The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-06-04
WAKEMANS WANDERINGS
hAuNrs OF LONDON AcToRs-n.
The Music Halls Of London and Iheir
ortetn--Dr,pk Their Real Attraction.
London Actors Contrasted with Pros
ser" Music Hall Performers-A nc
turesoue Weekly Assemblage.

ser" Music Hall Performers-A Pic
turcsque Weekly Assemblage.
fCopyright. 1879. by Edgar L. Wakemanl
LoxDoy, May Sit is impossible TO
imagine greater contrast than exists be-
tween London actors and London variety
actors: between the legitimate London
stage and that vast and various collection
NJ amusement establishments known as
music halls In which musichas never en-
tered. and between the audiences at Lon
don theaters and the throngs which gather
ut "the halls.
The London dramatic stage and its au-
diences are a credit 20 any nation. AS =
whole the morale, atmosphere and results
are good believe that as rule English
PLAYERS. PLAYS and audiences together rep
resent the best expression and receptiVlty
of genuine mirth and sentiment which can
anywhere be found. And on the large
lines of consideration IL may be safely said
that whatever may be presented-comcdy'
drama or tragedy-upOn the stage OF Lon
don and has met with public satislactioh'
has been the product II dramatic authors
having no superiors. has been given inter
uretatiOn by the ablest and most conscIeh-
tious of actors. and has reached the magic
realm Of success through as cautious ana
severe criticism and purgingly beaithiul
laQQard approval as are necessary 10 give
something Of real value TO the entire
amusement world.
But good as all this surely is, what can
he the secret Of that strange and ine1pl-
cable national taste which not only makes
possible but stubbOrnly clings 10 and con
tinues to develop with giant strides that
ipcomparably greater and inexpresslOly IN
ane and beastly form Of amusement iound
In the London music hallsy
A reputable English writer once gave
from The English standpoint, pleasant
cue to the secret in the proposition that
"the greater height people touch IN Their
development the lower mostly are the
depths Of their recoil Unhappy, then, the
nation that has no appreciation Of hopeless
vulgarityW
There are M present in London a score
or more of great music halls into each OF
which nightly crowd from 1900 TO 5WW
ueouie. There are hundreds upon hundreds
Of lesser affairs, ranging from the ola time
free-and-easy, from which the modern mu-
sic hall has sprung % the penny gaits,
where audiences Of from 100 10 800 persons
nav be found. Besides these, | would
almost venture the assertion, there are
thousands of pubs or public houses.
drinking places with assembly rooms
behind the bar, where free smoking con-
certs" attract a permanent nightly audi
ence Of from score 10 hundred working
men and the foul rabble that subsists upon
their generosity and weakness
Indeed. any one who knows this great
CITY at all iu that wandering, vagrant, Oh
servant way which leads thought into
grave conclusions. would have nOhesitancy
in saving that a quarter Of a million Of hu-
man beings may DE found any weekday
night in these places CHEEKY" or more
so. from liquor and from these sources Sc
curing their odd ideas Of international con
trasts: feeling their berry patriotism as
the bravest of BritOns deliriOusly prompt
ed; gathering from vile mouthed perform
ers' quips the news and scandals Of the
day: increasing their contempt OF order
and law from their endless satire and ridi-
cule gaining in general and particular
deeper hatred of English society above
them and hearing, often with their wives
and daughters beside them, the most sa-
cred relations Of men and women never
spoken or sung Of save as perennial play
ground for cunning and inhdelity, until
the heartiest British laugh Is in response
20 the broadest British cntendre, and the
loudest British roar rises from these great
seas of upturned faces when the vile,t
music hall indecency is perpetrated.
or all the places the penny gaif," or
outrageously ridiculous pantomime, or
voiceless melodrama, or wordless tragedy,
I'm which there is indescribabie murder,
highway robbery and other lurid crime,
but all enacted without spoken word 10
evade the law governing dramatic repre-
sentations, is the least harmful, for it. has
no bar; and 10 yet his penny 'orth' of
play the Whitechapel barbarian is kept for
at least two hours away from a public
house. Drink is the real attraction Of all
the others.
The wise lawmakers Of London Will not
permit any dramatic representation 40 any
place where liquor is sold. Something
which would appeal to the intellect might
lessen the demand for drink So they
make il easy 10 debauch the masses with
q combination of sensationalism. sensual
ism and drink; and from the lowest free
"smoking concert" to such music hall
palaces as the London Pavilion, Alhambra,
Tivoh Royal, Oxford and Trocadero, not
one in hundred could exist a fortnight
on the merit Of its performance alone.
The vast and debasng system has
grown without let or hindrauce OF law, on
effort at redemption by religionists, out OF
the ancient British custom, for which
right the British classes and masses would
any time have fought parliament and king
of singing and roaring when at drink. by
and by it became the custom of putting
those of their companions with the best
voices upon their feet, and, willy nilly
making them sing or recite Then came
volunteering" ut these assembiages
pubhcans saw their advantage and gradu
ally enlarged their premises, building q
raised dais or platform TO accommodate
ambitious spirits, in time added a plan,
and accompanies and u bevy of barmaid
md female beer servers TO Ogle anC
wheedle among the crowds, and another
British institution was established
among the people who never, never vii
be slaves.
Today, Just us a hundred or more year
ago, YOU cannot pass the distance Of fift,
yards in certain localities of all large Eng
lish cities without hearing pandemoniun
Of song behind some door which bears th
legend
Free Smoking Concert Within"
On Saturday afternoons and evening
every one of these places is tlrOnged Il