The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, Issue 02, February 1891: An Illustrated MonthlyVarious
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 01, Issue 02, February 1891: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
To conclude with the laughable farce,
THE SPITALFIELDS WEAVER.
_Simmons_ Mr. John L. Toole.
(_His first appearance on any stage_).
Many a white satin programme is about, and the tenant of the little
dressing-room of King William-street is represented in many parts. Just
by the door is Mr. Liston as _Paul Pry_, arrayed in bottle-green coat,
big beaver hat, and armed with the inevitable umbrella--"just called to
ask you how your tooth was."
An excellent portrait represents John Billington as _John Peerybingle_
in "Dot," underneath which are penned some noteworthy lines: "I don't
want anybody to tell me my fortune. I've got one of the best little
wives alive, a happy home over my head, a blessed baby, and a cricket on
my hearth."
* * * * *
Certainly what Mr. W. S. Gilbert would term "a highly respectable"
entrance is that which leads to Mr. Beerbohm Tree's dressing-room. The
stage door is in Suffolk-street, and until Mr. Tree's tenancy of the
Haymarket Theatre, there was an old clause in the lease setting forth
that whenever Royalty visited the theatre they should have the right to
enter by that way. Buckstone lived here--his dressing-room still
remains. It is a quaint corner near the stage, now used by the actors as
a smoking-room. The walls are covered with red paper, relieved by one or
two decidedly ancient paintings. Buckstone's iron safe--wherein the
renowned comedian was wont to store his money--is still visible; but the
money-bags are there no longer; their place being occupied by sundry
jars of tobacco and a churchwarden or two. Only on one occasion has Mr.
Tree found it necessary to use this room. The corpulency of the bibulous
_Falstaff_ prevented the actor from conveniently coming down the stairs
which lead from his own room to the stage--hence _Falstaff_ was attired
in this apartment.
The sound of the overture is just beginning as we hurriedly follow Mr.
Tree in the direction of his room. Though he has been singled out as a
very master of the art of transferring the face into the presentment of
character, it is a fact that Mr. Tree never sits down to dress until the
overture has started, and attaches less importance to his make-up than
to any other portion of the actor's art.
[Illustration: MR. BEERBOHM TREE'S DRESSING-ROOM.]
He throws himself into a chair of a decided "office" pattern, in front
of a triple glass which reflects all positions of his face. The sticks
of paint are arranged on a small Japanese tray, and the various powders
in tin boxes. Everything about the room is quiet and unassuming--a
washstand near the window, a few odd wooden-back chairs. The room is
regarded rather as a workshop than a lounging-room, and it certainly
possesses that appearance, though not without a certain pleasant
cosiness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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