John Henry Middleton, Henry Stuart Jones, Hugh Chisholm, Edwin Otho Sachs, William John Charles Pitcher, and James Williams

“ The Modern Theatre
During the middle ages miracle plays with sacred scenes were the favourite kind of drama; no special buildings were erected for these, as they were represented either in churches or in temporary booths. In the 16th century the revival of the secular drama, which, in the reign of Elizabeth, formed so important a part of the literature of England, was carried on in tents, wooden sheds, or courtyards of inns, mostly by strolling actors of a very low class. ”

“ A spectacle on these lines may be regarded as the outcome of such ballets as have long been popular on the continent of Europe—especially in Italy, where grace of movement and spontaneity of gesture are natural to the people, and greatly facilitate such an enterprise as the famous Excelsior ballet of Manzotti, which lasted a whole evening, in several acts, and required the services of hundreds of figurantes. Excelsior was originally produced at La Scala, Milan, in January 1881, and was subsequently given with great success at the Eden Theatre, Paris, in 1883. ”

“ Spectacular features of exceptional refinement distinguished the pantomime of Cinderella, presented by Mr Oscar Barrett at the Lyceum Theatre in Christmas 1893, and designed by Mr Wilhelm. This production also enjoyed a prosperous season in New York. The system of international exchange seems to hold good in stage spectacle as in other cases, and in return for English successes that have been welcomed in America, Augustin Daly's Shakespearean productions were greatly admired in London. Other entertainments of a more absolutely spectacular order found acceptance in London. ”

“ The stage carpenter has long reigned supreme in England and France, although in England there are already one or two notable exceptions of men who are advancing to the position of engineers rather than carpenters. In Germany and Austria the stage carpenter is already being replaced in most theatres by men of engineering or technical training, as the more complex arrangements of a modern stage demand intelligent and careful control. ”

“ Building.—A theatre (at any rate to make it such a building as can be licensed) must be a permanent building, not a mere tent or booth, unless when licensed by justices at a lawful fair by § 23 of the act of 1843. It must, if in the metropolis, conform to the regulations as to structure contained in the Metropolis Management Act 1878, and the Local Government Act 1888. These acts make a certificate of structural fitness from the county council necessary as a condition precedent for licence in the case of all theatres of a superficial area of not less than 500 sq. ft. ”

“ But these arguments are outweighed by the positive testimony of ancient writers and inscriptions that the actors in the Greek drama mounted on a platform (ὀκρίβας) which was also called the λογεῖον ("speaking-place") , and the description of the Greek theatre by Vitruvius, who tells us that the λογεῖον (Lat. pulpitum) was narrower than that of the Roman theatre, and was from 10 to 12 ft. high. Moreover the background afforded by the Hellenistic προσκήνια would have been diminutive in its proportions—it must be remembered that Greek actors stood some 6 ft. ”

“ Later still, under the régime of Sir Augustus Harris and his successors, spectacle at Drury Lane assumed even more costly proportions, and modern melodramas, representing well-known localities with extraordinary fidelity and all kinds of disasters from earthquakes to avalanches, have been alternated with sumptuously mounted pantomimes (so-called) , in which the nominal fairy-tales were almost smothered by the paraphernalia of scenery and costume. ”

“ The stage mechanism which was employed in the equipment of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, embodies the Sachs system of dividing the stage-floor into a few large sections and working them with the aid of electrical power, the Brandt system of counter-weighting for the suspension of all scenery from above, the application of light in four colours by electricity, and the designing of all scenery to accord as much as possible with nature, the whole mounting being built up on the basis of a flat stage as distinct from the sloping stage of old. ”

“ Performances on Sunday, Good Friday, and Christmas day are illegal. Regulations as to the sale of intoxicating liquors during the performance are made by the licensing acts and other public general acts, as well as by local acts and rules made by county councils. It is frequently a condition of the licence granted to provincial theatres that no excusable liquors shall be sold or consumed on the premises. The excise duty where such liquors are sold varies according to the annual value of the theatre up to a maximum of £20. ”

“ All plays represented previously to the act are held to be licensed. A play once licensed is licensed once for all unless the licence be revoked under § 14. The examination is the duty of a special officer of the lord chamberlain's department, the examiner of stage plays. In spite of occasional lapses of judgment, a belief in the wisdom generally shown in the exercise of the censorship has been confirmed by the report of the select committee of the House of Commons in 1866, and also by the report of the joint committee of both Houses in 1909. ”

“ To facilitate the efforts of the scenic artist, the fullest application of modern science, notably of mechanics and hydraulics, and the introduction of up-to-date methods of lighting were considered essential. The numerous fatal conflagrations which had originated on the stage caused the question of protection from fire to be closely associated with this movement, and the enterprise made great headway, more particularly on account of the protective measures against tire proposed soon after the burning of the old Ring Theatre at Vienna. ”

“ All other provincial theatres are licensed by the county councils or county borough councils [17] under s. 7 of the act of 1888, except in case of a special and temporary performance, where justices still grant the licence as they did in all cases before that act came into operation. The regulations of the London County Council are dated the 27th of July 1897. Penalties are imposed by the act for keeping or acting in an unlicensed theatre, and for producing or acting in an unlicensed play. A contract to perform in an unlicensed theatre is unenforceable. ”

“ In 1890 Vienna was in advance of England in scene-painting, but the English scene-painters have since then rapidly come to the front, and it is to be anticipated that it will never again be necessary to import scenery from Austria, as has been the case, both at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. As a matter of fact, scenery from Covent Garden and Drury Lane is already exported to the United States. ”

“ In France the miracle play developed into the secular drama rather earlier than in England. In the reign of Louis XI., about 1467, the "Brothers of the Passion" had a theatre which was partly religious and partly satirical. In the 16th century Catherine de' Medici is said to have spent incredible sums on the dresses and scenery for the representation of the Italian ballet; and in the middle of the 17th century the regular opera was introduced at Paris. ”

“ There are, on the average, about ten lines for ordinary battens, a girder batten, and a light batten no each section; besides these lines, there are the equipments of flying apparatus and the like, whilst in front there are, of course, the necessary lines for tableaux curtains, act-drops and draperies. Everything that is suspended from above can be worked at stage level or at either of the gallery levels, every scene being counter-weighted to a nicety, so that one man can easily handle it. ”

“ The Dangerous Performances Acts, 1879 and 1897, forbid under a penalty of £10 any public exhibition or performance whereby the life or limbs of a child under the age of sixteen if a boy, eighteen if a girl, shall be endangered. It also makes the employer of any such child indictable for assault where an accident causing actual bodily harm has happened to the child, and enables the court on conviction of the employer to order him to pay the child compensation not exceeding £20. ”

“ Considering the enormous advance that has been made in mechanical appliances, more especially in the increased powers of illumination supplied by gas and electricity [6] as compared with oil and candles, we must acknowledge that the artistic achievement of spectacle has hardly kept pace with the times. ”

“ It was also a common practice to build a small covered theatre in the neighbourhood of an open one, where performances might take place in bad weather. We have an example of this at Pompeii. The Romans used scenery and stage effects of more elaboration than was the custom in Greece. Vitruvius (iii. 7) mentions three sorts of movable scenery:— (1) for the tragic drama, façades with columns representing public buildings; (2) for comic plays, private houses with practicable windows and balconies; [5] and (3) for the satyric drama, rustic scenes, with mountains, caverns and trees. ”

“ Another example of the Sachs system, as far as individual stage sections are concerned, will be found in a portion of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Regarding the question of expense and practicability, the hydraulic system has generally been found to be expensive and impracticable. The system of the Court Theatre, Vienna, though practicable, is costly both in capital and annual outlay. The Brandt method of equipping the upper stage mechanism has been found particularly suitable for medium-sized theatres, and not expensive. ”

“ The back stage has no openings or mechanism beyond certain trap-doors to a scenery store, and the necessary electrical mechanism for raising and lowering scenery for storage purposes. Between the various sections of the stage, long longitudinal flaps, 2 ft. wide, have been formed, which can, be easily opened to allow scenery to be passed through below for transformation scenes and the like. Each section is equipped with what is termed a pair of chariots, to hold "wing" lights placed on so-called wing ladders. ”

“ The position of the scene-painter is particularly difficult, inasmuch as whilst artistic temperament and thorough knowledge of art are essential for the practice of his vocation, it is equally essential that he should be thoroughly practical and to a considerable extent a mechanic. ”

“ In a few theatres subterranean passages have been found, leading from the stage-buildings to the middle of the orchestra, which may be supposed to have been used for the appearance of actors (e.g. as ghosts) in the orchestra: they do not exist, however, at Athens or Epidaurus, so that no general argument can be founded on their remains.
The stage buildings of the earliest Greek theatres have been destroyed save for the foundations and architectural fragments, and the interpretation of their remains presents a difficult problem. ”

“ The movement gradually developed throughout Austria and Germany and spread beyond the frontiers of these countries. Concurrently, independent movements originated elsewhere, and from 1885 to 1895 a transitional period may be said to have existed for the stage, both in Europe and in the United States, but by the close of the 19th century the necessity for reform was recognized in every country. ”

“ What strikes one is how little special legislation there is on the subject. The penal code meets most cases. Spain retained the autos sacramentales much longer than other countries retained the religious drama. Legislation begins very early. The Siete Partidas enacts that the clergy are not to take part as actors or spectators in scurrilous plays (juegos por escarnio) . ”

“ With the Restoration privilege became practically confined to the theatres in the possession of those companies (or their representatives) established by the letters patent of Charles II. in 1662. In spite of the patents other and unprivileged theatres gradually arose. [13] In 1735 Sir John Barnard introduced a bill "to restrain the number of playhouses for playing of interludes, and for the better regulation of common players." On Walpole's wishing to add a clause giving parliamentary sanction to the jurisdiction of the lord chamberlain, the mover withdrew the bill. ”

“ You can banish from thence scurrility and profaneness, and restrain the licentious insolence of poets and their actors in all things that shock the public quiet or the reputation of private persons under the notion of humour." ↑ The councils may delegate their authority to justices, a district council, or a committee of their own body, such as the Theatre and Music Hall Committee of the London County Council. ”

“ Owing to the almost entire absence of steam for motor power in connexion with stage machinery, a separate subdivision for appliances where steam is employed is not required. With the wood stage and the wood and iron stage manual labour alone is utilized. But in the iron stage manual labour, hydraulic power and electric power are either used individually, or a combination of any two or three of these classes is applied. ”