It must be owned that such a _little book_ as this has long been
wanted; for of all writing, that relating to the stage is the most
diffuse. It is scattered about in biography, criticism and anecdote, not
unfrequently of great interest, but occupying so much "valuable" time,
that to condense it, or to pick the wheat from the chaff, is no trifling
task. So much for the amusement which our "Companion" may yield to the
Londoner: his utility as a cicerone or guide will be more obvious to our
country friends, who flock in thousands to see and hear comedy and
tragedy at this play-going season. A young girl comes to town to see
"the lions," and, with her "cousin," goes to the opera, where _one
guinea_ is paid for their admission, or even more if they be
_installed_. Two Londoners would buy their tickets during the day,
and thus pay but 17_s_. Another party are dying to hear Braham
sing, or Paton warble her nightingale notes among the canvass groves and
hollyhock gardens of Drury Lane and Covent Garden; or to sup on the
frowning woes of tragedy, the intrigues of an interlude dished up as an
_entremet_, or a melodrama for a ragout; or the wit and waggery of
a farce, sweet and soft-flowing like a _petit-verre_, to finish the
repast. They go, and between the acts try to count the wax and gas, the
feet, and foot lights till they are purblind; they return home and dream
of Desdemona, sing themselves to sleep with the notes of the last song,
are haunted with the odd physiognomy of Liston, and repeat the
farce-laugh till the dream is broken. Next day it is mighty pleasant to
read how many hundred people the theatre will hold, how many pounds they
all paid to get there; and how the splendid pile of Drury Lane rose on
the area of a cockpit: and how Garrick played Macbeth in a court suit,
and John Kemble enacted the sufferings of Hamlet in _powdered_
hair. Upon all these subjects the Companion is conversant, although he
does not set up for Sir Oracle, or shake his head like Burleigh. In
short, he tells of "many things," from the cart of Thespis and the Roman
theatres, with their 6,000 singers and dancers, to the companies on the
present stages.
Thus, we have the Origin of the Drama--Rise of the Drama in
England--Early English Theatres--Descriptions of all the London
Theatres--and a pleasant chapter on the Italian Opera. The Appendix
contains pithy chronologies of the dramatists and actors, bygone
and contemporary--origin of all the varieties of the drama--the
topography of the stage and scenery, costume--expenses of the
theatres--masquerades--play-bills and editions of plays, and a host
of theatrical customs. In truth, the book is as full as the tail of a
fine lobster, and will doubtless repay the time and research which its
preparation must have occupied. There is also a, frontispiece of the
fronts of the twelve London Theatres.
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