatrical Amateurs and
Jut.ges ; and though there might be some few who did not agree with
him (Mr. Whitbread), in regarding Mr. Kean as the must shilling actor
that had appeared in the theatrical hemisphere for %alloy years, yet he
was happy to find that the general opinion occurred with his own in
this respect. A combination of all the qualitiea that were essential to
form a complete actor were found to unite in one man, very rarely
indecd ; and though obkooions might be set up to the figure of Mr.
Kean, as objections had at all that., and in all the ages of the world
beef set up to some ris%e or colder of the wend qualities and proportions
of avers actor,
.vvt.jodging of him, in dll the great attributes of the
art, he w err Wit' of those prodigies that oely occur once or twice in s
century. He had the highest respect for the talents. the erudition, the
aectoreoisinett:s at Mr. Kemble, who was another of the rare instances
of superior t•ile.t its the his:mule profession ; and he had no desire,
.1
in specking of Mr. Kean, to deteriorate from the merit of Mr. tremble.
But tt was to much the fashioa of persons iv speakitoz of one actor to
compare hiro with another; nod those who affected to .criticise the
talents of Mr. keatt most !crapulously always wished to put him in H
comparison with Garrick. Of that great actor he wished to speak with t,
the most marked respect. But %sly, of all thwe who compared him
with Giarick rentemfeoed the performances of Garrick in his 15th year ? '
They remembered him only aro r long study and experience in the pro-
fession had improved and matured all the faculties•of his youth ; and he
vi:es ready also to pay the saute compliment to Mr. Kemble, that years
of application and study, with an erudite mind and strong judgment,
had aegrired him the celebrity which he possessed. But in judging of
Mr. Kean, we must look to him us he is—not the copyist of any other—
. not the pupil of a school—not a mannerist, but an actor who found all
his resources in nature—who delineated the passions only from the ex-
prussion that the soul gives to the voice and features of man—hot from
the images that have before him been represented on the stage. It is
front the wondertul truth, energy and force with which he strikes out,
and presents to the eve this natural working of time passions on the
human frame, that he excites the emotions, and engages the sympathy
of bis spectators and auditors. It is to him, that alter 133 nights of
continued loss anti disappointment, that the Subscribers arc indebted
for the success of the season, and that the public are indebted for the
high treat which they received by the variety of characters which he
e.-Tresented.
He said that, notwithstanding the long continuance Of the dispiriting
loss at the commencement of the season, he must sav that the company
of performers was not merely respectable, but such as, taken in
• their various departments, could too he Li-lily said to be surpassed at
any farmer period of theatrical history. Old persoes were fond of
praising the merit' of times past ; hot very little impartiality would be
required to der ample justice to the talents of the Drury-lane Company.
Ile had had rierteet confidence in their talents, and he did not wish to,
Juke any merit to himself in what he had• done, hut under the lung
ser:es of disaster they had suffered, he had not hesitated to cairy On
t':e coacern by his own intervention as to the means, and the result
had amp!), recompensA him in the gratification of his feelings for the
step he hal tai-
Various caii,e, had been assigned for the ill success of the commence.
Etent of the reason, and various complaints had been made.
It had beets thought ilott he pillars in the front of the stage affected
the sound, and some of ihe actors themselves were of this opinion.
%Veil, this bind beet' removed, and oft! Th-Cre now presented an
amine new face, which he trusted would he quite satisfactory to all.
The management of Mi. Arnold-had been
.objected to; and it was
said in particular, that in the choice of pieces he had, from natural
partiality, brought :or wud his wen productions. Now it so happened,
that in the tiff hole eile of his pieces bad been brought out

569

which was done, Mr. Whitbread said, at his particular request; and It
bad been the most eminently successful piece perforired (hiring the
season, the xelmesentations of Mr. Kan only excepted. The Suf.
Committee had been so perfectly satisfied svith the conduct of Mr.-,
Arnold in every respect, that they had frit it their duty to -peak k
in the Report with the praise that it deserved. Ile mentloned the
number of new and• revived pieces which had been brought forward es
a proof of his activity and exertion in their service.
Compl-:lots we're made nt the Sub-Connoittte for not doing justice to
the writers of pieces submitted to them, and that they • did not Peat
applications with the attention that tvas due to them. In answer to
this he must say, that if it could he proved, it would he a %crimes
charge, but•he could cmi‘pletely refute it. Ile remember-d s,me time
ago an application was made to him as a Member of Parlian,eid, emu.
planting that Newspapers were very often tmt received bs .st•
And to ex.:inane. the truth of this charge. he had taken the trouble to
go to the Pngi.ntlice and inquire into the tart, was shewn a
'mother of papers folded up and bent into the office vitNet directions;
SO that they did not know where to forward do--
eft. Just •ri %jai
dramatic pieces. It so happened thnt they had no less that, eleven new
dramas sent in to them nit hoot an addres,, and witl:out knowing W here
to return them. But wherever they had received a direction, an an%wer
had been given as soon as a judgment bad been firmed of the piece.

•
But it was said that there was a gre,t scarcity of writers as well as
of actois. Of good writers and of good actors there might not he a
great number. In what agi. were there ever many ? They all knew
that there was one most distinguished dramatic 'writer now living, if
they could only prevail on him to write; hut that there WAS a scarcity
of writers he begged leave to deny. They had received no less than
176 new dramas. Their judgment might he disputed, but they had
hestowurl on them the most patient attirnion. Of these they had het nt
forced, in the exercise of their discretion, topom-ince against 141-of
the number, which had been returned, Several had been brought our,
c7gl,t were now under discussion, and eleven they knew not where to
deliver.

Mr. Whitbread concluded a clear anvil luminous speech, in which
he adverted to the very labritions, and, in many cases. painful duties
which the Sub-Commiwe had to perform, am! in w hich nothing hut
the firin support they hid received from the Assembly of f'n.pri,...ors.
could have sustained t hem. When he undertook the business of at-
tempting the re-estab-ishment of the Theatre, he thought that Hs
labour would have coded with the completion of the bnildin; ; but so
many chitin; and interests remained to be settled—so many untoward
matters to be disentangle.i and adjusted, that he determined to perse-
vere for a time, awl see the in :chine fairly in motion. For this pur-
pose he and this other Members of the Sub-Committee hail stilt one
year to serve. Bef)re i hat time wasexpired, he thought he could take
upon him to say with confidence that their arrangements wculd he
complete—every difficulty removed—and the Theatre placed on it
footing of the most permanent security. A t that time, then, he
must apprize them of his intention to withdtaw from the situation
which he held ; and it would be for them to look out among them.
selves for five persons to
.whom their confidence should be implicitly
given, and who again, from among themselves, sh,nild choose one to
whom they should confide the superintendance, wit bout restraint, of
the whole detail. This was the only manner in ‘N loch the conduct of
such a machine could go on with prosperity. He 'ranked them for the.
confidence they had so long reposed in hint, anti for kind and hearty
1 co-operation he had met with hem the other Members of the
Committee.

Mr. Kinniard, in a very handsome speech, Inoved the cordial and
grateful thanks of the Macting to Samuel Whitbread, Esq. for the
indefatigable, arduous, and successful exertions he had made in pro.
muting and ,ecuring the intere,ts of the Companv, which was ap-
proved of .with the loudest acclamations. Mr. Whitbread, in a few
words, returned his thanks, and the meeting broke up.

On Friday, at the sale of the furniture, of the late Dr. Vaughan,.
in the Abbey-foregate in this town, while the auctioneer .vas
a bedstead, and pronouncing 4, Goinr, going !"--sroldenly the flocr
sunk and the whole company, With the contents of the room, were
instantaneously gone into the kitchen below. One woman had her
thigh broke in two places.—( Shrewsbury Chronicle, Aug. V 6.)
A Scotch paper mentions the eate of a boy four year. cid, who,
while combing the tail of a horse, rt reived so violent a kirk with
his foot un the head, a 4 to cut through the skull ; and in taking mit,
the fracture. about half au ounce of brains was unavoidably esttact.
ed. The surgeon, mu dressing the ‘voutid, was of opinion that
the. child could not survive the operation. In thee days, however,
the fever and delirimn departud, and symptoms of recovery ensued.
In the short space of eight days he was running about again, per-
fectly recoveriA and not at all impaired in hi, intellectual Cacultice.