New-York tribune., 1874-11-23
THE DRAMA IN ENGLAND.

MATIC ART.
~ noM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF Ihk rhiDoNn'
LONDON. Nov. At has been the fashion iate'y
for believers in English drama to point tnose VINO
40 not believe in IL but think il in decadence 10 inc
Iyceum Theater. There, the former have assured
us may be found the legitimate drama ihere Sir'
Bateman has held sway, manager OF inteIngence
and courage enough to bring out plays OF steriing
merit well mounted, but not made the mere We
hicle for the scene-painter and costumer ana per.
formed by good actors-by one actor, at least, OF
surpassing merit, Mr.. Henry Irving. You were even
told that new dramatist had been discovered, Mr..
wills. whose Charles I. gave MIR. Irving an
opportunity to win new laurels, which 1t
would have been more to his credit to decline.
Beyond doubt in that play and in The Bells before
il. and in Eugene Aram and Others, Mr.. Irving had
made considerable reputation and by the force OF
his acting and of Mr.. Bateman's judicious and en-
terprising management, the Lyceum Thester had
come to take a position apart. Not even the over
praise bestowed on Mr.. Irving by too Jealous
friends prevented though it has probably retarded
his advancement in his art With the public he had
attained degree of fame which is perhaps best
proved by the extraordinary interest excited by the
announcement, made some months since, that ne
would appear as Hamlet. SO much was expected OF
him, that if he had been Garrick and Macready IN
one he could hardly have come up to the level which
his admirers insisted he should occupy. l hear OF
people who wrote to the manager as soon rs tals
event was announced, offering any price for any
seats. no matter where, on the first night. In the
end few or no places were sold except pit and gal
leries, tho complimentary" tickets which MI
Bateman f,ltbould to distribute filling all the stalls
and boxes on Saturday. My own interest. l
NAV as well confess, in the fortunes Of English
drama. or in My. Henry Irving has not been enough
TO lead me to take any part in the scramble for
places
First nights in London are by no means the first
nights of Paris 1t is the rule here that they not
much better than dress rehearsas. so imperfectly
are English theatricals organized in comparison
with French. / went because friend was kind
enough to ask me to go with him. If had any other
reason. it was curiosity to see an audience which
everybody persisted in saying would include many
famous people, the celebrities of society," literature,
art and the stare. Bat as for society. few OF its
elements are in town. and you may see twenty times
as much of it any night during the season at the
opera. What was really remarkable and interesting
was the numbor of writers aud actors who were
present All the newspapers were, of course, repre-
sented by their foremost critcs-many of these men
far more widely known otherwise. like Mr. Sala Mr.
Justin Mccarthy, Mr.. Yates, and Mr.. Oxen
own hand, / suppose. conspicuous by the
handsome gray head. with cheerful eyes, which
rests on bis broad shoulders Col Forney sat in the
center of the stalls surrounded by of the many
friends he has boon making here; having perhaps
himself seen more famous Hamlets than any En-
glishman of them all, and being q most capable
judge. The pit aud gallery. like every other
part Of tho theater, were crowded, and
were interesting to me than all the brilliance
of stalls and boxes They were the public. They
had waited heard it sad since half-past three in
the afternoon to get in. and were in pleasing tu
multuous state-did not care q button what all
those gentlemen and ladies in evening dress
thought, but were ready to form an opinion for
themselves about Mr. Irving's Hamlet, and to ex-
press it thero and then with energy and perfect
freedom. They were friends to Mr.. Irving, if one
might judge by the greeting they gave him. but not
too friendly to manifest their impatienCe at the de-
lay that occurred in his Appearance for as usual on
q first night. there hitch. and the stage re-
manned empty for long minute or two at the be-
ginning of the second scene
When at last Mr.. Irving came on, he followed so
close after the King and Queen that they, in fact,
all appeared together, and all rather in hurry.
There is time to look at him while the storm of
pause stops the beginning of the Kings speech. He
is a rather slight but well and compactly built man
of middle hight. looking rather more than his SO
years. He black silk tights and loose jacket
or paletot trimmed with fur. not much ornamented.
but r1ch in effect, and relieved with q gold chain
hanging from the neck to the waist, which am
afraid reminded most persons Of a mayors official
decoration The face is long, with wellcut features,
the forehead broad, filed out at the temples, and
overhuDg with mass of curling dark hair, which l
presume TO be his own he it off the stage,
and it is not yet the fashion to other peoples
hair in private-for men. The eyes are large, dark,
and full of halfblazing half-melancholy fire. Al
together, an intellectual countenance. not without
distinction and some masculine beauty; IN repose,
sensitive rather than strong, and prepossessing to
those who had not seen it before. 1t is not new
face to me- / have seen Mr.. Irving in The Bells
and other famous parts of his, and rather
disked his spasmodic style of acting. His nervous
system always seemed too strong for his muscular
system aud the violent cOntortions, both of figure
and of face, were not pleasant to observe. Though
he had unmi5takable talent he seemed to me to act
to the pit and to be by means the man from whom
a regeneration of the stage was to be hoped for.
should have said that he had studied hard. but in
the wrong direction. lie was, 80 far as had seen,
suited for nothing better than melodrama like The
Bells; an exponent of the school which, in spite Of
the culture and refinement he brought to it. re-
manned sensational, and to some extent vulgar. In
short. went on Saturday to the Lyccum with a
distinct prejudice against Mr. Irving. i came away
feeling that his Hamlet was the most intellectual
piece of acting had seen on the English stage,
without any exception whatever-that' ray Of
genius had at last penetrated the dull gloom in
which English dramatic art lay hid.
1t was pleasure to note the quietness with which
his first few sentences were delivered. The Seems
Madam! nay it is" was spoken calmly and the fol-
lowing soliloquy was uttered as solilOqny-not as
piece of decamation the greater part of it while
he was sitting sideways in an armchair and leaning
over the back and without approach to the foot