New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-06

antry almost Mephistophelian. No other great
actor has ventured to exhibit Gloster as a
comedian In his byplay: and there could not be a
more practical method Of humanizing the part
ana bringing II within the range. not perhaps
OF sympathy. for 1t is hooking devil. but GER
tainly OF ordinary comprehension
This is the most striking characteristic Of a
great performance, and renders 1t essentially
original playgoer who has seen other Clos
ters finds himself smiling and even laughing
heartily In every act OF the awful tragedy; and
from sheer perplexity he reads the text the fol-
lowing day to assure himself that the acrid hu-
NOR. the existence of which he had not previous
~ suspected. Is really there. 1t Is there In the
epiiogue to the wooing Of Lady Anne; in the ne
EQUATIONS with ambitious courtiers and hireng
assassins; In the hypocritica byplay of the in
terview with the Lord Mayor and the citizens
and almost to the tragic close: and II has not
been read into the lines by an ingenious actor
eager 10 play the part with original force. With
ms talent Tor discrimination and resourcefu craft
ne mas entertainment In the exercise Of his
subtlety and In his success in dipping his victims
lie wooes Lady Anne by sheer force Of audacity
ana superior VIII. scarcely trying to conceal his
lhsincerlty and hypocrisy and he laughs bolster
ousiy over his triumph because he is conscious
OF the grotesqueness Of the performance.
Every situation has grim, fantastic humor
TOT TINS Willy trickster. and the hooking gestures
the ermaces Of cynical delight and the sinister
asides are the natural expression Of pleasurable
excitement arising from his nefarious devices. To
make Gloster an inhuman monster and craven
terrorized by spectres Is to brutalze the part
TO invest il with intellectual superiority AFRO
CANT pride and royal audacity. and at the same
time to shade II with cynical humor. IL to hu-
manzc II by refinement of art.
The physical strain Of this first performance
was tremendous. Sir Henry Irving did not spare
himself. His voice grew husky and ndstnct
during the last act: hut the marvellous play Of
facial expression continued to the end. There
were mastery touches in every scene. such as
the foreshadowing of final remorse in the shud-
der Of uneasiness with which he listened to the
mothers imprecations: and there was an i'm
petuosity Of manner which quickened his deliv-
cry and impaired intensity and fire to his action
in the closing scenes. The spectators did not
know that he had overtaxed his powers by a su-
preme effort. and that the performances would
have TO he suspended and the theatre closed TO
enable him to recover from the strain. What
they did realize was that they had witnessed
memorable Shakcsoearan revival. with the
greatest living actor at the zenith Of his powers
and with n stage setting perfect in artistic detail
Splendid as were the various passages Of the
play. the most inspiring moment for the audience
was when the curtain rung down and the
actor-manager. too exhausted to do more than to
whisper sentence Of grateful appreciation re-
ceived n welcome worthy Of the penitude Of his
fame. Veteran playgoers looked at one another
and mumbled I'VE shall not In our time an
equal exhibition Of intellectual power the
stage" 7 NJ F.