The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-06
w..

arTno on, az ne no u hao eetue
should be.
The earliest, most brilliant and mos
lucrative trtumphs achieved under tn
Bancroft management were gained by tn
plays Of Thomas William Robertson
Naturally. therefore. a good deal Of spac
Is allotted to that dramatist In this vol
ume. It was soon after abe leased tn
Prince OF Wales's Theatre and before he
marriage to Bancroft that Mics Mari
Wilton was asked to read a comedy callet
'Sooiety.' written by n Robertson
whose name was then almost unknown
The prospeotively successful playwright
vas at that time In very low water; as h
expressed 1t 10 Bancroft o ~afterward
Il often dined on my pipe At tina
time Robertson was 90. above medium
height and rather stouty built. with
pale skin and reddish beard and small
piercing. red-brown eyes, which wer'
ever restless. He was. 1t seems, Of
highly nervous temperament, and had q
habit OF biting his mustache and caress
ing his beard-indeed, his hands were
rarely still. -Sotiety" had been Offered
In turn to all the London managers who
played comedies. but not Of then
would have anything to do with 1t. The
play struck Miss Wilton, however. as &c
original and striking that abe decided tc
risk producing It, and as the rehearsalt
advanced she grew to like it more anc
more. Her views OF natural acting
agreed 90 entirely with Robertson's thai
everything went smoothly.
On its production in November. 1885
Society was played for $50 nights ir
those days An extraordinary run. Look
ing back through the vista OF more thar
forty years. Bancroft finds 1t still easy tc
understand the great success OF thii
comedy. On the English stage up to that
time there had been little attempt to FOL.
low nature either in the plays or in the
manner Of producing them. 1t had be.
come a subject OF reasonable complain,
with reflective playgoers that the pieces
they were invited to see rarely afforded
a glimpse OF the world in which they
lived. The characters moved in IN un.
real environment and the stage code oil
ethics was the result OF warped traditions
Reaction became inevitable and the All.
thor Of Society 1t was recognized a,
the time. rendered a public service by
proving that refined and educated classes
were as ready az ever to crowd the play.
houses. provided only that the enter.
tainments given there should be suited
to their sympa thies and tastes.
The Robertson comedies appeared upon
the scene just when they were needed tc
revive intelligent interest In the drama
Mature was Robertson's goddess and he
looked upon the bright young managers
Of the Prince Of Wales's Theatre as the
high priests Of the natural school Of act
ing. A return to nature was the great
need Of the stage and happily he came to
help supply it at the right moment.
.Society.' although eclipsed in success
by the later Robertson comedies, which
were written especially for the Bancrofts.
was always we'll received and welcomed
when they revived it. The first revival
was for a hundred nights. which began
in the autumn OF 1858. In the autumn OF
1874 Society was again revived. when II
ran for five months. The piece was pro-
duced for the last time by the Bancrofts
at the Haymarket Theatre In 1881. when
they gave fifty final performances Of 1t,
after which they surrendered the rights
In Robertson's comedies to the authors
children.
Ours wal the second play by Robert
son which tho Bancrofts acted. and the
frst which he wrote expressly for them.
1t was produced in the autumn OF 1895
aud had a success which went far to
strengthen the ultimate fortunes Of the
theatre and the fame Of Its author. The
almost hysterical effect Of the second act,
when the British troops are depicted most
realistically ID leaving for the Crimea.
upon audience and players alike remains
firmly in the recollection. Whsh ours"
was produced the authors name was no
longer obscure; but the success of its
first revival in 1870. when it ran for nine
months. far eclipsed that OF the original
production. Bancroft says that II the
six comedies written by Robertson for
the Prince OF Wales's Theatre were ar
ranged in the order Of the success attained
by them throughout their careers Ours
would rank second.
As 1t was manifest that the play when
revived In 1870 would have a long run,
the Bancrofts offered Robertson an in
crease Of the modest fees they had paid
him during the original production. As
helping to make the incident almost
unique. Robertson's reply is worth noting:
Don't be offended that I return your
check. I recognize your kindness and
ipteption tn the fulI. hut having ,ho,nhs
the matter over. ! cannot reconcile it to
sense Of justice and probity to take
more than / bargained for. An arrange
ment is an arrangement. and cannot be
played fast and loose with. II a man
say an author-goes in for a certain sum,
he must be content with IL. and seek no
new: II he goes In for a share, he must
take good and bad luck too. So please
let Ours be paid for at the sum originally
agreed upon 1t seems that the highest
fees paid by the Bancrofts to Robertson
were at the rate Of f5 for zach performance
Of his comedies. I'm Taylor In earlier
days for his many ,orks, chiefly adapta-
tons from French plays and novels, such
as Still Waters Run Deep" and "The
Ticket Of Leave Man. was content with
q single payment Of ESQ an act--a striking
contrast to the percentage demanded by
modern dramatists. ours was revived
a second time with great success in 1870.
the o notable change in the cast being
that Ellen Terry played the heroine.
When he Bancrofts decided that their
last performances In the old Prince Of
Wales's Theatre ought Ia be of a play by