The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 08 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
General
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 08 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
He makes his face up into a bad joke, and flings it right in the
teeth of the spectators. The expression of the masks hanging out at the
shop-windows, is less extravagant and distorted. There is no one on the
stage who can, or at least who does, draw up his eyebrows, roll his
eyes, thrust out his tongue, or drop his under jaw, in so astonishing a
manner as Mr. Munden; and if acting consisted in making wry faces, he
would be the greatest actor on the stage, instead of which he is, on
these occasions, only a bad clown. His over-desire to produce effect,
destroys all effect on our minds.[33]—Mr. Knight played the servant very
well; but in general, there is too much an appearance in his acting, as
if he was moved by wires. His feeling always flies to the extremities:
his vivacity is in his feet and finger-ends. He is a very lively
automaton.
_March 30._
The farce of Love in Limbo, brought out at Covent-Garden Theatre, has no
other merit than the plot, which, however, is neither very laughable nor
very probable.—The melo-drame of Zembuca, besides the attractions of the
scenery and music, has considerable neatness of point in the dialogue,
to which Liston gave its full effect.
MR. KEAN’S ZANGA
_The Examiner._
_May 28, 1815._
Mr. Kean played for his benefit on Wednesday, the character of Zanga, in
the Revenge (which he is to repeat), and the character of Abel Drugger
from the Alchymist, (we are sorry to say for that night only). The house
was crowded to excess. The play of the Revenge is an obvious
transposition of Othello: the two principal characters are the same;
only their colours are reversed. The giving the dark, treacherous,
fierce, and remorseless character to the Moor, is an alteration, which
is more in conformity to our prejudices, as well as to historical truth.
We have seen Mr. Kean in no part, to which his general style of acting
is so completely adapted as to this, or to which he has given greater
spirit and effect. He had all the wild impetuosity of barbarous revenge,
the glowing energy of the untamed children of the sun, whose blood
drinks up the radiance of fiercer skies. He was like a man stung with
rage, and bursting with stifled passions. His hurried motions had the
restlessness of the panther’s: his wily caution, his cruel eye, his
quivering visage, his violent gestures, his hollow pauses, his abrupt
transitions, were all in character. The very vices of Mr. Kean’s general
acting might almost be said to assist him in the part. What in our
judgment he wants, is dignified repose, and deep internal sentiment. But
in Zanga, nothing of this kind is required. The whole character is
violent; the whole expression is in action. The only passage which
struck us as one of calm and philosophical grandeur, and in which Mr.
Kean failed from an excess of misplaced energy, was the one in the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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