ELLEN TERRY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2153, 20 May 1914, Page 11

ELLEN TERRY

ENGLAND'S GREAI ACTRDSS

SOME OF IIER^UCCaSIS. (lly William llolii an, Sen.,"in the' ' "Sydney Morning Herald."; ■ , . I'illen Terry! What riiomofies that name conjures up! What vision's oi grace and beauty! What thrills of emotion!. Jii the dim past appeals the siiiilit figure of a bright, intelligent child oi 8, attired in a Crucian tunic, playing vrilit a little and fondled by a man in kingly robes, with a < Jiapha of roses on his Jii.'ail, .speaking in tjrokf'n wmitrnces to the cliild, whilst, with piercing eyes, he easts jealous glances at a statel.V couplo in the baekgrotiiHl—a gtasiotis woman, and a tall man, who looks every inch a king! Tho child in Maniiiiins, the little son of Leantes, Iving of Sioilia, and the pair, whose by-play excites bis toalous mood, are lfennioiie, bis Qtieen, and Polixenes, King' of Bohemia, his guest. The actors aro Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean, John .Ryder, and Elieu lorry. This is my earliest remembrance of the gilted lady, whoso visit we are awaiting. It was her lirst appearance on the stage. The theatre was tho Princess, in Oxford street, London. The group is lixed in m,v mind's eve, with the distinctness of a photograph. Again, 1 see- a mischievous little eif, dressed mainly in ivy leaves, sfiiiattiog cross-legged on a gigantic toad-stool, which darts up suddenly from live earth.' It is Puck, surely Shakespeare's Puck, tho very incarnation of the poet's imagination ; ho also is surrounded by .Kings and Queens —Oberon and Titania, tho nionarchs of fairyland; and Bottom,'tho King of all ambitions amateur actors. The performers are: Miss Teniail, Car-' lotta Leclercq, and Hnrley, who was esteemed the best., of Shakespearean clowns, sharing that distinction later with 'Henry Compton. Then, for awhile, the figure of Ellen Terry gives placo'to that of her sister. Kite ; and I. sec Ariel floating in tho air, flying en the bat's back, suddenly rising as a Harpy, and scattering the magic bosquet, obeying the commands of the magiaian Prospers, and behaving in all respects as an airy spirit should. Then tlw same clever girl appears as Prince Arthur, pleading passionately to Hubert for big eyes—

Will you put out-mine eyes? These eyes that never did nor never shall So much, as frown on you? Arthur was played later by Ellon, but my personal remembrance is trf Kate, who, being somewhat taller and older, than her sister, played 'in iican's fitsfc production of this stirring history. The play was splendidly staged, f.issi strongly cast, tlm livo groat parts being assigned as follow: —King John, Charles Kean; Constance, Mrs. Kcaii; Arthur, ivato Terry; Hubert, John Ryder; ami Walter La'cy was a specially stalwart, and gallant Fauleonbridge. Later, I seo Kate Terry as The Dauphin to Charles Kean's unequalled Lows the Eleventh, and later stisl in a series of brilliant successes, with tho great romantic actor Fechtei'. Ellen Terry is one of a talented family; her father was ail actor ; Kftte ivas au actress of tho first rank: Morion and Florence, though eclipsed by their two sisters, will bo well. remembered for many excellent performances, and Frederick I shall say more of later. Both he and his wife (Julia Nielson) have made many palpable "hits." Theatrical families have been fairly numerous 011 tho English stage; amongst the mostnotable being tho lobortsoiis, tho Emorys, tho Leelercqs, the Paynes, tho Latins, the Conquests, the Terrys and tho ivembles. After a brilliant career as a ywitMul actress, Ellen Terry retired into private life for a while: but was accidentally rediscovercd > by.Ckftrlea- Btotde, and persuaded by hinr to return to the stage in tho showy part, of PhiUipa m his drama, • lho Wandering Heir," winch had a Jong and successful run at the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre, the lioiisrs where, afterwards, Henry Irving first met and played with her in "Katlterine and Potruehio." Among the parts interpreted by Ellen Terry, either just before her retirement, or after her return, I particularly remember Gertrude, tho little treasure, iii a- pretty drama of that name, in which E, A. Solium (of Lord Dundreary fame) represented with great humour the part of the bashful over, Captain Walter .Mavdenblnsh. Her Mistress Vane iii Roade's "iMasks and Faces" supported th© Peg Woffiiwton of Mrs. Bancroft. Sho first piayed lortia with tho Ban?rafts, at-the-Little irince ot Wales's Theatre. Olivia was lirst given at tlio Court Tlion°' - w 1 Hermann Vezin as Ur. 1 rimrose, and William Terms, as Captain. Thornhill, : Ellen Terrv scoring a great success as tie Vicar's erring daughter. Portia was tho redeeming feature in tho Baircmftian " luerchant of .Venice," which, spito of costly mounting, was "an 'elaborate allure Shakespearean eom.-dv proving beyond the. reach-of the stalled "clip mm sauccr' ' school of then in rogue at the Prince of WalS's,' Both loitia and Olivia, however, h,nl another chance in more suitabla environ, went, during Irvtng's ineniora.blo ten!?V Mi" s '® 1 "' Irviug's "Vicnr' of \\ akehcld was even liner tl>in \ ezin s, and handsome William Terries IV-l V -n S . s nr etra i vcr~ l L'aptain. Thnriihill; Olivia, tho "tove-ly woircfin who stoops to folly, and finds too late that men betray " was always one of Miss leiiy vS best parts, arid was ovou moro convincing' at tlio Lyceum than at the Court.

Duimj; her long association with Henry Irving, Ellen Terry scored a series of triumphs, both 'in England and in America. Besides Portia. I recall vividly _tho tart-tongued Beatrice, the gentle Viola, the ill-fated Dosd"mona the love-stricken Juliet, the fair Ophelia, the shallow oncl many lino iion-Slmkespeareaii parts— Canima I'll "The Cup" (Tennyson), lolantho (King Rene's blind daughter), a most exquisito personation, and a bcMitdul production; the Queen of "Charios the First," Pauline in Lord Lytton's somewhat stilted, but ahvavs popular !!.», y cf lj - vnns " I'Ctitia Ilardy in "l ie Bello's Stratagem," in which sho had tho advantage of Irving's Daricourt (one ot tfio greatest of his many great comedy parts), and Mar-merito iii "Faust," probably Ir?in»'s most elaborate production, ,-ind in which he shono very specially as tho cynical "spirit, that denies. Since the lamented death of Sir Henry Irving Miss 'lorry ]ins appeared wiiii great distinction in n. poetical play written for her by Mr. C'almour—■"T!ic Amber Heart." This 1 havo not seen, nor her three later Shakespearean parts, Lady Macbeth. Volumwia, and Queen Kntherine. My oersoiial rc ; .nnco of her (in the roles I have enumerated) is as the charming heroine with (he fair hair, r.he Rurne-,Tones fare, and jiirsoft, sweet voice, as King Lear savs of Cordelia— Her voice was ever soft— Gentle and low, ;tn excellent Hiing in woman, v \ r Why did she never play Rosalind ?' 1 wonder. Judging from her Viols, Rosalind would have been perfect, and Irving might have thrown some special light on the melancholy Jaqiies, ■ and solved tho question' of the apple-munch-ing version of tho Seven Ages. Of tho various characters L h-avc seen this gifted lady personate, I think I was most impressed with the mischievous Puck, a part so rarely fitted, and Viola —here, by the way, she- had tho help of a wonderful double in her brother Fred as Sebastian. It is always a difficulty to find an actor who ean look'sufficiently like Viola to justify the mistaken identity incidents. In this ease the illusion was perfect,. I once saw Kafo Terry in "Twelfth Night," but she. performed tho unique task of "doubling'' Viola and Sebastian.