Dramatic Criticism Volume 4

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 edition. Excerpt: ...live in the same block of flats, affinity should assert itself, and bring matters to a catastrophe, only just (and Britannically) averted by maternal instinct and an energetic daughter? In this question lies the interest of the play and its weakness. A great dramatist, say a Pinero or Dumas fils, would have given the one possible answer. He would have sacrificed home and hearth to the flame of passion. But a talented beginner dares not be hardy to the end. He yields on the crucial point, prevents the flight of the lovers, shirks the cut--the coup de canif--and the marriage certificate. Hence there is concession and conciliation all round, and the result, as far as the spectator is concerned, is a play well written, bright with humour, bold from the start, but not to the finish. A play to be seen, to be discussed, and--to arouse future expectations. I would fain call Mrs. Willaughbtfs Kiss a play written by a man for women in general and actresses in particular. The chances which Mr. Stayton offered to Miss Ellis Jeffreys, Miss Florence St. John, and Miss Annie Hughes, were immense, and, without exaggeration, they succeeded immensely. That trio was the joy of the evening. Fancy three accomplished comediennes united on one London stage! The thing is almost beyond belief. And it is difficult to differentiate. Miss Jeffreys, who rises at every step, held us by her exquisite manners, her pure, distinct, thoughtful diction, her pathos, which never struck a note too emphatic. Miss Hughes, who is apt to force the intensity of her luxurious voice, and thereby to fringe upon insincerity, held us fast by her youthful charm and her true power in the scene wherein she converts her father to endurance. Miss St. John, whose career as a comedienne was...