The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-03
TWELFTH NIGHT.

! An opinion at one time prevailed that the
comedy of TWeifh Night was written by Shake
= speare late in life. But in 1928 there was dis
covered in the British Museum small manu-
script diary of a student of tho Middle
Temple, extending from the year 1901 to
Z 1908, by which we learned that the play was
+ publicly performed at the Candlemas Feast of
4 the Middle Temple so early as 1902. It was
+ probably written, therefore, in the first year
% of the seventeenth or the last OF the sixteenth
century; for 1t is not included in that earliest
printed list OF Shakespeare's plays which
Francis Meres published In his ''Wit's Trea-
sury," 1898.
Next to this Candlemas production in
Middle Temple Hall, the earliest record that
has come down to us of the performance of
4a0eltm Night is contained in the =" Ac-
counts of the Revels at Court in the Reigns
of Elizabeth and James" which Mr.. Peter
Cunningham brought to light, edited, and
printed, in 1912. On the goth April and
18th May, 1918, sum of 2Ol. was paid for
the representation before the King of TtCelIh
Night and The Winters Tale, and 9lO for the
Merry DeUa Of Edmonton. The two first had
been performed on the Easter Monday and Tues
day preceding the date of payment and the last
on the sd OF May. Unfortunately, in the case of
earlier payments 1t does not seem TO have been
the practice to set out the names of the plays
represented, and much valuable information in
that respect is therefore lost to US. In the IN
stances under mention the money was paid to
Hemlnge, a tragedlan, who was probably officia.
ting as the treasurer to the Kings company,
and whose name in the patent granted BY
James the First to his players, the 17th of May,
1908, stands fifth after the names of Lawrence
Fletcher, Shakespeare, Burbage, and Phillips,
and before those OF Condell, Sly, Armyn, and
Cowley. Hemnge, 1t is evident, was person
of some Importance, and, if not the absolute
manager OF the company, possessed a large share
in its government 1t will be borne in mind
that the first folio edition 1929 OF Shakespeare's
Nj and SlincO Ath
| llshed according to the true ougnall copies -
! ard set forth" by his friends and fellows John
| Heminge and Henry Condell the author mot
having the fate common with some TO be exc.
quutor to his own writings"
The cast OF this royal performance of Ttoelfth
| Night cam OF now he ascertaned.
| After the Restoration we have more pre-
else chronicle of the proceedings on the English
1 stage. At Sir William Dayenant's Theatre, in
Lncoln's Inn Fields, in the year 1868, ap
propriately, got up on purpose TO be acted
on on Twelfth Night Saccordhng to Rownos
Z.ce1m Night was revived with grea
crowned the play" '"Malvolio" was played BY
Lovel; "Sir Andrew Aguecheekn by Harris; tht
"Clown" by Underhill; and Sir Toby Belchn by
\. Betterton. Mrs. Gibbs was the 'olivia.n Curl
4 ousY enough, the name OF the repressntatlv,
of "YiolA" is not given, 1t is hardly to be sup
| gether omitted in performing the play. Tha
an actor of Mr.. Betterton's emnence shoulC
have unoertaken the part of "Sir Tobyn ma
seem little surprising, when it is considered
how disinclined are modern leading performers
the "Macbethsn and "Hamletsp OF Gheatre-t
risk, as they regard II, the dignity of thei
position by sustaining characters which, how
ever admirable in themselves are yet not c
foremost Importance. But two hundred year
ago the actors seem to have prded themselve
upon their versatility-theiI universalty-upo
the number OF characters they were able sati
factorily to hll-Were not content to limit then
q q
have seen "many OF our players do" More
over, at this time Betterton, though he ha
acquired great fame, was. only twenty-eigh
years old and it was probably his success in ''S
Toby" that led him some time afterwards
achieve a far greater triumph in "Falstaf.
Cave Underhill, the "Clown" of the cast, ws
an actor highly commended by Cibbe
He was correct and natural, his particv
lar excellence beng i'm characters this
may be called stlll-life;" the stiff, the heay
and stupd-to these he gave "the exacte
and most expressive colors." He owned
long, full face, the shorter half of 1t being fro
his crown 10 the end of his nose; $50 that I'll
disproportion OF his lower features when soberl
composed, with an uuWandering eye hangn
over them, threw him INTO the most lumpis
moping mortal that ever made beholders merr
not but at other tunes he could be wakened in
spirit equally ridiculous" He was especial
admired for his performance of the "Grav
digger" in Hamlet. In the first edition OF Il
Idtle7. No. 20 Q709), appeared the following a
Vertisement:- Gave Underhill, the famO
Fcomeulan In the relgns OF King Charles II
"a Second, KING James the Second, King Villa
and Queen Mary, and her present Males
Queen Anne, but now not able TO perform
often as heretofore IN the playhouse, al
having had losses to the value OF near f25I
is to have the tragedy OF Hamlet acted t
his benefit on Friday, the Sd of June nel
at the Theatre Royal IN Drury Lane, in WIN,
he is to perform his original part the Gra'
digger'h In the Taller, No. %, Sir Richa
Steele makes particular appeal TO his frien
on behalf of "honest Underhill,n who has be-
a comic for three generations. "My tathe
# writes Steele, admired him extremely VIII
he was a boy. There is certainly natu
# excellcntly represented IN his manner
L acting: In which he ever avoided that gene
fault in players, of doing too much" Ste
further commends the fidelity with viii
Underhill adhered to the text of his pa
NJ The comedian seems never to have lost sig
OF Shakespeare's own instructions, that
clowns should speak no more than is set do
tor them. That the sins oi the players In I
respect gere at least as great in Steeles Il
as Ia Shakespeare's may be gathered from
Richards humorous complainl OF Underh
'"rhat he had not the merit of some ingeni
persons now on the stage OF adding to
authors; for,n he adds, ithe actors were
dull in the last age that many of them hi
gone out Of the void without having e
spoke one word OF their own in She theatl
Ho concludes his appeal for Underhill--'
admirers Of true comedy, it Is hoped, will h