No scenery was employed, and
the performers were dressed in Elizabethan costume. The Society's work
was done privately, and did not invite any genuine test of publicity.
The representation by the Society on November 11, 1899, in the Lecture
Theatre at Burlington House, of _Richard II._, in which Mr Granville
Barker played the King with great charm and judgment, showed the
fascination that a competent rendering of Shakespeare's text exerts,
even in the total absence of scenery, over a large audience of
suitable temper.]
Before anyone may commit himself to an affirmative reply, it is
needful for him to realise fully the precise demands which a system
like that of Phelps makes, when rightly interpreted, on the character,
ability, and energy of the actors and actresses. If scenery in
Shakespearean productions be relegated to its proper place in the
background of the stage, it is necessary that the acting, from top to
bottom of the cast, shall be more efficient and better harmonised than
that which is commonly associated with spectacular representations.
The simple method of producing Shakespeare focusses the interest of
the audience on the actor and actress; it gives them a dignity and
importance which are unknown to the complex method.
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