New-York tribune., 1884-12-07
TIIE LONDON STAGE.
THE HAYMARKEr THE LYCEUM THE
GDiIKT


rnnM tlin REGULAR CoHnI.srONDESr or rF rnlnuNE.
| IONDOS, November /.
| The llnvmarkct Theatre wns roopenel last Satur-
| day for the last time under it, present manage
| mcnt, Mr.. and Mrs. bancroft are 10 retire at the
end of tins season the twentieth siuce they first
embarked m the business Many have been the
gnrsscs oi the public to their for quitins
what seems u profitable career, while their popn-
lary X still great AMI their theatre one of the
! leading places of entertainment in London Per-
hap' there Is, after all, great for wonder
Managing is hard work especially if u manager
looks INTO details as Mr. Bancroft does keeps
everything in his own hands. and conducts the
finances oi large establishment while placing
every char on cstagc and 60 nposing his play
bills ana experimenting the machinery and regl-
lating the gaSlights. He has made large fortune
while still young and he would doubtless rather
keep II than lose II. In the present condition Of
the English drama the future Of such a theatre AZ
the llaymarkct IL matter Of speculation. A good
comedy fills the house. But where is tho good
comedy to come from ? Here is Mr. Bancroft ready
and eager to pay largely for snch article. but the
article is not forthcoming. What has happened TO
the law of supply and dcmandY There is
demand; supply thcro IA not. One of the
most cntcrprslng managers in the world is
reduced to rcmounting season after season
stale pieces by English authors of doubtful popu-
larity or pieces not less stale adapted from French
authors whose names are hardly good ones to
Iurc with. "Thc Overland Route" "Perl"
"Diplomacy,' y,'-such are the shifts TO which the
Bancroits are driven. Is it. on the whole mex
pllc1blc that they should grow weary of serving mp
warmcd-ovcr dishes to public whose palate de-
mands yearly more highly spccd noyeties'
diplomacy" which was once more put on the
stage Saturday. is Il good piece of its kind
admirably acted in Paris by a competent company
probably would not fill the Vaudeville for week.
were NJ. Sardou minded again to produce it,. Mile
Blanche Picrson. whose Dora was for months one
Of the sensations of Paris, has quilted the Vaude-
Vile and is of the ornaments of the Theatre
trancas Mrs. Kendall who was the creator of
the character in England, Is no longer one of Mr..
Bancrofts company. but the star of the st. James's
hcatrc. The main inter st of Saturdays revival
was in the opportunity it offered to Miss Calhoun 20
attempt difficult part, much beyond anything she
has yet done. This young lady has heretofore
Given proof of Intelligence and ambition. For her
new essay she had the advantage of being coached
by Mrs. Blucroit But Mrs Bancroft /. nm actress
in a line of comedy very different from that of NJ.
Sarlou's heroine. Dora has 10 be cm tonal. at
iiincs tragic 10 bc elegant. and many other
things not within the range of that low comedy IN
which Mrs. Bancroft cyccls Miss Calhoun a.
corlurly. though she has lcaincl q good deal Of
stage business AMI somo other tcrhupaitic- Of her
profession FROM Mrs Bancroft. hls not carucl TO
plat Dor AloWarcc is ~ be tiile iof thc npre-
o nrss .of u FIRST uigh' Brt urftous ot no' she Is
nlrnsi Whollv van'iug ~ rbrosr ~ rHso oi ii'H'
rrt in aHr iissrssiin ~ sirrrt'r iiri Nrtsis r'
wrHiHr hatt ihfa't ~ birr Experimental. ~
iiri,itf tHit % nstii-rNN2. iWS arH 'U'rH1 ihr' 70
rierit ~ WNNaa 90 'hH W-i8'NHHrf. 'Nt'f I"
rrfefNaa. H"h iheF NAl lNieH lN1Nri ~ 3' So
piuailN dE4u.i htl aNHplallN7 hNahANi W NN 'lf
applausG ui the hNlae AHd pi ihe pge7s bn N
-euuiue cnmeiY there was itttir, and VI lnal al
m0,t none. ihe paI requires io"l strong actors
among the men, aui unless there are ihlhe lhe
iamou, scene betwean the two Bcauclclcs ana
Count orion becomc, hopeless MI Bancroft plays
the elder brother IN his wcl-hnown manner Mr..
Forbes Robertson is most hystcucll JuiML MI
Barrymore an American, plays count Orlog and is
praised for his play. thonght him very mnnnered.
siagy and i'll at ease. Mrs Bernard Bocre Is in
tense with "A permanent vertical crease between the
eycbrows Mrs. Bancroft makes LddH H,Hry fdiVdr
n very superior soubrottc. 1t cannot be said that
the piece was adequately done. Bat it Is perhaps
as well done "a the present liaymarkct public
cares to have it, In point of decoration-n
furniture and dress and scenery. it is up To the
standard which tho BIncrofts themselves long
since established, and which has not been surpassed
in London.
Miss Mary Anderson's Juliet is n performance in
tcra,ting for nothing so much as for the criticisms
on It N the London papers. 1t is hard to say
whether the kindly good will or tho ingenuity of
the critics be the more admirable. They have done
their best to find something to praise in Miss
Anderson's rendering and many of them have sue
ceeded. There really is feeling of good Will to
this American partly because she Is American
partly because She is pretty, and again because she
40 maniicsy docs try hard to be an actress. 80
they fall to admirng Mss Andersons costumes, and
the picturesque effects Of which she Is the central
figure as the curtain goes down; and her deXterous
management of her drapery. In this last lies per
haps the supreme excellence of her Juhd The
scant ness of the drapcry makes the art Of hand
ling 1t still more subtle Few actresses IN comedy
venture on the stage with little raiment. This is
a matter in which Miss Anderson's reputation an
ipqenuc is of much service to her She finds 1t
pos ,ible to do things which actress OF greater
experience or greater knowledge of life, would
think too hazardous They do not seem 10 ohend
in Miss Anderson, because the public presImes IN
her degree of innocence to which few women OF
her ago would lay claim.
SBut this nex perlence has its disadvantages also'
and very grave ones. To speak plainly, MISS
Anderson does not appear TO have conception oi
what the story of Juld means, not conception OF
the character of the heroine she undertakes to
depict Hers is n Julid Of the convent or OF the
nursery. Not n hint of passion hardly touch OF
emotion: not one note in her voice nor single
gesture which thrills the house. Not many
actresses wonld be capable of presenting this
Italian girl who hings herself at a days notice
into her lovers arms. rs an absolute icicle But
this is what Miss Anderson does. No such creature
is conceivable or acceptable on any theory; still'