Clowns -- Great Britain -- Biography; Grimaldi, Joseph, 1779-1837
During this illness he received great attention and kindness from Miss
Bristow, one of the actresses at Drury Lane Theatre. She attended upon
him every morning to assist in dressing the wound, and enlivened the
hours which would otherwise have been very weary, by her company and
conversation. In gratitude for her kindness, Grimaldi married her on
the following Christmas Eve, and it may be as well to state in this
place, that with her he lived very happily for more than thirty years;
when she died.
Drury Lane opened on the 30th of September, with "As You Like It,"
and "Blue Beard," Grimaldi's chief part in this piece was a combat in
the last scene but one; which, being very effective, had always been
regularly and vociferously applauded. It was not originally in the
piece, but had been "invented," and arranged with appropriate music for
the purpose of keeping the attention of the house engaged, while the
last scene, which was a very heavy one, was being "set up." Now, if
any fresh combatant had been ready in Grimaldi's place, very probably
the piece might have gone off as well as it had theretofore, but
Kemble, who was then stage-manager, as has been before stated, totally
forgetting the reason of the combat's introduction, omitted to provide
any substitute. The omission was pointed out at rehearsal, and then he
gave directions that it should be altogether dispensed with.
The effect of this order was very unsatisfactory both to himself and
the public.
There was a very full house at night, and the play went off as well
as it could, and so did the afterpiece up to the time when the last
scene should have been displayed; but here the stage-manager discovered
his mistake too late. The last scene was not ready, it being quite
impossible to prepare it in time, and the consequence was, that the
audience, instead of looking at the combat, were left to look at each
other or at the empty stage, as they thought fit. Upon this, there
gradually arose many hisses and other expressions of disapprobation,
and at last some play-goer in the pit, who all at once remembered the
combat, shouted out very loudly for it. The cry was instantly taken
up and became universal: some demanded the combat, others required an
apology for the omission of the combat, a few called upon Kemble to
fight the combat himself, and a scene of great commotion ensued. The
exhibition of the last scene, instead of allaying the tumult, only
increased it, and when the curtain fell, it was in the midst of a storm
of hisses and disapprobation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account