1 64 



NATURE 



[June i6, i; 



(assisted by such eminent painters as Mr. Burne-Jones, or Mr. 

 Alma Tadema), the reason for the anomalous scenes we see to- 

 day is to be primarily found on the one side in the inherited 

 prejudice of the stage against the adoption of anything that is 

 new ; and on the other, in that curious want of recognition 

 which the stage fails to obtain, not only from the Government 

 and public authorities generally, but from men of science who 

 do not hesitate to use their knowledge for far more prosaic 

 matters, such as, for instance, the tinning of food, the con- 

 densing of milk, &c. Mr. Sachs' assertions as regards the pre- 

 judice with which innovations are met with on the stage were 

 amusingly confirmed in the discussion by Mr. Mulholland, who 

 explained the difficulties he had in trying to do away with the 

 tin-tea-tray thunder so often heard on our stages, and of course 

 many curious anecdotes could be told of how the ignorant 



any spare five pounds. But there should be. Why not let the 

 panorama scene cost ten pounds less and have the appliances? 



Of course the average playgoer is not very critical ; he is 

 satisfied, as a rule, with the highly coloured picture and the 

 blaze of light, and having been equally blind to the beauties of 

 nature, sees nothing of the incongruities of the scene. He 

 " sees " an actor with a streak of limeliojht following him round 

 the stage, but does not grumble; he "sees" the actress, with 

 her features distorted owing to a brilliant light from the foot- 

 lights on her chin and a dark shadow on her forehead, but he 

 does not know that there is anything wrong about this. Only 

 that small percentage of playgoers who have visited some of 

 the large model continental stages, or the Wagner productions 

 at Bayreuth, perhaps appreciate the anomalies of the old Eng- 

 lish stage, and scoff at what the caterers of our public enter- 



' %^ 



y I c r <•• F 



of " Gridiron." (Fn 



' Modern Opera Houses and Theatres.") 



stage-carpenter, or the stage-manager who is afraid of making 

 experiments, or the prejudiced scenic artist who is afraid that 

 improved effects might take away from his influence, all vie 

 with one another in leaving the stage as it has been for a hundred 

 years or more. Mr. Bernard Shaw also most wittily and scath- 

 ingly showed how badly things are generally managed. 



Now we cannot but recognise, as Mr. Sachs indicated, that 

 much has been done in the way of painting good scenery. But 

 what, as he said, is the use of the most beautifully painted 

 piece of canvas if it is badly hung, wrongly lighted, and waves 

 with every draught that there may be on the stage ? What use 

 is there, Mr. Sachs asked, in having a beautiful panorama scene, 

 costing a thousand pounds, if the extra five pounds be grudged 

 for a suitable appliance to make that panorama run smoothly ? 

 Mr. Moul, of the Alhambra, argued that there seldom were 



NO. 1494, VOL. 58] 



tainments choose to put before them. They know .full well the 

 harmonious effect often obtained on a well-managed continental 

 stage, where the faults, if any, do not lie in the want of recog- 

 nition of the true art requirements, but are to be found in the 

 poor quality of the scenery, for the improvement of which 

 there may not be funds available. How regrettable it is, as Mr. 

 Sachs pointed out, that we cannot have in the metropolis a 

 happy combination of the artistic mounting of the Continent 

 with the beautiful scenery for which our managers are ready to 

 pay lavishly. 



When, however, we go into the detail of Mr. Sachs' in- 

 structive paper, we find that the vast subject which he has 

 covered does not lend itself to a short article of this description, 

 nor perhaps would his arguments be appreciated without the 

 many illustrations which he was able to put before his audience 



