University of Toronto Schools - Twig Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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T H E T WIC lifetime by Richard Burbage fthe originator of most of his leading partsl, but unfortun- ately no record whatever of his perform- ance exists. Even the date of the first pro- duction has been lost. Dr, Simon Forman, that infamous astrologer, has recorded in his diary a performance as early as l6l0, but no details of the acting were given. No record is available of any subsequent performance up till the time of Charles l. On November Sth, I664, Thomas Betterton assumed the role at l..incoln's lnn Fields Theatre, acting the original text as given in the First Folio: in l672, at Dorset Gardens. he presented a version of the tragedy by Sir William Davenant. This unfortunate perversion of Macbeth survived for many years, and along with Colley Cibber's mu- tilations obscured the impersonations by many great actors of Shakespearean char- acters. ln this presentation a chorus of singing witches was introduced findica- tive of the complete misunderstanding of the reason for the presence of the witchesj, in order to bring a group of beautiful women before the audience. Davenant's transcription of the play con- tinued to be used until the time of David Carrick, who, in I774, presented 'Mac- beth' as written by Shakespeare. fMr. C-arrick took the liberty of inserting bits of his own writing here and there, notably a dying speech so that Macbeth might hold the stage till the endif But if contemporary writers are-to be believed he gave a per- formance which for sheer expression of the haunted, despairing, fiend-tortured soul was far beyond anything seen up to that time. They tell us that, after the murder, holding the blood-stained daggers aloft, his face grew whiter and whiter, and that his whole expression of ghastliness and horror was tremendously effective. Disregarding dis- crepancies of costume and scenery, it is doubtful if Crarrick's performance of the part has ever been surpassed. John Philip Kemble, brother and leading man of the illustrious Sarah Siddons, gave a performance which is chiefly notable for 47 business innovations which have stayed with the play until the present. l-le had the bell inviting Macbeth to murder the king, ring twice instead of the usual once, to intimate the time of night. l-le was the first actor to dispense with the ghost of Banquo, an ex- pedient which leaves to the actor of Mac- beth the task of representing the ghost to the audience. Kemble's ideal of Macbeth has been preserved by his biographer Boaden, who writes as follows: i'Macbeth is a fatalist and conceives that certain beings are the organs of destiny. Fate will always bring its decrees to their completion. It is useless to question what has been pronounced by the spirits, to whom all mortal consequences are known. The success of any portrayal of Macbeth depends largely upon a sustained atmos- phere of the preternatural. Macbeth calls it this supernatural soliciting. However it may be obtained, the critics found it respon- sible for the great success of Edmund Kean. who presented the play in its original form at Drury Lane Theatre in l8l4. Following Garrick's lead, he made terror the keynote of his performance. Although short, he apparently evinced a rather remarkable vigour in his movements, all of which assisted towards his compelling impersona- tion. William Charles Macready gave his usual scholarly and scrupulously correct reading of Macbeth, and was esteemed in his day the greatest Thane of all time. The super- natural element was again uppermost, and the critics were also impressed by the num- ber of grunts and pregnant pauses which he injected into his performance. Samuel Phelps, one of the finest men ever to grace the English stage, presented the play at Sadler's Wells Theatre on Mav 2 7th, l844. ln this production he used a version of Davenant's contortion. Later, however, in September, 184 7, he revived the tragedy with such conscientious attention to Shake- speare that the whole of London was quite rightfully shocked. To quote the London Athenaeum - Since Edmund Kean we

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THE T WIG Mblarneyn was introduced into the English language is rather hazy. It is believed that Queen Elizabeth used this word as an ex- pression of annoyance, when Dermot Mc- Carthy repeatedly refused to surrender the castle. The inspiration for all these tourists was probably supplied by this little doggerel by Father Prout: There is a stone there, that whoever kisses, Oh! he never misses to grow eloquent. 'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber, Or become a member of parliament. A clever spouter he'll sure turn out: or An out-and-outer to be let alone Don't hope to hinder him, or to bewilder him, Sure he's a pilgrim from the Blarney Stone. ln the old days people who kissed the stone were hung by their heels over the edge of the parapet. One day someone was in- jured and since then the stone has been approached by a different method. It is quite simple. While somebody sits on your legs, you lean back, struggle under the stone, and kiss the base. Then you get up as quickly as possible and congratulate your- self. Unfortunately some practical joker conceived the idea of smearing lamp black on the lower surface of the stone. There is a rather interesting legend about a small but deep lake on the road to Cashel. Although this lake is only about a hundred yards or so across, no one can hurl a stone more than half way across. The legend also says that it is extremely unlucky to take more than three fish from its Waters. A certain young man who was ignorant of this superstition, caught more than three fish. As it was a warm day he decided to go swimming. Shortly after his clothes were found on the bank. Nothing more was heard of him until a month later his relatives received a letter from Australia asking them to send him some clothes. These are a few legends related to southern lreland. But they are only a few, drawn from an inexhaustible source. They reveal the part which superstition and the supernatural has played in the life of the peasant. Greater still, they explain the passionate love of an lrishman for his stony fields. On Macbeth MAVOR MOORE Fear and folyshe hardinesse corrupteth the valientnes of man, for whi? -Wilkinson, after Aristotle. ORE than any other character of Shake- speare's fwith the possible exception of Ml-lamletul Macbeth has given rise to exhaustive research, abundant comment, as well as a surfeit of misdirected experiment. We know no more of what the author in- tended the man to be like than what we find in the playg and the character of Macbeth as it is written is so universal, so all-embrac- ing, so elastic, that critics have been prone to choose their theories first and subse- quently to fit the individual to the theory. 46 The only people who may escape from the temptation to do so are the actors who have themselves assumed the role. They must, of necessity, interpret the personality as he is most likely to be effective on the stage, which was obviously the author's intent. A survey of contemporary criticism of the great actors would therefore seem to lead us to the correct identity of the most com- plex and yet the most universally applicable of the Master's creations. Macbeth was played during Shakespc-:are's

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THE TWIG have seen nothing better for vigour and vivid effect. Phelps concentrated on con- tinuous activity, we are told, and an ex- treme comparison between imagination and reality. The great American actor, Edwin Booth, gave faccording to William Winter? na clear and smooth performance, presenting a dis- tinct study of fiend-inspired, compulsory criminality. lnherent majesty and military dash appear to have been the basis of his interpretation, and fto quote Winter again, he gave a study of fine imaginative and poetic sensibility. Sir Henry lrving, whose career closed one chapter of the history of the theatre only to open a new and better one, presented what has been judged the finest performance of Macbeth seen within the last century, ranking equally perhaps with Garrick's. He was an astute business man, and published beforehand a pamphlet cleverly contrived to stimulate argument. ln his performance, however, lrving made no attempt to follow out his theory, which will be discussed later on. He was accounted supreme as an actor when interpreting intellectual struggle or the conflict of the will with an uncontrollable force, as such, his interpretation of Macbeth must have been superlative. Many actors since lrving have assumed the role, notably Richard Mansfield, Robert Mantell, Sir Herbert Tree, Edward H. Sothern, and more latterly Lyn Harding and Charles Laughtong but few have added new ideals or business to the part. We have come to the end of our history, and it now remains to gather together the essences of the various presentations and discuss the identity of the man Macbeth. We find that the keynote of all the inter- pretations is fear. Ambition may indeed be the prompter of the first few incidents, but the play is undoubtedly a study in fear, as it affects Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Malcolm and Macduff. If Macbeth is purely ambitious, why does he say: lf chance will have me king, why chance may crown me Without my stir? An ambitious man would have entertained no such thoughts. If ambition is the central passion, why does the author introduce the witches? Why did he not make Macbeth the slave of ambition as he does Richard the Third? Macbeth throughout the play is a slave of fear. At the beginning it is the fear fostered by superstitution: i'Banquo: Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair? When the superstition develops it becomes a fear of those forces which are gradually devouring his being: i'Macbeth: l am afraid to think what l have done: Look on't again l dare not. When he avowedly assumes the cloak of a villain, it is a fear of the future, a fear of the fate which he knows he cannot cheat: i'lVlacbeth: fhaving been told that none of woman born shall harm him? Then live, Macduffg what need l fear of thee? But yet I'll make assurance doubly sure And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not liveg That l may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, And sleep in spite of thunder. And when at the last he realizes that the forces of evil have duped him completely, a wild, inane bravado superimposes itself on his moral cowardice, as in Antony and Cleopatrau: U ........ To be furious ls to be frightened out of fear, and in that mood The dove will peck the estridgef' Each of the actors mentioned excelled in the expression of one at least of these fears. Betterton, Kemble and, to a certain extent,