THE CAMBRIDGE GREEK PLAY.
" TO have seen a Grecian play is a great remembrance," were the words of De Quincey, after seeing a perform- ance of the Antigone in Edinburgh, more than thirty years ago ; and doubtless a similar thought, stronger in proportion to the superiority of Greek over English, and of Cambridge over Edinburgh, was in the minds of the audience who stood cheering for five minutes after the conclusion of the Ajax on Wednesday evening. An undertaking presenting immense difficulties, and requiring not merely hard work on the part of every one connected with it, but also the constant application of exact scholarship, has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and, indeed, to a conclusion which admits of enough praise and congratulation to cover amply the criticisms to which so many- sided an undertaking must in any case be open.
The choice of the Ajax, for representation is one which seems to us to possess about an equal number of advantages and dis- advantages. Fortunately for the management, however, the advantages are those which would be apparent to every member of the audience, and would make an instant and familiar im- pression ; while the points of disadvantage, perhaps more weighty in themselves, are such as would appear only to those who are well acquainted with the spirit of Greek tragedy, and to them only on subsequent consideration. To be more definite, the Ajax is a spectacular play, the successive movements in it possessing a scenic interest much greater than is the case with the majority of such works. The frenzy of Ajax, his appearance when seated in his right mind amidst the slaughtered animals, his address to the infant Eurysaces, his suicide in sight of the spectators, the agony of Tecmessa, the lively actions of the Chorus, the change of scene,—all these points are well adapted for spectacular treatment which cannot fail to impress a modern Play-going audience. Indeed, several of these incidents—the scene in the tent, the departure of the Chorus, leaving an empty stage, the suicide—are so contrary to the restraining rules of Greek tragedy as to be almost without parallel in Classical literature. They are, therefore, points of distinct advantage in the modern reproduction of an ancient drama, and, of course, the manage- ment did not fail to make the most of them. But these very advantages lead up to the disadvantages of which we have spoken. Vern Ilfwaer zum Bildlialter is um. ein Selbritt, is a sarcastic German saying, and—though in a somewhat reversed sense—we may say that it is but a step from the purely spec- tacular to the sensational. " Sensational" is much too strong and unpleasant a word to apply to the Cambridge perform- ance; but a milder form of the same idea, as expressed by the word "romantic," expresses our view of the disadvantages attendant on the choice of the Ajax. In the first place, the con- struction of the St. Andrew's Hall almost necessitates the employ- ment of modern stage appliances and methods, and it would be next to impossible to find a scene-painter who would employ them without developing them to their full extent.• Thus, to begin with, the managers could hardly escape making their scenes more suggestive of the Lyceum than of the theatre of Dionysus. The same thing applies to the acting. Of course, the performers could not wear mask and cothurnus, and when relieved of these hindrances to free movement, it was not much for Tecmessa, to grasp the hand of Ajax, as she besought him not to leave her and their child to eat the bread of slavery. From grasping his hand, it was not a great advance to place her hand upon his shoulder, and from that almost to put her arm round his neck. Then, if Ajax had not subsequently put his arm round her waist, he would have seemed out of sympathy with the feelings of the scene. The steps are gradual, but in the mean- time we have passed from the stately mien of classic tragedy to the chivalric seutiments of a much later age. This is by no means confined to the Undergraduates of Cambridge. An instance of an exactly similar feeling is furnished. by Professor Campbell, when he puts, " Quick, Clod, run and tell my lord !" into the mouth of Jocasta ; or when he translates ta yfyai, " Ah, my Jocasta !" What is the difference between that and the pompous " My lord, the carriage waits !" once so familiar to the playgoer's ears ? Then, for the lively sympathy of the Chorus with Ajax to pass into pantomimic threats to run Agamemnon through with their spears, is not unnatural; but we cannot believe that it is in accordance with the true conception of the function of the dramatic fifteen. Other instances might be quoted, but the above are sufficient to support our view of the disadvantages which are inseparable from the advantages which fit the Ajax of Sophocles for modern reproduction.
After this criticism, however, namely, that much of the performance exhibited the romantic, rather than the classical spirit, a procedure which K. 0. Muller doubtless had in mind when he so strongly deprecated the inoclernisiren of the Greek Drama—little remains to be said, except in the way of hearty praise. To Dr. Charles Waldstein, of King's College, the greatest credit is duo for the accuracy and beauty of the accessories of the play. He has been the " head and front" of the undertaking from the beginning, and his labours will not cease until the curtain falls for the last time ; but the researches he has made in order that every material detail of the perform- ance might rest upon distinct authority, are of far more im- portance to the genuine significance of the play than any devotion to the mere management could possibly be. The proscenium is an admirable attempt to restore the front of the stage of a Greek theatre—all the more admirable because of the obscurity of everything connected with polyclaromic architec- ture—and archaeological chapter and verse can be cited for every detail of the costumes and properties. Those only who have been engaged in similar researches can estimate properly the amount of labour involved. The scenery, too, painted by Mr. Juhn O'Connor, was very effective and dignified. We have hardly ever seen a more successful scheme of colour than that in the second scene where Teemessa stands alone in the centre of the stage, lamenting over the body of Ajax. The pallor of her face and arms, partly covered by the dishevelled yellow hair, the pale, sea-green drapery which, like all really good drapery, seems to fall in lines sympathetic with the feelings of its wearer, form a remarkable and most impressive contrast with the dull-blue sea and the dark clouds tinged with the sullen red of sunset.
The acting served to bring prominently forward the lack of elocutionary training as a part of English education. By great good-fortune—for the selection of performers for an almost unknown task must always be attended with risk—three of the actors possessed dramatic ability and—what is still rarer— the instinct for gesture, in no slight degree. Mr. J. K. Steven, of King's College, made an ideal Ajax in appearance, broad-shouldered enough to have been the bulwark of the army, morose and haggard in looks, and slow and somewhat un- wieldy in movement. He delivered his lines throughout with fprce and intelligence, and in many of the special passages with which the part abounds he exhibited genuine dramatic power. Among these were his description of Achilles bound to the pillar, his angry allusions to Athene, his address to the child Eurysaces, and many admirable renderings of quieter parts, such as 'ExapwP c28opec 8Z pa. The part of 'Tecmessa could hardly have been played better than it was by Mr. A. R. Mack- lin, of Caius College. His speeches and his mute gestures were equally good, his voice was well under his control and was modulated with considerable skill, and none of the hesitation of the amateur was visible in his entrances and exits. The audience testified their appreciation of his acting by frequent bursts of applause. The part of Teaser, as played by Mr. H. J. 0. Cast, deserves similar praise. He looked the author of his words, and was very temperate and successful with his gestures. To the remainder of the actors, our remark about instruction in elocution is applicable; not the least of the merits of the play will be found, we trust, in the attention which it will draw to this lack.
The members of the dramatic Chorus had a difficult task to perform, and they have evidently worked hard to accomplish it. With the exception of the criticisms we have made above, and the difficulties consequent on their unfortunate position between the spectators and the stage, on nearly the same level, they acquitted themselves well. The dance accompanying the joyous choral ode to Pan was well conceived and extremely well executed, the men entering into the spirit of it, and singing with feeling and vigour.
Perhaps the most difficult problem in the reproduction of a Greek drama is presented by the music. Shall it be so simple that the words can be readily foll3wed, with an accompaniment of a single flute or similar instrument? This would be in accord- ance with classical custom, but it is probable that a modern audience would find it excessively wearisome. Shall it, on the other hand, make to attempt to leave the words intelligible, but aim at expressing by modern musical methods the senti- ment of the original passages. This would please the audi- ence, but would be in defiance of classical authorities. Pro- fessor Macfarren has steered a middle course, and com- posed quiet melodies to be sung in unison. The effect of these was good, but they exhibited little originality, and were occasionally monotonous. The choral -ode to Pan, and the pre- lude, particularly the strains at the moment when the rising curtain discloses Athene, seemed to us the most effective parts. The musical arrangements have been in the hands of Mr. C. V. Stanford, of Trinity, whose name is a sufficient guarantee of their excellence. From beginning to end, the play moved without a hitch of any kind, and the successive groups upon the stage were thoroughly picturesque, if not quite as statuesque as we could have desired. From what we have said about the acting, it must not be inferred that the general effect was in any way unpleasant ; the excellent performances of the gentlemen men- tioned above, the striking costumes, the completeness and beauty of the mise-en-scene, combined with the vital force of the tragedy itself to rouse the feelings of the spectators, and to leave what will doubtless prove to be a permanent and unique impression.
It may not be out of place to give a few words of com- parison between the Cambridge Ajar and the performance of the Oedipus Tyrannus at Harvard University in May, 1881. Some one said at the time that to compare the Oxford Agamemnon with the Harvard Oedipus, was to compare a picnic with a banquet. If this were true of Oxford, it is equally true that the Ajax is well able to hold its own. The Harvard play was performed in a university building constructed on the model of a Greek theatre, it was rehearsed for seven months, and the roles were filled by an instructor in elocution, and men who had shown special ability as his pupils. But though the advantage rests with Harvard in this matter, the Cambridge performance is decidedly superior in the variety and striking character of its costumes, its picturesque scenery, its choral dance, and the architectural restoration of the Greek proscenium. It is pleasing to learn that the two performances will prove to have been equally successful from a pecuniary point of view, the expenses of production in both cases having been very heavy. To Oxford is due the credit of having broken ground.
There is one other point in connection with the production of a Greek tragedy which must not be passed over. " To have seen a Grecian play, is a great remembrance." And why P Is it because of the novelty of language, figure, and costume.? Because of the strangeness of the scene, and the curiosity which attaches to a classic masterpiece P Not for these reasons, although there is something that deserves the epithet of "great" even in the externals of Greek tragedy. Its greatness is moral ; t deals with the deepest human passions ; it comes "du fond des entrailles humaines." The laws of the universe cannot be defied ; or, as the fancy-loving Greeks put it, the gods cannot be mocked. Ajax and Oedipus set themselves up as arbiters of their own destiny, they boasted themselves to be something, they over- stepped the limits of humanity; and swift, or if not swift, not the less certain, is the retribution which enlightens them, and which, through the genius of the immortal creators of the Attic tragedy, may enlighten us. To4 Si aloppocc; °got pixoleris is the key-note of the drama: "The gods love men whose lives are ruled by wise moderation,"—that is the lesson which alone -can make the remembrance great. To the men who have succeeded in exhibiting to us a great dramatic presentation of it, our grati- tude should be no less sincere than our congratulations.
Previous page
