[
    {
        "id": 211789,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 204,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "179\n\nAs was common, it was occasionally furbished up, not always to the taste of the critic who at one time in 1857 feared the decorations \"threatened to overwhelm me with a fall of flowers and garlands from the roof\". This was not at all what a member of the amateur company wanted to hear and he acidly reacted that \"as your 'witty (?) contributor' complained of being so uncomfortable amongst the roses which surrounded him, it has been proposed and seconded by one of the ladies he admires so much |Mrs. Nesbit, cf. Calendar, 26.3.1857 — JHJ to put in a few thistles for his especial benefit, should he ever honour our private theatricals with his presence”. \n\nThe theatre was also used for a number of recitals, the acoustics reportedly being good.\n\nD.\n\nFor some reason or other (had the Commercial House temporarily closed down? cf note 94) the godown theatre could not be put at the disposal of the amateurs during the 1855-1856 season so they had to look elsewhere. They were saved by the firm of Cramptons, Hanbury & Co who agreed to lease one of their godowns to the A.D.C. It was very probably situated on Church Street (Kiangsi Road) and for the opening night on January 23 1856 a drop scene of the Lake of Geneva had been painted which aroused \"a general murmur of admiration and applause\".\n\nWith the sale by public auction of the Commercial Hotel (cf note 94) in November 1858 the fate of the Theatre Royal was also sealed, and not only of the theatre itself but of the scenery and properties too, for a reporter of the Herald saw a few days after the sale \"the mangled remains of Palaces and Cottages, of Bombastes' Wood [from Bombastes Furioso — JHJ] and Captain Copp's tavern [from Charles II — JHJ] lying in sad ruins in the open air\".\n\nE.\n\nSic transit gloria mundi, but, not deterred, the Thespian society managed to obtain a new building which was proudly called The New Theatre Royal. Once again we are at a loss where to find it, no information whatsoever appearing in the Herald. It was larger than the previous house, which was deemed all right for theatricals but much less so for solo",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 211807,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 222,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "197\n\nfrom Shanghai on the 20th. Despite that, the \"soirée\" was \"kept up to a late hour with great spirit\". The programme consisted of tunes by Dabney, de Costa and Tripp: one of them was called \"Japanese make yourselves ready\" (NCH 26.5.1855).\n\n23.1.1856 (Wedn)\n\nE. MAYHEW: \"Make your Wills” (1836)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nW. BROUGH: \"No 1 Round the Corner\" (1854)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Whitebait at Greenwich\" (1853)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music\n\nTh: D\n\nN: Once more politics crept into the theatre since, due to the Anglo-French campaigns in the Crimean War, \"the proscenium was very tastefully emblazoned with the arms and ciphers of the Allies”. The drop scene now represented the \"Lake of Geneva with the far famed Castle of Chillon” (far famed because of Lord Byron's poem \"The Prisoner of Chillon\"). For a change the Herald allowed itself some criticism of the amateurs, but about the costumes only: \"We are perfectly aware of the great difficulties which beset the wardrobe department of the Theatre here, but still we think that two or three alterations might be made with advantage. It must be remembered that the assumption of a part on the stage requires the submergence of the individual into his assumed character. Proteus must not be more unlike his last shape than the actor must be unlike his mere self and the difficulty of effecting this is enormously increased by an appearance in every-day costume. In melodramatic pieces some decided change is absolutely necessary because success depends on the power of exciting the sympathies of the audience for the various situations of the actors and it is quite impossible that the desponding accents of one young gentleman or the grasping villainy of another (both of whom we know to be very good fellows and far from desponding or hypocritical characters) in the garb of 1856 can excite these sympathies. In Farce it is less important because the effect depends upon a successful appeal to our sense of the ludicrous and this may be done by situations which are quite within the range of every-day life. (...) It also struck us that a little more attention to the chronology of dress would be attended with increased effect; there were two or three anachronisms: for instance the mob cap of Mrs. Foreright (a most admirable 'make-up' by the way) hardly accorded with the modern elegance of Clara; or the venerable beard of the implacable Mr. Ireton with the modern costume of his disinherited son. It is astonishing how greatly unity in these matters adds to the effect of such performances and in spite of the difficulties of such performances and in spite of the difficulties of securing dresses we think a consultation between the Manager and the performers might produce a harmony which would be attended with the best effect”. The music too was thought to be \"ineffective\", but for the remainder it was, as usual, amusing, with Whitebait at Greenwich as the hit of the evening. The character of Buzzard — by no means a graceful one — was played with great effect and we heartily congratulate Mr. SLOWCOME upon the power he displayed\". In Make your Wills the reviewer could not \"forbear mentioning the excellent impersonation of Joseph Bragg by Mr CLAY\" (NCH 26.1.1856).\n\n21.2.1856 (Thur)\n\n—\n\nJ.S. COYNE: \"The Infanticidal Farce\" (1846)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nMrs. C.G.F. GORE: \"A Good Night's Rest\" (1839)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Slasher and Crasher\" (1848)",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h",
        "rank": 0
    }
]