The Sun.
London, England, 1808-11-22 00:00:00

BRITISH REY7EN.

UPON THE PRESENT CONDITION' OF
STAGE, AND UPON THE CONSTRUCTION- OF

A NEW THEATRE.

The Drama constitutes SQ large a portion of .puh-
ii3"-amusetnents, and is calculated to have so forcible
ao operation upon the national manners and characs
ter:'that any stiggestions. tending to promote the
a,lvantages.which result from it, are-well entitled to,
servatien. This elegant little Tra& is principally
intsnde(l. to give proper hints to -the PrOprietors of!
the Theatre which is to be erected in Covent-•
t,;,irdeo, relative to the size of the new stru&ure, in
ssoler. to give due scope to the powers of-the aator,
and to secure for the author a proper hearing; that
his design lo;d execution may be fully comprehend-.
ed.' We think this Psniphlet deserves the attention,
ttt our Readers, and shall most probably avail our-
ot farther r.xtratls from a Work
_obviously in-'
tended for the benefit of the pUblic:—
The size of the oldlheatre in Drury Lane must
be in. the' femembrance of mask ; it was small in
comparison with that of -Covent Garden. A mo-
dern audience would be surprised to hear how the
pUblie were accommodated forty years ago. The
side boxes were few in number, and very incom-
modious, especially when the frequenters of those
boxes ever appeared in them in full dresses, the
women in, hoops of various dimensions, and the
-Men with swards and habiliments all calculated to
deny convenient space to their neighbours. -Frocks
were admitted into the front boxes, but they were
net usually wciro by gentlemen in the evening.;
women :of the town quietly took their stations
in the upper boxes, called the green boxes ; and.
men whom
.it ..did„ not . suit either to be at -the
expellee of dress, or who had not time tn.equip
themselves, as -before .described,_ resorted to the
pit. This of course comprehended a large descrip-
tion of persons, such as belonged to' the inns of
court, men of liberal pursuits and professions ;
who, by an- uniform attendance at the prayhotEe,
beCame no incompetent judges of the drama.—.
• Their situation in the pit enabled them to-hear and
16 observe. Their habits of life led them to an ao.-
-quaintanre with the authors and aftors of the day ;
the latter were not ignorant they were continually
before a tribunal that made itself respeaed, and
whose sentence conferred fame or censure; and
they were convinced. that negligence, ebriety, and
buffoonery, would not be suffered to pass unnoticed
or unpunished. Garrick's voice, with that of many
'others of his troop, reached, without effort, the
deepest parts of the front boxes, nor. was lost even
in the farthest rows of the galleries. The general
custom of wearinc, ,words was certainly produ6tive
or spilling blood before resentment found time tis
cool ;- but as far as the theatre was concerned it.
was instrurneistai to decorum : the scene was hardly
ever disconcerted by noisy quarrels, blows, or sta
indecencies as we now witness; the weapon was at
band, and the appeal to it was- rather more serious
than to the fist, and enabled the weakest to contend
with the most athletic.. Women -of the town were
never pertnitted in the boxes below stairs, with the
slngle exception of t tie beautiful Kitty Fisher, whose
appearance occasioned great dismay arhoog all the
frequenters, male and female, of the hitherto un-
polietcd front boxes.
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