( C14 ) 



THEATRICAL REVIEW. 



DRURY LANE. Since our last number was sent to press, Mr. Forrest 

 has appeared in the part of " Othello." So'wretched a play as that in 

 which he first trod the English boards |did not afford a fair oppor- 

 tunity of judging of his talent. It might be great, it might be little 

 the best jockey of Newmarket would make but a poor figure if he 

 rode over the course on a jackass, and the American doctor's Pegasus 

 appears to be one of the long-eared tribe. At all events such a mass 

 of balderdash as the " Gladiator " perhaps was never brought forward 

 before under the specious designation of a five-act tragedy. However, 

 we are not here to trench upon the literary department of the Maga- 

 zine, and must leave " Spartacus" to his fate. 



Shakspeare is the touchstone of genius in the higher walks of his- 

 trionic art, and if a tragedian can bear that test, he may he fairly set 

 down as composed of sterling metal, and not a base alloy. With a 

 view, then, to form a more exact judgment of the merits and demerits 

 of Mr. Forrest, we looked forward somewhat anxiously to the time 

 when he would take upon him to enact the dingy Moor. We are 

 sorry to say that we were utterly disappointed. Never was there 

 a more complete failure. It is true Mr. Forrest has many natural 

 defects to struggle with, but it is the attribute of genius to triumph 

 over difficulties, and had he possessed that invaluable treasure of 

 the mind, the obstacles we speak of would have been as nothing in 

 the scale. It will be as well to enumerate the disadvantages under 

 which this gentleman labours, that we may not seem to speak so 

 harshly without good grounds for our severity. Mr. Forrest's voice 

 is unmelodious and grating to the ear, when forced, monotonous 

 and inexpressive, add to which his pronunciation is not by any means 

 pure not that we would insinuate that this defect is to be laid to the 

 account of his native land. We happen to know that a well-educated 

 American's language is undistinguishable from that of a well-educated 

 Englishman, except perhaps in so far as they lay a strong emphasis 

 on pronouns, which we do not. But we should say, if he (Forrest) 

 were an Englishman, that he had a strong provincial accent. Then, 

 he has no ear for rhythm ; for example, he reads, 



" She is like a liar," 

 " Gone to burning hell," 

 and, 



" Othello's occupation is gone," 



without any regard whatever for the metre, and the same thing 

 occurred in other places. His person, which has been talked of as 

 fine, is certainly very ill adapted for the stage. No doubt the pro- 

 portions of his limbs are gigantic, but they are not cast in the heroic 

 mould, and what would be a model of beauty in a bruiser or wrestler, 

 is coarse and unseemly in the semblance of a noble warrior or high- 

 J>orn gentleman. 



But, to come to the main points, in his reading and enunciation of the 



