The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-09
BEFORE THE HIGH HATpAY
PA rHOUSE ANNoYANcEs IN THE
TIME OF THE RESTORATION,

hnout free bente-terervtnH seats.
Many of tho plants of plnygoers Of to-day
seem serious enough, and TO the minds of those
who are In search Of entertainment without the
alloy Of high hats and loquacious theatre par
ties the persistence Of the most pronounced illn
Of modern theatres is often supposed to be due
solely to tho Incidence Of hard hearted thoatri.
cnl managers, who have no thought for the COM.
fort OF the majority Of their patrons The
chronicles of playhouses OF other days, however.
show u long list Of troubles and absurditics.
quito ovorshadowing those of our own time. In
the good old days OF Charles III. n spectator
went to the theatre with every prospect Of see
ing something of n startling nature not OK.
pccted or announced by the management. but
often much more entertaining and exciting than
what passed upon the stage.
The theatre was visited by Its gayer pntrons
then, as now. for reasons other than the mere
listening to the players, who spoke their lines
with constant and aggravating Interruptions
from the audience. Ladies' of quality attended
a performance wearing masks which hid
their faces, behind which they could safely sit
in the boxes and banter the gentlemen whom
they recognized in the pit without being known.
Their admirers would beseech them to give
their names, and on being refused would start
a spirited retaliation, which often furnished SO
much amusement for the spectators that the
play was quite neglected. The players them
selves were occasionally pressed into service by
ladies of fashion, who made use of them to give
close limitations Of their rivals. The actors
were often roughly handled, however, for their
daring, and were The cause Of no end of trouble
by gratifying the wishes of their patrons.
DIR. Doran. in his ANNALS of tho Stage" do
scribes one Of these malicious alta SKIS, which
well illustrates the length TO which q woman Of
fashion and influence went in the seventeenth
century when she desired to make things un.
comfortable for her rival. Tho infamous Lady
Castlemaino was highly entertained on one
occasion by an actress, who. for her patrons
amusement, interpolated in a play Of the period
an imitation Of another woman of fashion. The
offended subject Of the representation natu.
rally desired that the actress should be pun
ished for her impertinence. So she applied to
her brother, who was the Lord Chamberlain,
for redress. The actress soon found herself
locked up. AS soon as Lady Castlemaine heard
Of this she, being influential with the King, not
only secured her entertainers release. but told
her to repeat the performance and to empha-
size it. The audacious actress, in addition to
Misses from the other side, was vigorously
pelted with fruit, a very popular way of OK.
pressing disapproval at the theatres of the time,
during her ''act."
These were the more subdued episodes Of the
playhouse. The heavy drinking INDUCED in by
men Of fashion. who pridedt themselves on being
ever ready to scttle d~isagreements with their
swords, brought into tho theatres of the Res
%toration, and even later. strange scenes of vlo-
lence. When one remembers how quickly a
noisy fellow who offends at a theatre of to-day
finds himself thrust OUT, it will be seen that
one marked grievance of the old days has been
abolished.
Fancy a genuine duel in a theatre. Such a
thing occurred moro than once in the seven
teenth century. One exciting evening in 1852
a couple of gallants brought an angry dispute
to u climax by drawing their swords during a
performance in Dorset Gardens. AS they were
very much in earnest and were fighting under
difficulties they took possession of the stage
and gave the astonished audience n true piece Of
realism which continued until one of the princi-
pals received q sword thrust which brought
him down.
Perhaps the most remarkable scene in which
sword drawing was tho leading feature &C.
Cured nearly forty years later at the theatre in
Linco!n's Inn Fields. For years the players had
been subjected to constant annoyances from the
frcquenters OF the theatre, who
were allowed to sit upon the stage. They gath
cred in the wings and scarcely made room for
the actors to come on at the proper time. 1t 30
happened that an Earl, who was under the in.
fiuence Of liquor, deliberately crossed the stage
to speak to an acquaintance during a scene be-
tween Macbeth and his lady. This was too
much for the manager, Rich, who happened to
BIO standing in the opposite wing. The Earl
told that he had forfeited the privilege of
the greenroom. to which he replied by slapping
the managers face. The bloW was returned.
and Immediately the friends of the nobleman
came to his rescue with their swords in their
hands. The players rallied around their chief
and succeeded in driving the gallants out of the
door: The angry followers of the Earl ex.
a bit of strategy by storming the front of
the theatre. and after dpStrOyinp nrnnarfv
orally were about to do more serious damage
when W IN one bned Of - the act actors = Gppetareedf ed on the scene
men; who were too much for the yandals. This
incident caused the King to order the theatre to
be closed for a week, and the players were in the
future protected by a guard in the theatre dur
Ing the performances.
redeoming.in these carly days of stage entertain.
revived in the interest OF critical
OF to-day, existed during .Restora-
throughout the first act free OF charge. That is to
say, all persons who went away before the end Of
e tos stSt sn "s6 S G. priv kies sh could n9 nol , Snsk; e,i 81
abuse; Professional beats who would
i lnisn,I gpoo of s Tamai I'M claiming exeen; That tt they Er had l6 no
hoping OF course that the doorkecpers would al
low them t to remain oq or g least overlook them.
tnrbed the performances TO such an extent that
the King; whose comfort was interfered with,
upon entering, although the privilege OF recov.
ering ones money before the end of the first
still. continued.
Audiences Of to-day. in spite of their opposl.
to certain annoyanCes, are patient. Last
winter, during the run OF a pretentious war
play. the leading lady. was unable to appear.
The management. without previous notice.
substituted for the principal actress a young
player who did not even know her lines. AS
there were some intense emotional scenes, as
whom tho hero took passionate leave Of the
heroine. before Fastening to the height OF con-
flict. the spectacle Of the actress sobbing in his
arms and at the same time cndcavorng to rend
her part in the twilight from a copy OF the play
held behind the mans neck, was Irresistible.
During, the entire performance the house APP
plauded each one OF the highly entertaining
Genes, with unmistakablc carncstncss. No
such charitable reception was given to a lame
In the vigorous old times. Even as
late as tho middle of the last century. when a
riot took place on account OF the non.appcar.
ance of u French dancer, tho angry people re-
yengcd themselves by destroying the musical
Instruments.
a steady source of ANNOYANCE to tho rest Of
the audience was oCCasioucd by the fOotnen of