London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
FIRST NIGHTS AT THE PLAY.
First nights are now amongst the most prominent events of the season. Thanks to Sir Henry Irving and Mr. Charles Wyndham, a gathering on the seamy side of the curtain is more than a collection of movers in smart society. All London on a first night at the Lyceum foregathers to congratulate the hero and heroine of the evening. is there, but it is not there for the special delectation of the critics. Those useful framers of public opinion have to hurry off to to write their notices, and have no leisure to accept the graceful hospitality of the actor-managers. The actor of to-day receives his applause as does the eminent Q.C. who listens to the appreciation of his colleagues in the robing room. The liberty of the Press is unthreatened, for it is clearly understood that there is a hard and fast line dividing friendship from duty. A critic is a judge first and a afterwards. This is a novel situation for the end of the century. This foregathering of friends lays that spirit of spite that disfigured so many of the of the forties and fifties. Charles Kean-Etonian and man of culture-suffered severely from this malevolence. It was the | |
33 | order of the day in more than one office to slate the tragedian with the and the But nowadays a critic would as soon think of criticising unfairly, unjustly, the rhetoric of the Royal Courts of Justice as the elocution of our leading theatres. I think Sir Henry Irving has written of the typical actor as , and claimed indulgence for that unrespected puppet. But his remarks referred to the days when Punch was found at the corner of the streets. Nowadays both the dramatic and the literary puppet are absolutely respectable, and both wear well-fitting evening suits inclusive of spotless white waistcoats. |
