The London Theatre World, 1660–1800 ed. by Robert D. Hume (review)

270 Comparative Drama The unsystematic, almost mercurial quality of Kierkegaard’s writing (in paradoxical contrast to the rigidity of his existential commitment) makes it particularly difficult to demonstrate the clear presence of his influence upon Ibsen, and by trying to make this clear demonstration Hornby has resorted to a most unKierkegaardian formula. In spite of this, his book contains many excellent observations. His love of Ibsen’s plays is evident on every page, and his experience of directing them in the theater provides him with insights that elude purely literary critics. I would travel some distance to watch a Hornby production of an Ibsen play, but I would expect to quarrel with many of his program notes. BRIAN JOHNSTON Yarmouk University Robert D. Hume, ed. The London Theatre World, 1660-1800. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, [1980], Pp. xix +; 394. $18.00. Researchers in the field of Restoration and eighteenth-century theatre often complain that literary critics treat the plays as if they were only texts, ignoring the theatrical forces that molded them. A play might be written to please a coterie, and supported or damned by a claque. Poli­ tical innuendoes, real or imaginary, might add excitement to an opening or bring down the heavy hand of the Lord Chancellor, and sometimes this resulted in repeated revisions. Prologues had to be written and re-written to capitalize on current fads, and opening nights planned with an eye to competing non-theatrical forms of public amusement. The playwright could not help but be affected in his writing by knowing the cast who would stage his play and the physical characteristics of the theatre in which it was to be performed, and occasionally the texts make reference to the architecture of the theatre. The influence of the allpowerful manager must have been greater than we can now determine. Much research has been done on these matters, but it has not been easy for the literary critic and the student to sift through this material and evaluate it. This has now been remedied. Robert D. Hume, whose Development of English Drama in the Late Seventeenth Century, among other things, established his credentials, has edited a volume which pro­ vides an authoritative perspective on Restoration and eighteenth-century theatre in all its aspects. Hume has assembled an all-star cast, at least equal to Betterton, Barry, and Bracegirdle. Judith Milhous takes us with admirable organi­ zation and clarity through the intricacies of company management, with its legal and economic tangles, and with a sharp eye to changes through the period. Edward A. Langhans brings together his extensive research on the physical stage. Sketches and photographs constructed by Langhans himself help the reader visualize the architecture, and detailed statistics on the dimensions of interiors are provided. Scenery and technical design are dealt with by Colin Visser, who amasses a considerable amount of data from the plays themselves. Along with the broad picture of develop­ ments, Visser describes wings and shutters, traps and drops, curtains and Reviews 211 machines. Leo Hughes, whose researches into the field go back many years—if we may have two Nestors in this group it is Hughes and George Winchester Stone, Jr.— considers promptbooks. The interpretation of these is perhaps the most baffling for the amateur, and the point is well made that the play on the stage is not always the one printed in the quarto. Informed by his extensive labors on the Biographical Dictionary, Philip H. Highfill, Jr., writes on performers and performing, giving us a sociology of actors and other theatrical people—their recruitment, social life, acting techniques, rivalries, etc., a broad canvas filled in with sure strokes. The repertory is discussed by George Winchester Stone, Jr., whose definitive life of Garrick has recently appeared. Stone supports his generalizations with statistics on performances which are only avail­ able because of his own work (and that of others) on The London Stage, without which much of the other research in the field would be incom­ plete. The music of the theatre, which the critical reader tends to ignore, is put in context by Curtis A. Price, whose earlier work lays a solid foundation for what he says...