"Their Majesties' Servants." Annals of the English Stage (Volume 3 of 3)Doran, Dr. (John)
History
"Their Majesties' Servants." Annals of the English Stage (Volume 3 of 3)
Doran, Dr. (John)
Actors -- Great Britain; Theater -- Great Britain -- History
Let me notice that he bore himself in presence of a cruel audience,
with an almost ferocious courage. His pride was greater than his
humiliation. As at Drury, he applied every strong epithet in his
part to the howling pit, so, when running his erratic course through
the minor theatres, he could treat audiences that were ignorant, as
well as insolent, with strong terms and lofty contempt. He had one
night played Othello to a "Coburg" public. Iago was acted by Cobham,
the performer who had once vainly attempted to dethrone him, by
acting Richard at Covent Garden, to a house, however, which would
not listen to him to the end. The New-Cut costermongers adopted him;
they applauded him, on this particular night, more than they did the
great Kean, who received £50 for condescending to exhibit himself in
Othello. Nevertheless, at the fall of the curtain, there was such
an uproar in front, apparently a call for Kean, that he came slowly
forward, and bluntly asked, "What do you want?" A thousand voices
answered, "You! you!" Well, said Kean, after a slight peroration, "I
have played in every civilised country where English is the language
of the people; but I never acted to an audience of such unmitigated
brutes as you are!" He walked slowly off as Cobham, to a shout for
him from the sweet voices of his Lambeth-marsh patrons, rushed on
the stage, proud and radiant, to tell Edmund's "unmitigated brutes"
that they were the most enlightened and liberal audience that had
ever sat as judges of acting, and that the happiest night of his
life was that on which he had the opportunity of telling his friends
and admirers that incontrovertible truth. A cry that might have been
heard across St. George's Fields proclaimed him to be "a trump!"--and
Cobham won the honours of the night!
Kean, as before recorded, betook himself again to America. Since
his previous visit to the Northern States he was greatly changed;
but that the seeds of insanity were in him at the earlier period, a
passage from Dr. Francis's _Old New York_ will mournfully show. Some
hospitable friends exerted themselves to render his earlier stay
agreeable, and this is an incident of the time--one out of many:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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