ince of Wales's theatre the first distinct impulse towards the new
order of things. Robertson's comedies not only encouraged but absolutely
required a style of art, in mounting, stage-management and acting, not
to be found in the country theatres. To entrust them to the stock
companies was well-nigh impossible. On the other hand, to quote Sir
Squire Bancroft, "perhaps no play was ever better suited than _Caste_ to
a travelling company; the parts being few, the scenery and dresses quite
simple, and consequently the expenses very much reduced." In 1867, then,
a company was organized and rehearsed in London to carry round the
provincial theatres as exact a reproduction as possible of the London
performance of _Caste_ and Robertson's other comedies. The smoothness of
the representation, the delicacy of the interplay among the characters,
were new to provincial audiences, and the success was remarkable. About
the same time the whole Haymarket company, under Buckstone's management,
began to make frequent rounds of the country theatres; and other
"touring combinations" were soon organized. It is manifest that the
"combination" system and the stock company system cannot long coexist,
for a manager cannot afford to keep a stock company idle while a London
combination is occupying his theatre. The stock companies, therefore,
soon dwindled away, and were probably quite extinct before the end of
the 'seventies. Under the present system, no sooner is a play an
established success in London than it is reproduced in one, two or three
exact copies and sent round the provincial theatres (and the numerous
suburban theatres which have sprung up since 1895), Company A serving
first-class towns, Company B the second-class towns, and so forth. The
process is very like that of taking plaster casts of a statue, and the
provincial companies often stand to their London originals very much in
the relation of plaster to marble. Even the London scenery is faithfully
reproduced in material of extra strength, to stand the wear-and-tear of
constant removal. The result is that, instead of the square pegs in
round holes of the old stock company system, provincial audiences now
see pegs carefully adjusted to the particular holes they occupy, and
often incapable of fitting any other. Instead of the rough performances
of old, they are now accustomed to performances of a mechanical and
soulless smoothness.

In some ways the gain in this respect is undeniable