Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, November 22, 1890 by Various
page 33 of 46 (71%)
page 33 of 46 (71%)
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we have a charming type, nor could Mr. NUTCOMBE GOULD's _Dr. Latimer_
be improved upon as an artistic performance where repose and perfectly natural demeanour give a certain coherence and solidity to the entire work. Mr. YORKE STEPHENS as _Mark Denzil_ is too heavy, and his manner conveys the impression that, at some time or other, he will commit a crime, such, perhaps, as stealing the money from the Doctor's desk; or, when this danger is past and he hasn't done it, his still darkening, melodramatic manner misleads the audience into supposing that in Act III, he will make away with his objectionable wife, possess himself of the two hundred pounds, and then, just at the moment when, with a darkling scowl and a gleaming eye, he steps forward to claim his affianced bride, _Scollick_, Mr. ALFRED HOLLES, hitherto only known as the drunken gardener, will throw off his disguise, and, to a burst of applause from an excited audience, will say, "I arrest you for murder and robbery! and--I am HAWKSHAW the Detective!!!" or words to this effect. In his impersonation of _Mark Denzil_ Mr. STEPHENS seems to have attempted an imitation of the light and airy style of Mr. ARTHUR STIRLING. [Illustration: "The Shadow," but more like the substance. Collapse of Mr. Yorke Stephens into the arms of Miss Marrying Terry, on hearing the Shadow exclaim, "Yorke (Stephens), you're wanted!"] The end of the Second Act is, to my thinking, a mistake in dramatic art. Everyone of the audience knows that the woman who has stolen the money is _Mark Denzil's_ wife, and nobody requires from _Denzil_ himself oral confirmation of the fact, much less do they want an interval of several minutes,--it may be only seconds, but it seems minutes,--before the Curtain descends, occupied only by _Mark Denzil_ imploring that his wife shall not be taken before the magistrate |
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