ld have spent only as many
shillings. In the result, Phelps reaped from the profits of his
a handsome unencumbered income. During the same period Charles
Kean grew more and more deeply involved in oppressive debt, and at a
later date Sir Henry Irving made over to the public a hundred thousand
pounds above his receipts.

VI

Why, then, should not Phelps's encouraging experiment be made
again?[3]

[Footnote 3: It is just to notice, among endeavours of the late years
of the past century, to which I confine my remarks here, the efforts
to produce Shakespearean drama worthily which were made by Charles
Alexander Calvert at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester, between 1864
and 1874. Calvert, who was a warm admirer of Phelps, attempted to
blend Phelps's method with Charles Kean's, and bestowed great scenic
elaboration on the production of at least eight plays of Shakespeare.
Financially the speculation saw every vicissitude, and Calvert's
experience may be quoted in support of the view that a return to
Phelps's method is financially safer than a return to Charles Kean's.
More recently the Elizabethan Stage Society endeavoured to produce,
with a simplicity which erred on the side of severity, many plays of
Shakespeare and other literary dramas. No scenery was employed, and
the performers were dressed in Elizabethan costume. The Society's work
was done privately, and did not invite any genuine test of publicity.
The representation by the Society on November 11, 1899, in the Lecture
Theatre at Burlington House, of _Richard II._, in which Mr Granville
Barker played the King with great charm and judgment, showed the
fascination that a competent rendering of Shakespeare's text exerts,
even in the total absence of scenery, over a large audience of
suitable temper.]

Before anyone may commit himself to an affirmative reply, it is
needful for him to realise fully the precise demands which a system
like that of Phelps makes, when rightly interpreted, on the character,
ability, and energy of the actors and actresses. If scenery in
Shakespearean productions be relegated to its proper place in the
background of the stage, it is necessary that the acting, from top to
bottom of the cast, shall be more efficient and better harmonised than
that which is commonly associated with spectacular representations.
The simple method of producing Shakespeare focusses the interest of
the audience on the actor and actress; it gives them a dignity and