The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 5, May 1810
History
The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 5, May 1810
Drama -- Periodicals; Theater -- Periodicals
The little judgment used in the casts of the plays in which Mr. Dwyer
has appeared, must have, however, greatly diminished the effect his
talents would produce upon us, were he respectably supported. Our
company, weak and bad in the extreme, is by bad management rendered much
worse. To the annoyance of the public, when one actor, as a _star_, is
thought to have sufficient attraction to make a good house of himself,
the best performers of the company (and heaven knows bad enough is the
best) are left out; prompter, scene-shifters, supernumeraries, and
candle-snuffers being tugged in by the ears, as occasion may require, to
_complete_ the _Dramatis Personae_. The place of Mrs. Oldmixon, whom we
always see with pleasure, and who is never willingly absent when she can
contribute to the gratification of the audience, is frequently occupied
by Mrs. Hogg, whose infirmities impede those exertions which we are
inclined to believe she is willing to make: and Mr. Simpson, who, in
some characters, is not a bad performer, is often supplanted by the very
sweepings of the green-room. How often do we see that second Proteus,
the little prompter with his _parenthetical_ legs, rolled on in five or
six different parts on the same evening. Gentleman, jailor, footman,
king, and beggar are to him equally indifferent; and next to Mr. Hallam
we conceive him to be the very best murderer on the boards.
As we have gone so far in our observations on the state of the company,
it may be as well to take a glance at the whole corps.
First on the scroll stands the respectable Tyler, who, with some natural
qualifications and much industry, has for many years been the most
useful actor on our boards. His grave old gentlemen are far above
mediocrity, and although nearly sixty years of age, he appears to much
advantage occasionally in comic opera; being the only man in the
company, with the exception of Mr. Twaits, capable of singing.
Mr. Twaits as a low comedian is inferior to none in the United States.
Mr. Simpson, denied by nature the possibility of being graceful,
endeavours to make up for his defects by close attention to his
business. He is generally perfect, and may, by reading and much study,
become tolerable in the walk he aims at; which is genteel comedy. His
chief defects are a whining sing-song management of his voice, that
savors more of the rant of a methodist preacher than the genuine
expression of natural feeling. Mr. Simpson however, does not want fire;
a few years observation of good models may entitle him to a respectable
standing on this side the Atlantic.
Mr. Robinson's country boys and old men are excellent. His attempts at
tragedy and genteel comedy, will we fear, never be successful.
Mr. Young pleases us in all he undertakes. His conception is just, and
his gesticulation worthy of example.
In Mr. Collins we see much of the _naivete_ of Suett and Blisset. He
bids fair to be an excellent low comedian of a certain cast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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