" The
audience, however, were so impressed by the art of his acting, that
they disregarded this mischance, or applauded him the more on account
of it. On the repetition of the play he wore a crape mask, "with an
opening proper for the mouth, and shaped in form for the nose." But in
the first scene one part of the mask slipped so that he looked "like a
magpie." Thereupon he was compelled to resort again to lamp-black. The
early Othellos, it may be noted, were of a jet-black hue, such as we
now find on the faces of Christy Minstrels; the Moors of later times
have been content to paint themselves a dark olive or light mahogany
colour. But a liability to soil all they touch has always been the
misfortune of Othellos. There was great laughter in the theatre one
night when Stephen Kemble, playing Othello for the first time with
Miss Satchell as Desdemona, kissed her before smothering her, and left
an ugly patch of soot upon her cheek. However, as Miss Satchell
subsequently became Mrs. Stephen Kemble, it was held that sufficient
amends had been made to her for the soiling she had undergone.
Pages:
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249