Evening journal., 1915-05-11
WHAT Professionalism
EV1l AIMS

How much Forbes Robertson
means to u.s. Above all, he means
romance, not the romance" of mere
love-making and melodrama, but the
romance that brought beauty into the
theatre, that brought to this drab
modern stage a new glamor of tender
color, of grace, of memory, of imagin-
alton; the romance that was at the
heart of the aesthetic movement; the
romance that found its dramatic
home behind the dim green curtain
at the old Lyceum in lrving's time.
lie appears at The Playhouse Friday
and Saturday, matinee and night,
May IA and To-
The I.vceum seemed to have been
waiting for Forbes Robertson all the
time. Mere social comedy was never
his truest home. Those expressive
features of his, with their blended
delicacy and strength and passionate
ness reminding one sometimes of the
priest, sometimes of the poet, some
times of the knight-at-arms; the
beautiful voice; the sensitive artistic
temperament of the painter and musi-
cian--all have marked him out Tor
romance.
But romance and the Lyceum are,
after all, part of what Forbes-Rob-
ertsOn means to us present-day play
goers. He represents at the same
time something older and Just as
vital so far as the actual drama IS
concerned. Il was something far old
er too than those beginnings OF mod
ern comedy in the midst of which he
started his career. He represents, as
loes no other living actor the stern
Of old aQpdiqnC
Nowadays tragedy is believed in
various quarters to be more or less
dead, and some people are wont TO
blame the modern actor. But Forbes
Robertson must be excepted from any
such taunt. His early training under
Samuel Phelps put him in direct sue
cession to those old players WHO be-
lieved in sound acting-personal
competence with nothing external TO
help it-and who did manage to keep
tragedy alive. Forbes Robertson is
never tired of confessing how much
he owes to brave old Samuel. ulti-
mus Romanorums the unsparine pur-
ist-great alike in tragedy and COM
edy-who gave him his first drilling
in the traditions OF SIddons and
Macready.
Perhaps this is one Of the reasons
why. with all his romantic bent.
Forbes Robertson's highest claim to
actual greatness should be his Ham
let where mere atmosphere and
pictorial beauty are very far from be-
ing OF first Importance.
After ALL saws Forbes Robertson.
ut is very we'll to be an artist, a
musician, poet. or philosopher.
When it comes to a part like Ham
let. il is all no good unless ono is an
actor as we'll | am certain l should
never have made any success in il at
all without the groundwork of a hard
and sound schooling that my dear old
master gave me.
Perhaps it would be we'll to en-
phasize this Nothing worth doing
will ever be done upon our stage if
young actors get the idea into their
heads that they can rub along with
out the most thorough and painstak-
ing study and practice-in elOcution,
in gesture. in all tho thousand things
that afford the actor his means Of
expression. You may talk of grace
hut it is only the ease that comes af-
ter complete competence has been
achieved. You may talk of magma
ton, but what is the use of magma
tion If you have not trained your
physique to express what You
imagine? | am happy enough to have
been praised for my voice, but every
infection is the result of training
AS il is, the mere physical strain Of
a really big part is so exhausting thai
! don't think any actor can play Ham
let properly two evenings in sue
cession.
Il am delighted to say that I dc
not think there is any truth in Tho
idea that our young actors are, as
body. Sinking their work. A littl,
while ago, when the evils of the long
run system had not enforced certain
efforts at reform. there was, perhaps
what might be described as a wave
of Incompetence. Some of our young
people did not take the trouble ever
to speak in any other voice than Z
conversational voice. They we're. a:
the old actors would have put, d
confidential But at the moment
see an improvement everywhere, and
there is any amount of splendid ma
tcrial among the crowds of earnes
young men and women who are com
ing into the theatre" Apart from
all these phases OF his art and his
personality, there is another thins
that .Forbes-Robertson means to M
and to the stage. He means intelli
gence, broad sympathy. ripe culture
scholarship, sincerity and dignity q
purpose.