" It is to be observed, however, that
inasmuch as the masques, such as the court of Charles I. had so
favoured, were sometimes produced at the public theatres, and could
hardly have been presented there, shorn of the mechanical appliances
and changes which constituted a main portion of their attractiveness,
movable scenery, or stage artifices that might fairly be so described,
could not be entirely new to a large portion of the public. Thus the
masque of "Love's Mistress, or the Queen's Masque," by Thomas Heywood,
1640, was "three times presented before their Majesties at the Phoenix
in Drury Lane;" Heywood expressly acknowledging his obligation to
Inigo Jones, who "changed the stage to every act, and almost to every
scene."
It must not be supposed, however, that the introduction of scenery was
hailed unanimously as a vast improvement upon the former condition of
the stage. There was, no doubt, abundance of applause; a sufficient
number of spectators were well pleased to find that now their eyes
were to be addressed not less than their ears and their minds, and
were satisfied that exhibitions of the theatre would be presently much
more intelligible to them than had hitherto been the case.
Pages:
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263