For once the sombre tragedy of "The
Fair Penitent" was permitted a mirthful conclusion.
Whenever unusual physical exertion is required of a player, a perilous
fall, or a desperate leap, a trained gymnast is usually engaged as
double to accomplish this portion of the performance. When in the
stage versions of "Kenilworth," Sir Richard Varney, in lieu of Amy
Robsart, is seen to descend through the treacherous trap and incur a
fall of many feet, we may be sure that it is not the genuine Varney,
but his double who undergoes this severe fate. The name of the double
is not recorded in the playbill, however, and he wins little fame,
let him acquit himself as skilfully as he may. Occasionally, however,
doubles of this kind are found to emerge from obscurity and establish
a reputation of their own. In 1820, a pantomime, dealing with the
fairly tale of "Jack and the Beanstalk," was produced at Drury Lane.
The part of the hero was allotted to little Miss Povey, who declined,
however, to undertake Jack's feat of climbing the famous beanstalk, a
formidable structure reaching from the stage to the roof of the
theatre.
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