Comments on a production of William Shakespeare's play, As You Like It. Transcription: much pleasant to look upon. ?ǣOrlando ? was very tolerable good. Touchstone excellent, and Jacques was damnably marred to the point of stagey perfection by Wallack. He gesticulated, his voice rose and fell, he made points of nothing, he uttered little phrases in style befitting a threat of murder, ? he strutted, he soliloquized like a stage struck snob ? out upon him! Pre-Raphealitism is needed on the stage, I trow. What miserable, execrable conventionalities they do! Why, Jacques must een strut in front

This image is a public domain image, which means either that copyright has expired in the image or the copyright holder has waived their copyright. Alamy charges you a fee for access to the high resolution copy of the image.

This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.

Comments on a production of William Shakespeare's play, As You Like It. Transcription: much pleasant to look upon. ?ǣOrlando ? was very tolerable good. Touchstone excellent, and Jacques was damnably marred to the point of stagey perfection by Wallack. He gesticulated, his voice rose and fell, he made points of nothing, he uttered little phrases in style befitting a threat of murder, ? he strutted, he soliloquized like a stage struck snob ? out upon him! Pre-Raphealitism is needed on the stage, I trow. What miserable, execrable conventionalities they do! Why, Jacques must een strut in front of the foot lights to give his speech on the Seven Ages of Life ? all the rest gazing like asses on a common, or undertakers at a funeral. I ?d have him sit at the end of the table head on hand, and give it in thoughtful contemplative mood, uncaring for all going on around him. The banished Duke might bend forwards to list to his words, or Amiens; but the rest should be filling wine cups, quartering deer, what you will. What the devil would Jacques care about them? instead of haranging them like a pot-house demagogue. And there should be huge black bearded fellows lying around about, and deer hounds; foresters with sleeves tucked up; antlers, hunting horns, boughs and rushes all about. Besides, to see the execrable absurdity of transferring Jacques ? soliloquy on the stricken deer from the mouth of the First Lord to his own; ? he, who in the next scene Title: Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries: Volume 5, page 214, June 6, 1853 . 6 June 1853. Gunn, Thomas Butler, 1826-1903