Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/544

 120 AET, DRAMA AND MUSIC. [1899.

effort not destined to a long existence, produced two little pieces which deserved attention. One was " The Bugle Call," played at the Hay- market, in which Mr. Parker was assisted by Mr. Addison Bright ; and the other was " The Sacrament of Judas," adapted from the French, and played by Mr. Forbes Robertson with considerable effect.

The year produced one or two interesting examples of the stage work of men less known as dramatists, but better known as writers of books. Mr. Bernard Shaw and Mr. Zangwill both made attempts of an uncertain kind to win the playgoer's heart. Mr. Hall Caine, even with the help of Mr. Waring and Miss Evelyn Millard, failed to make "The Christian" into a popular play. Mr. Anthony Hope, besides bringing " The Adventure of Lady Ursula " to a triumphant conclusion, produced in the provinces a version of "Rupert of Hentzau." Dr. Conan Doyle borrowed a pretty story of Mr. James Payne as the basis of a little piece called "Halves"; and the lady known as "George Fleming" produced a slight but clever comedy entitled "The Canary," to which Mrs. Patrick Campbell's acting gave powerful support. Mr. Esmond, well known as a clever actor, though not hitherto known as a man of letters, produced in "Grierson's Way" a drama which, though not altogether agreeable, was original and stimulating to thought; and "The Weather Hen," though belonging to a different category, may be mentioned here as a first effort which promised well for the future of its authors as writers for the stage.

Mr. Tree's revival of " King John " at Her Majesty's was a fine example of stage pageantry on a large scale, and the audiences appre- ciated the splendour of its tableaux and the colour and effectiveness of its historical scenes. Mr. Waller's acting, too, as Faulconbridge deserved the praise it won. But the play is not one, apparently, which is ever likely to be very popular with the public at large. More interest- ing as a display of acting was Madame Sarah Bernhardt^ rendering of Hamlet, chiefly remarkable of course as a tour de force, but showing both insight and study. " Richard II." and " Richard III." were also produced by companies less known to fame, the latter at a Kennington theatre, the former by the Elizabethan Stage Society ; and Mr. Benson at Stratford tried the experiment of playing "Hamlet" in two parts, morning and afternoon, according to the text of the first folio. The greatest of our Shakespearian actors, however, contented himself with an adaptation from the French of M. Sardou. When the Lyceum Theatre reopened, under new management, after Sir Henry Irving's long illness and absence from the stage, an effective version of "Robespierre" was produced, and in the character part Sir Henry Irving won many admirers, though the piece illustrated rather the weakness than the merits of M. Sardou's theatrical style. A still more successful drama on the French Revolution was provided by a young actor, Mr. Martin Harvey, who won great laurels in the leading part. It was an effective version of " The Tale of Two Cities," and was called " The Only Way." Mr. Wilson Barrett, who followed Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum, revived "The Silver King," but failed to produce any new piece of striking merit. Another old favourite of melodrama, " Captain Swift," was seen at Her Majesty's, and a newer specimen of that kind of work,

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