Chapter I: Front Matter

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THE ENGLISH STAGE

_WORKS BY THE AUTHOR._

PROFILS ANGLAIS.
MERIMEE ET SES AMIS.
VIOLETTE MERIAN.
AMOURS ANGLAIS.
LES CONTES DU CENTENAIRE.
ETC. ETC.

THE ENGLISH STAGE

_Being an Account of the Victorian Drama by Augustin Filon_

Translated from the French by Frederic Whyte with
an Introduction by Henry Arthur Jones

JOHN MILNE
12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD, & COMPANY
MDCCCXCVII

_All Rights Reserved_

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction by Mr. Henry Arthur Jones 9

Author's Preface 31

CHAPTER I

A Glance back--From 1820 to 1830--Kean and Macready--The
Strolling Player--The Critics--Sheridan Knowles and
_Virginius_--Douglas Jerrold--His Comedies--_The Rent
Day_--_The Prisoner of War_--_Black-Eyed Susan_--Collapse of
the Privileged Theatres--Men of Letters come to the Rescue of
the Drama--Bulwer Lytton--_The Lady of Lyons_--_Richelieu_--
_Money_ 39

CHAPTER II

Macready's Withdrawal from the Stage--The Enemies of the
Drama in 1850: Puritanism; the Opera; the Pantomime; the
"Hippodrama"--French Plays and French Players in England--
Actors of the Period--The Censorship--The Critics--The
Historical Plays of Tom Taylor and the Irish Plays of Dion
Boucicault 73

CHAPTER III

The Vogue of Burlesque--Burnand's _Ixion_--H. J. Byron--The
Influence of Burlesque upon the Moral Tone of the Stage--Marie
Wilton's Debut--A Letter from Dickens--Founding of the Prince
of Wales's--Tom Robertson, his Life as Actor and Author--His
Journalistic Career--London Bohemia in 1865--Sothern 93

CHAPTER IV

First Performance of _Society_--Success of _Ours_, _Caste_,
and _School_--How Robertson turned to account the Talent of
his Actors, John Hare, Bancroft, and Mrs. Bancroft--Progress
in the Matter of Scenery--Dialogue and Character-drawing--
Robertson as a Humorist: a Scene from _School_--As a Realist:
a Scene from _Caste_--The Comedian of the Upper Middle
Classes--Robertson's Marriage, Illness, and Death--The "Cup
and Saucer" Comedy--The Improvement in Actors' Salaries--The
Bancrofts at the Haymarket--Farewell Performance--My
Pilgrimage to Tottenham Street 114

CHAPTER V

Gilbert: compared with Robertson--His First Literary Efforts--
The _Bab Ballads_--_Sweethearts_--A Series of Experiments--
Gilbert's Psychology and Methods of Work--_Dan'l Druce_,
_Engaged_, _The Palace of Truth_, _The Wicked World_,
_Pygmalion and Galatea_--The Gilbert and Sullivan Operas 138

CHAPTER VI

Shakespeare again--From Macready to Irving; Phelps, Fechter,
Ryder, Adelaide Neilson--Irving's Debut--His Career in the
Provinces, and Visit to Paris--The role of Digby Grand--The
role of Matthias--The Production of _Hamlet_--Successive
Triumphs--Irving as Stage Manager--as an Editor of
Shakespeare--His Defects as an Actor--Too great for some of
his Parts--As a Writer and Lecturer; his Theory of Art--Sir
Henry Irving, Head of his Profession 156

CHAPTER VII

Is it well to imitate Shakespeare?--The Death of the Classical
Drama--Herman Merivale and the _White Pilgrim_--Wills and his
Plays: _Charles the First_, _Claudian_--Tennyson as a
Dramatist; he comes too soon and too late--Tennyson and the
Critics--_The Falcon_, _The Promise of May_, _The Cup_,
_Becket_, _Queen Mary_, _Harold_ 174

CHAPTER VIII

The Three Publics--The Disappearance of Burlesque and Decadence
of Pantomime--Increasing Vogue of Farce and Melodrama--
Improvement in Acting--The Influence of our French Actors--The
"Old" Critics and the "New"--James Mortimer and his Two
"Almavivas"--Mr. William Archer's Ideas and Role--The
Vicissitudes of Adaptation 193

CHAPTER IX

The Three Principal Dramatists of To-day--Sydney Grundy; his
First Efforts--Adaptations: _The Snowball_, _In Honour Bound_,
_A Pair of Spectacles_, _The Bunch of Violets_--His Original
Plays--His Style--His Humour--His Ethical Ideal--_An Old
Jew_--_The New Woman_--A Talent which has not done growing 212

CHAPTER X

Henry Arthur Jones; his First Works--His Melodramas--_Saints
and Sinners_--The Puritans and the Theatre--The Two Deacons:
the Character of Fletcher--_Judah_--_The Crusaders_: Character
of Palsam; the Conclusion of the Piece--_The Case of Rebellious
Susan_--_The Masqueraders_--Return to Melodrama--Theories
expounded by Mr. Jones in his Book: _The Renascence of the
Drama_ 234

CHAPTER XI

Two Portraits--Mr. Pinero's Career as an Actor--His Early
Works--_The Squire, Lords and Commons_--The Pieces which
followed, Half-Comedy, Half-Farce--_The Profligate_; its
Success and Defects: _Lady Bountiful_--_The Second Mrs.
Tanqueray_: Character of Paula--Mrs. Patrick Campbell--_The
Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith_ 254

CHAPTER XII

Ibsen made known to the English Public by Mr. Edmund Gosse--
The First Translations--Ibsen acted in London--The Performers
and the Public--Encounters between the Critics--Mr. Archer
once more--Affinity between the Norwegian Character and the
English--Ibsen's Realism suited to English Taste, his
Characters adaptable to English Life--The Women in his Plays--
Ibsen and Mr. Jones--Present and Future Influence of Ibsen--
Objections and Obstacles 277

CHAPTER XIII

G. R. Sims--R. C. Carton--Haddon Chambers--The Independent
Theatre and Matinee Performance--The Drama of To-morrow--A
"Report of Progress"--The Public and the Actors--
Actor-Managers--The Forces that have given Birth to the
Contemporary English Drama--Disappearance of the Obstacles to
its becoming Modern and National--Conclusion 300