Charles Mathews's assumption of the two
characters of Puff and Sir Fretful Plagiary in "The Critic;" Miss Kate
Terry's performance both of Viola and Sebastian in "Twelfth Night;"
Mr. Phelps's appearance as James the First and Trapbois, in the play
founded upon "The Fortunes of Nigel;" and the rendering by the same
actor of the parts of the King and Justice Shallow in "The Second Part
of Henry IV." The worst that can be said for these performances is
that they incline the audience to pay less heed to the play than to
the frequent changes of appearance entailed upon the players. The
business of the scene is apt to be overlooked, and regard wanders
involuntarily to the transactions of the tiring-room and the
side-wings. Will the actor be recognisable? will he really have time
to alter his costume? the spectators mechanically ask themselves, and
meditation is occupied with such possibilities as a tangled string or
an obstinate button hindering the performer. All this is opposed to
the real purpose of playing, and injurious to the actor's art, to say
nothing of the interests of the dramatist.
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