New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-29
AnglO-American Memories
Xxx
IXCX.
~ SARAH seRNHARDT EVENING
Copyright. 1870 by George W. smsiley,

and the grain of truth also. Mr. James
said ii rather too contemptuouslv. 1t
was q reproach- Mr. James has a great
knowledge of the theatre and is critic
of renown. But he did not In this in
stance, distinguish between his own per-
ceptfons and those of the audience in
general He did not himself require to
have it brought to his attention that
Matthias was a murderer He forgot
that the average playgoer might wish
to be reminded of 1t. And Irving like
that great comedian at the Bar. the
late Lord Russell, had two sides to his
face He wore mask to the peFsonages
in the play, and on the uncovered half of
that speaking countenance he allowed
the spectators to see the ravages of re-.
morse and the stamp of guilt which be-
trayed his guilt 10 them. but to them
only. Having Mr.. James's remark in
mind / asked Sarah if she thought he
made his crime too evident. She an
swered:
Certainly not. He is murderer and
these suggestions of guilt are so many
psychological truths no criminal ever
hides his crime completely: least of all
on the stage. And you must never per-
pick your audience. Especially an Eng
lish audience. If you can imagine your
self on the stage, your suspicion will not
be excited"
So / think we may set Sarah's testi-
mony against Mr. Henry Jamess and
rest in the comfortable belief that Irving
II l., A., 81
matter was indeed part of his stage
mana cement. He did not restrict stage
management to mechanical or artificial
arrangements. His ideal, in respect of
elecutien and of the tuition of individual
actors and actresses, came far nearer to
the French ideal than that of other Eng
lish managers. Sarah thought him far
and away the best she had ever seen.
Not at the Francais itself have ever
seen anything so good. The way in
which he uses the lights is his own. No
stage in France is lighted as this is.
None has the same scheme of illunina-
ton or uses it in the same way The
groupings are just as good and all the
stage business shows master hand"
She asked if / knew whether Irving
himself looked after all this I said yes.
It's not only a master hand but mas
ter mind: and it is Irving's. He has, of
course. able Iieutenants, but the concep-
ton is his and at rehearsal no detail
escapes him.
IT was sure of it," said Sarah. and
added:
It's not merely that the details are so
we'll considered, but there's a general
effect which I can only call imaginative.
Whoever staged this play had in his
mind from the beginning a complete con-
ception of the whole. as a whole. He
saw it all. He understood the relation
of each part to the whole. What you do
not see is almost as remarkable as what
you do see He has known what to
leave out I am certain he has sup
pressed much and either deleted or mod
flied points which We're good in them
selves but not good for the general i'm
preston of the piece. He is an artist
who understands that nothing is good
unless in the right place. Stage man
agement in his hands is an intellectual
triumph He has not his equal among
u.s.
Yet L had often heard Sarah describe
and extol the sternness of the discipline
on the stage of the Francais. There the
r6gisseur is master. He is more than
master. He is a despot,
He has made me recite a single line
fifty times till 1 delivered it to please
him;-me, Sarah!"
But in the rehearsal of a new piece
the author steps in. He is then the
despot, and from his decree there is no
appeal.
When THE Bells" came TO an end
Sarah turned to me with a long sigh:
Il feel as if had been acting myself.
have never spent such an evening
But the end of the evening was not
yet G. W. S.