MR. F. R. BENSON deserves commendation for a new idea. SHAKSPEARE has
been presented in many forms, but the notion of giving the Bard without
any acting to speak of is a novelty. And it is not quite certain that it
is a mistake. After all, a bad actor is an infliction, and it is better
to have gentlemen who have not spent centuries in mastering the
intricacies of their profession than a noisy personage who tears his
passions to atoms. The recent revivals of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_
and the _Taming of the Shrew_ at the Globe Theatre show how pleasing
Shakspearian representations may be made, even when their success
depends less upon elocution than scenic effect. The first of these plays
was simply delightful, with its fairy glades and "built-up" temples. The
last, too, is well off for "cloths," pleasingly representing Padua and
Verona. The performers (with the exception of Mr. STEPHEN PHILLIPS, who
speaks his lines with admirable effect) are not so noticeable. One of
the best-played parts in the piece is filled by an actor whose name does
not appear in the programme. He has nothing to do but to carry off
_Katherina_ (Mrs. F. R. BENSON), in Sc. 5., Act III., on his back. That
he looks like an ass while doing this goes without saying, but still he
is a valuable addition to the cast. From an announcement in the
programme, it appears that _Othello_, _Hamlet_, and the _Merchant of
Venice_ are shortly to be played. It seems at the first blush a
difficult task to pick out of Mr. BENSON'S present company a gentleman
quite suited to fill the title _rôles_ in the two first, and _Shylock_
in the last. But, no doubt, the Lessee and Manager thinks the playing of
the characters of the Prince of Denmark and the Moor a matter of minor
importance. And, if he does, it may be argued, from the cordial
reception that has been accorded to _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ and the
_Taming of the Shrew_, that he has an excellent reason for his opinion.
Believe me, yours truly,
ONE WHO IS EASILY PLEASED.
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