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Tlzeatricdl ’4S't‘rict1u‘je;9. :29
and equal to any representation of the -kind, ever produced on the
stage. The assumption ‘of feeble garrulous old age is‘ of allappear-g
ances the; hardest to ,. counterfeit. ‘Mr; Bannisterssuccess -in this part.
ofthe character was complete. Why is not Periwinkle more attentive
to the.l2usiness of tlzeusccne?-When :the lease isrproducped for his
signature, Perriwinkle ought to read it. attentively, and then lay it
on .the‘table , otherwise it. must be supposed that he would take it up
and read it before, he signed it. In such case the whole plot of’ the
play would fail, for he must. immediately discover the substitution of
the contract for the lease by the colonel. Periwinkle never looked
at it in either case ,- but signed it as matter of course!!! !-he shold have
condescend, to give the deed one ‘glance for the‘ sake of propriety.--
Mr. Bannister's Dutchman’, next to his Steward, it was entitled
to commendation. , But what an infernal daub (we know not a more
appropriate expression) was the scene of the St'ock‘Exchange!-For
want of relief, the window frames, appeared unglazed, and the whole
struck the eye with the appearance of ,a wprison-they manage
these matters better in Peter-Street. l .
In the scene where the Bristol letter (which announces the visit of
Simon Pure) is intercepted by Sackbut and opened, it is agreed that
it should be scaled up again, and be returned to the post-man for
delivery to Prim; and that in consequence of this intelligence the
colonel should pcrsonate Simon Pure. "This is the principal hinge
on which the plot of the whole comedyiturns.-Mr. ‘Bannister instead ‘
of giving ‘back the letter to Sackbut for the purpose of sending it to
Prim, verylsagaciously put it into his own. pocket!! !---An actor ought
always to be attentive to these points, or he will destroy the whole
illusion of the scene. Such negligence is almost unpardonable in a
veteran like Bannister. . -.
There was a kind of mummery practised by the old strolling players
on the stage which they called their ‘f Joke,"-and whichthey introduced
into almost every scene to raise the vulgar laugh. This practice was
held in utter abhorrence by the rich legitimate actors of the day-the
I-‘ootes, the Shutert, the Yates‘s, &c: But tempura mutantur, we were
Sorry to'observe Mr. Bannister (who never was classed with these
itinerants) introducing the old. strolling clap-trap of ‘lending his own
53019 and receiving that of Obadiah Prim, for the purpose of executing,
the deed of promise; and still moreiso, when heydashed the -ink
fmm .his pen into the Quakers neck.--Mr. Garrick would 'have
severely fined any performer for such a wanton degradation of the scene.
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