New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-23
LONDON DRAMA.
another ShyIocI'- Taste for Fasoe--
The KenddIs.
London. October n.

| London. October u
| A shakespearian production Is the tns74tahls
goal of a successful and ambitious player. NJ
| Arthur BourchIer has not only made the Gar
rick one of the most profitable theatres in Lon
don, but he has also advanced steadily IN The
| art Of acting When he was at the Crftsr1ea
not many years ago. he appeared in q series Of
| farces and had little opportunity for ne dis
| play Of refinement Of method. At tbs Gerrsok
his career has been transformed and his rank
! as an actor rapidly and securely raised h9 Q
series Of realistic character Representations Ono
OF these was M. Tools's pathetic part Of tia 10Y
| merchant in 1.-The Cricket on the Hearth" witch
| Mr.. Bourchier enacted with fine feeling and en-
ceptional stagecraft; another was the icv7EbFs
prelate in Mrs. Craigie's THE Bishops Move"
and the best was the ambitious. rssoUrcefuL
| domineering French advocate in The Arm Of
the Law''-one Of the finest exhibitions % The
art Of acting which London playgosrs have Wit
messed during recent years. For q year he
has been preaching Mr.. sutro's sermon agsAfns
the follies OF smart society in The Walls Of
Jericho" holding himself back with cynical SELF
restraint until the great scene, and then sound
Ing out with a mighty blare indignant pro
| test against the sordid vices and name occl-
pations Of Vanity Fair Unwilling even 20 allow
a successful play to interfere with his progress
in art, he has transferred this serious drama
to another theatre and has ordered a sumptuous
( production Of "The Merchant Of Venice" az the
Garrick- II his ShyIock be inferior to Sir Hanrz
Irving's masterful impersonation. It Is at!u
remarkable achievement; and his motives in
undertaking a great artistic work whan the
plays OF the day are, with few executions
| thoughtess and commonplace, are honorabls and
| deserve public recognition.
| What the Shylock Of shakespeare's ov,n aar
was like 1t is perhaps idle to conjecture Tbosa
were times Of Jew batting. when plavygr,gb,.
were in the habit of making butt Of the rnonAv-
lender and exhibiting him as sport for ground
| lings. have my own conviction that the comic
shylock with limping gait and shrin voice
whom Mr.. William Peel has voucned for "a
genuine Eliza bethan. is close reproduction That
does not invalidate the genius Of Sir Henry
Irving in evolving from the comedy nobIer and
more artistic Shylock than was seen when
Shakespeare was his own stage manager and
was entertaining audiences in accordance with
their own standards Of taste The great actor
has given much prominence to the wrongs
and loneliness of the prosecuted Jew as 20 the
malignant hatred. the sordid avarice and the
ferOcious vengeance of the money lender; and
he has succeeded in arousing pity for the father
with the empty home and for the bafHed victim
of his own bloodthirsty revenge. II may not BE-
the ShyIock of the Elizabethan stage, but It Is
a lofty and noble conception, which lessons
prejudice against an alien race and digniAes
human nature. Mr. Bourchier has not under
taken to convert shylock into the pathetic figure
Of the old Lyceum stage; nor has he reverted to
the grotesque Jew of the original Shakespearian
drama. He has looked through the eyes OF
Bassanio, Gratiano and the courtroom mob and
has seen a murderous Jew. consumed with
hatred of Christians plotting with sinister cum
ming and cruelty and inhuman revenge. and cold.
heartless and maIevolent in his ilusory moment
of triumph. That is we'll informed, consistent
conception of the character and 1t is carried OUT
with the cumulative force Of sustained and often
ingenious stagecraft. II it be a Eers logical
it is also more fgnobIe and less impressive Shy
lock than Sir Henry's 1oftier Improvisation
Mr Bourchier substitutes for the n4iddls-aged.
crafty and Iistless moneylender OF Sir Henry
Irvings repertoire the full bearded, older Jew
of the traditional stage. and while the figure Is
more picturesque. the face is less subtle in play
of expression and in the denotement OF a brood
ing spirit of vengeance. There are mora fire.
quent outbursts Of passion; the hatred Of every
thing Christian is Haunted when the new
Shylock, in the street beside the church. RACES
and spits on hearing the organ and choir; Il IS
a longer knife that is brandished in the court
scene, and it is whetted with more aTdor. ana
there are more theatrical gestures and move
rnents and sharper transitions Of voice and TEN
per More human than Hebraic. this Shylock IS
remarkable for the passionate intensity Win
which he hates Bassanio and Antonio. or grisves
over the loss OF ducats daughter. or gioa1s
over his revenge IN the trial scene. 1t IS closer
study Of temperament than OF racial QUALITIES
and with all the energy and skill Of the denote
ment, subtlety is lacking in the iulpersonaton-
The new ShyIock returns across the bridge when
the jewellers have passed and Jessica has van
ished with her lover. and when he knocks a. tbs
door and turns toward the footlights the empu-
and solitude of the home and the despair FOL
lowing desertion by his child cannot be read IN
his face. So. too. when the fever4sh eXultatlon
of the trial scene has passed and he is CONSCIOUS
of disaster and humiliation. the body Is imp
and broken. but the face is not lighted up WIN
the pickering of the flaming spirit OF hatred
Unconventional fresh and brilliantly clever III
many passages il is an inpersonation that lscAS
inspiration at great moments. for behind 1t tnsGs
is only stagecraft without the nobility OF uniQus
personality.
The play is admirably staged with an aoun-
dance OF Venetian color and is enacted with VI
vacity and rapid movement Although there A'
fourteen scenes. the intervals and pauses :.
short and with gondolas gliding under arcH
ways with narrow streets filed with louas"
nasdueraders and dancers. with the cho'0
the casket converted into a splendid cerernonA
function and with undertones Of lovely Mu'
in Portals garden there is not moment vs.
tho action drags. There is series OF orA1A
Venetian pictures agow with light and ccioE' =
Portals garden be a dream OF exquisite 0eaUS