The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-12-29
IRV|NG'S ENGAGEMENT
OPENS BRILLIANTLY
Distinguished Actor Plays
Waterloo and The Bells
EXAMPLES OF GENUINE ART
Both representations, Corporal Gregory
and Matthias, Emphasize the
Spirit of the Characters.

Henry Irving. an actor whose distinc-
than any decoration states can bestow
entered upon a weeks engagement in
Washington at the National Theater
last night. His bill yesterday consisted
of Waterloo" and The Bells" two
plays with which he has identified him
self to the practical exclusion of all
other actors. Tomorrow night he will
appear in Louis XII" Wednesday night
In The Merchant of Venice" and Fri
day night in his new play by Sardou
and Moreau, Dante" Such a roper
toire at the hands of any capable actor
would be portentous: at the hands Of
Henry Irving, easily the foremost of
living actors, it bespeaks an experience
for the playgoer to be accepted with
avidity and treasured long in the mem
Dry
It is conclusive both as TO the emf
nence OF the artist and the structure of
his art that Mr.. Irving's embodiment Of
Matthias in The Bells still holds a
firm place in the hearts of theatergoers
and still evokes every demonstration of
attentive sympathy. The play is now
thirty-two years old. II served alike
to introduce the young Irving to promi-
cere and deep affection in the hearts Of
the American people. In Washington II
has been a conspicuous feature of near
~ every theatrical season since 1883.
But the picture il presents of the action
of remorse in the human soul. of the
suffering which follows so close after
evil that no cunning can avert il. is
presented with so much intellectually,
with so fine and poetic a sensibility to
the details of art. that il grows more
and more fascinating to the thoughtful
mind as it grows in age
A Picture of Remorse.
Not even the playwright, perhaps. for
saw in this role the multiform emotions
which either allure Matthias. deceive
him. or haunt him with grisly tenacity
Doubt might be entertained whether the
complex opposition in Matthias mind Of
craft and gentleness. of domestic ten
derness and secret shame. of neighborly
cordialityj and lust for gold. would not
have been lost to the stage except for
this actors insight and the ability which
he possesses beyond all other men OF
disclosing to others the ideas and Ideals
of his own mind This play OF THE
Bells depended. when first presented
on the character OF Matthias: we who
go TO the theater of today must always
measure this work in the clear light and
fun understanding of Matthias which
have been given to US by Henry Irving
A lesser artist. either through a les
ser study OF the role or a lesser capa-
bility of enlarging that study on the
canvas of the stage. must surely have
missed the key to the whole character
the note of suffering which Mr.. Irving
sounds in every expression of the face.
every tone Of the voice. every movement
OF the body. Matthias must have become
in such hands merely a steadfast Grim
inai concerned in the preservation Of
his secret. But Mr.. Irving suffuses the
role with spectral terror. instills into II
sort of shuddering awe. and by these
virtues holds his spectators in the ten
sion. not of excit -ment merely. but of
terror. pity. and reverence
The Letter and the Spirit.
Waterloo" is built upon another
theme. but built upon ideals none the
less There the Matthias of the second
play appears as Corporal George Brew
ster. a veteran of Waterloo. a man sim
pic. intrepid, narrow in knowledge. kind
~ but decrepit. failing. and garrulous
The play abounds in pathos II IS still
relieved by that humor which only a
manly artist can express and which is
never far removed from tender compass
sion These are the qualities which most
distinguish this cmbodiment-not its
complete, overwhelmingly sad fidelity
70 nature Other actors have copied the
superfcialities Of old men with almost
the same success II is, perhaps, the
chief cause of Mr. Irvings eminence
that he can observe so fully the letter
of his task while still exalting its spirit
The superlative enactment OF such
roles should arouse the most widespread
interest among thoughtful and apprecia-
tive people. In New York this interest
is slight because in things theatrical in
that capital thought and appreciation
are subordinated 70 unthinking laugh
ter and viilgarity; but In other COM
munities-and It Is a fine pleasure TO
record that Washington is one OF the
most conspicuous of these cities-this
understanding of Henry Irving leads to
crowded theaters and an ever widening
OF the circles of genuine art What an
influence, then, has this actor exerted
these past thirty years. Ore who at
tended the first performance OF The
Bells gives a measure OF this influence
by writing OF that occasion:
Such acting was. indeed. a revelation.
Fine acting there had been. and Of the
finest. before Henry Irving took the
town by storm: but not since Edmund
Kean's Shyiock had the town seen the
same creature of fire and light, the same
tragic force that lives in every word and
every breath and makes up the sum OF
that indefinable essence we call genius.
The mysterious and the uncanny
have ever been the chords that resound
deepest and fullest TO Henry Irvings
touch A. ID. A