The Sun.
London, England, 1802-01-11 00:00:00

TO THE EDITO2 OF THE SUN.

SIR;

Jan. 8, 18162.

F following. Critique Was .written nearly fit
',ears_ ergo, a 0
,then intended _for publication in a
duly Paper, hut I believe it appeared in some other
I readily foresee that the censure
Atay be thought obsolete with regard to several
particulars, complained. of, which, in the present
state of our Theatrical improvements, are, for the
tnost part, done away„. Yet it contains Much that
iz
appricable.to the present day, and if is nowise
iii-iinstruttive to revive the sentiments of judicious
Crities living half a century ago. With these ideas
14. avail myself
_of the means of offering it to your
conSideration, and I do so with pleasure, -knowing
full well, that you are invariably ankiotii to -reform
every thing that inteiruptS the due'progress of the
Histrionic Art.

I am, your's,

DRAMATICUS;

,g Theatrical Amusements are so generally at-
. tended-to,,'it must be the wish of all admirers of the
Stage, to see it,,,LonduCted with elegance. amt.-pro-
priety; every thing which appears contrary to the
costume, or the, established laws of decoruM and
verisimilitude, cannot. fail to raise the indigna-
tion, or, at least, displease the eye,,of .a judicious
Critic.,.
," The Managers of our London Theatres have
no reason to complain of the want of liberal en--
couragement ; on their- part, it must be allowed,
they spare no expellee, in return, to gratify -the
Public by- splendid decorations, ingenious Machine-
ries,- and costly dresses. In the .appropriation of
these however uncommon grand advantages, a .due
regard should alwas be liad to., .exadness of cha-
racter, exhibition, and dress. Propriety of dress
seems almost, as necessary as propriety --of action;
otherwise the perso cation is dissimilar, the allusitisi
false,, or the intended
_imagery-becOrnes entirely ab-
surd.. On this ground I mean: to .point out some
actual inconsistencies, which are .a direct opposition
to common sense. The first to bey noticed 'is the
want of due order and regulation in the lower de-%
partment of scene-shifters (who are complimented -
in-France by the genteeler name ofMaehz:x..istei),.-by
whnse,--,frequent inattention we are often presented
„with cloudi hanging in a lady's dressing room,
or overcasting an antichamber ; trees intermixed
With disunited portions of the peristyle.; vaulted
roofs unsupported ;, or a chief-commander giving hiS
orders for battle from • a prison, instead of from the
head of a camp ; the stop .scene not corresponding
with the laterals, Under sech like circum-
stance* the gravity of the Drama suffers conside-
rably, as it will also when King Richattl'.s. Troops
appear in the present uniform of the Sbliiiers in St.
James's Park, with
.short jackets and cocked.up
hats. King Richard wears
,indeed the habiliments
of his time, but Richmond is dressed ;i. /a vraie
moderne; whilst the Bishop is stiffened in the re-
formed lawn sleeves, with trencher cap and tassel,
instead of the pontifical hat, cloak, and :cassock.
The Lord Mayor, it is true, figures in his own
charaCter ; but the other 'attendants in the play not
so.. I have seen Cardinal Wolsey With his cross-
pendant large enough for the back of a weather.
cock. Dominick, in the Spanish Friar,* is dressed
not like a friar-preacher,.but soniewhat 'of a Cor-
delier, whith seems the common dress appropriated
to monks and friars of every denominatidny though,
in fad, the fashion -befongs to no-order-at all : and
a black bOmbazeen, with two yards of white gauze
.for a veil, form a Nun of any sort Whatsoever.
" have observed another erroneous practice in-
troduced in the dead march for Juliet, -I mead the
use of incensories; which are not carried by the
Romanists in funeral, procession, nor -is • the hOly-
water to be sprinkled about as it moves along ; it is
contrary p the rule of a solemn dirge. -- How is it
posit 4 to reconcile iVlatbeth or Hamlet, dressed iti
stir,f+llliooable short chats, with the idea. of habits
;,of.,,ageS. so far anterior ?.--=These are, theatrical im-
•-prsprieties, which must not only injure the !tore-
:sentation,. but destroy at once the histrionic simili-
tude..

" Again :` it-is equally ridiculous folaehold the
Adors making their entrées. and exits: through.
.plaistered walls. and" wainscot panne's.; the way by
double AiOors it* the bottom scene. would be more
natural. It-might suit indeed the ghoits and aerial
,spirits thus to enter, better than through- the gaping
nwfutliq of noisy trap-doors, as if spedres resided
alw,a7 in the llowels of the earth. Were the living
IW-dors c.onfined to pass the way abovementioned,
thelApparitions might enter and disappear through
the side scenes of walls and
,rocks very convenient-
ly, With propriety, according to -the vu4ar .notion
of spirits ;. or otherwise.they may descend from the
'Clouds, if pralicable.
.Why is the Box pre.pared and' decorated for
the King on the left hand of the Spedators ? Should
- it. not be on the right, ,as pra4ised -at the Foreign
Theatres •
c‘ To the above striaures.l shall now subjoin a
few queries. Thefirst is this : We have several
Dramatic Pieces wherein some wordS or short sen-
tences in the French language frequently -occur.—
Whon these are to be deliveted by a personage in a
high degree of rank,-., or from the lips of a supposed
Modern polite Gtrkletrran, would it not sound .bet-
ter, and be graceful, if they .were pronounced
in the
.righr.Aceent,'-which, tolry certain know-
. ledge, is not:always the case ? -,krloranee, whether
assumed or -natural, may pai:ts_ bit' in low eharaders
as absolutely comic, and coirletae with the intention
•
of •Author.
". The.second query is-141ince)eoin. es it that on
EpgliSli Stage 'we pay.4eater (reference to the
'liii).;:ll}an our - accoutered' politer neighbours the-
Fiebch, by naming.the-Ladies first in addressing the
. Spectators Thdy:4lways say, Messieurs et Dames,
nous.avrons &c. •
•
• `( The next;' and last., is in a manner ‘Conaded
with the two.former. Why does an English audi-
' ence, when desirous of the repetition-of a • sang: or
some favourite parr,
,testify their good will by the

. -
French exclamation encOre?,,as if iliere were more
energy.and gi:eafer f!revaTeke-in thatlangbaggidian