Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of The Theatrical Powers Of The Late Mr. John Palmer:
verified within the walls of Drury . By the demise of Palmer , Barryrnore will , of course , succeed to rnany of his characters . Some of them he will support respectably , but few of them equal to his predecessor . Few persons have naturally a better voice than Barrymore ; but , as Archer says , ' he does , not know what to do with it . ' J-Iis voice is a sweet tenor , seemingly capable of every modulation which the variety of stage exhibition requires . ' If this be trueto
, > vhat cause , except that of inattention , are we to ascribe his failure ? An inflexibility , strongly partaking of , without being a monotony , gives a coldness to , and destroys the efFect of what would otherwise be considered good acting . This , we think , might , with a little care , be remedied . Barryrnore excels in tragedy , for which his figure is exceedingly well adapted ; btyt there is a stiffness in his
comedy which is both unnatural and ungraceful . Exclusive of the particular . cast of characters which Mr . Palmer possessed , the Drurylane audience will sustain a heavy Iqss , or , to prevent it , the closest attention of Mr . Kemble will be requisite . During a temporary absence of Mr . Kemble it was customary for Palmer ' to assume his parts ; for Palmer , if occasion required , could play every character ; thpun-h riot perhaps with equal excellence , which was peculiarly
reserved for Mr . Kemble . "Unless the proprietors obtain a reinforcement , Wroughton must be more upon the boards . But Wroughton is not a popular actor . An indefatigable industry has , in this gentleman , rendered less obvious the deficiencies of nature . More , however , remains to be
atchieved than , according to the common course of things , we can indulge the hope of witnessing . Mr . Charles Kemble is a promising and an improving young actor , and he has the best models to copy i ' rpni : hut tjie public would like Mr . Charles Kemble much better , if Mr . Charles Kemble liked himself somewhat less . If , instead of admiring the symmetry of his formor the elegance of his dressand acting entirely for himself ,
, , he would attend to his brother performers , an English audience would never withhold the meed of generous applause . Much mig ht be said of Mrs . Siddons ; but M's . Siddons is above praise . To illustrate or panegyrize her in numerable excellencies would be an attempt to harden the diamond . Kemble and Siddons , ' take them for p . ll in all , ' annihilate comparison .
Mrs . Jordan ' s name is , ot itself , a ' tower-ot strength ; nor can any actress be thrown into the opposite scale . . It is true , w d ° not admire her Op helia or her Juliet ; nor is her Lady Teazle exactly the thing ; but her Angela , in the Castle Spectre , is the very apex of exquisite acting . On her comedy all observations would be superfluous . The comic force of Drury-lane is excellentbutin poiptof
num-, , bers , it cannot cope with that of Covent-Garden . They have Messrs . Bannister , Suett , King , and R . Palmer ; Mesdames Pope , De CariipV Biggs , Goodall , Mellon , Stuart , and Wajcott ; but they have lost Parsons , Baddeley , Moody , Pgdd , Palmer , and Miss Fallen , without a single reinforcement to compensate . Covent-Garden
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of The Theatrical Powers Of The Late Mr. John Palmer:
verified within the walls of Drury . By the demise of Palmer , Barryrnore will , of course , succeed to rnany of his characters . Some of them he will support respectably , but few of them equal to his predecessor . Few persons have naturally a better voice than Barrymore ; but , as Archer says , ' he does , not know what to do with it . ' J-Iis voice is a sweet tenor , seemingly capable of every modulation which the variety of stage exhibition requires . ' If this be trueto
, > vhat cause , except that of inattention , are we to ascribe his failure ? An inflexibility , strongly partaking of , without being a monotony , gives a coldness to , and destroys the efFect of what would otherwise be considered good acting . This , we think , might , with a little care , be remedied . Barryrnore excels in tragedy , for which his figure is exceedingly well adapted ; btyt there is a stiffness in his
comedy which is both unnatural and ungraceful . Exclusive of the particular . cast of characters which Mr . Palmer possessed , the Drurylane audience will sustain a heavy Iqss , or , to prevent it , the closest attention of Mr . Kemble will be requisite . During a temporary absence of Mr . Kemble it was customary for Palmer ' to assume his parts ; for Palmer , if occasion required , could play every character ; thpun-h riot perhaps with equal excellence , which was peculiarly
reserved for Mr . Kemble . "Unless the proprietors obtain a reinforcement , Wroughton must be more upon the boards . But Wroughton is not a popular actor . An indefatigable industry has , in this gentleman , rendered less obvious the deficiencies of nature . More , however , remains to be
atchieved than , according to the common course of things , we can indulge the hope of witnessing . Mr . Charles Kemble is a promising and an improving young actor , and he has the best models to copy i ' rpni : hut tjie public would like Mr . Charles Kemble much better , if Mr . Charles Kemble liked himself somewhat less . If , instead of admiring the symmetry of his formor the elegance of his dressand acting entirely for himself ,
, , he would attend to his brother performers , an English audience would never withhold the meed of generous applause . Much mig ht be said of Mrs . Siddons ; but M's . Siddons is above praise . To illustrate or panegyrize her in numerable excellencies would be an attempt to harden the diamond . Kemble and Siddons , ' take them for p . ll in all , ' annihilate comparison .
Mrs . Jordan ' s name is , ot itself , a ' tower-ot strength ; nor can any actress be thrown into the opposite scale . . It is true , w d ° not admire her Op helia or her Juliet ; nor is her Lady Teazle exactly the thing ; but her Angela , in the Castle Spectre , is the very apex of exquisite acting . On her comedy all observations would be superfluous . The comic force of Drury-lane is excellentbutin poiptof
num-, , bers , it cannot cope with that of Covent-Garden . They have Messrs . Bannister , Suett , King , and R . Palmer ; Mesdames Pope , De CariipV Biggs , Goodall , Mellon , Stuart , and Wajcott ; but they have lost Parsons , Baddeley , Moody , Pgdd , Palmer , and Miss Fallen , without a single reinforcement to compensate . Covent-Garden