Theatre Design & Technology - Dec 1974 - 33

discussion? Why not provide instead a complete
discussion on the how and why of shifting techniques, which would be more related to the designer's specific task? Much the same can be said for
Ralph Holme's appendix on "Lighting Controls,"
which appears to be a systematized promotion spot
for Skirpan's Autocue System. If the need is felt for a
discussion of the newer methods of controlling light,
why not also discuss some of the newer
lighting instruments that are available? The two
appendixes do make a positive contribution, but they
are lopsided.
When we come to the bottom line, the question is:
"What is the function of this book?" I'm not sure. It
seems too intimately concerned with the intracacies
of commerical production to find general acceptance
as a text on stage design. Such a text would require
more detail in the techniques and crafts of design
rather than just a discussion of procedural matters.
Yet, what is discussed is done in a logical step by
step process, touching on all the procedures and
conceptual processes which the designer must perform in order to mount his production. The book
requires a knowledgeable and experienced teacher to
elaborate upon the outline provided by Howard Bay,
but you can be sure that noth ing has been left out of
the outline.
Robert Lewis Smith
C. W. Post Center of Long Island University

MADAME VESTRIS AND THE LONDON
STAGE
William W. Appleton
New York, Columbia University Press, 1974
x, 231 pp., 25 illus., notes 70 item biblio.,
index
$9.95 hardcover
What better way to discuss the British theatre
from the days of the Regency to the Victorian age
than through the triumphs and failures of one of
England's most flamboyant theatrical personalities?
Lucia Elizabeth Bartolozzi-Vestris, to mention only
one of the many names she employed, was one of
those fascinating, elusive, annoying and talented
individuals who manage through sheer strength of
personality and drive to influence the course of
theatre when it might otherwise have stagnated.
Born to the theatre, she began as a singer and
actress in legitimate comedy, extravaganza and even
opera where her vivacious personality and discipline
attracted many followers. And although she continued to perform until several years before her death,
her contributions as the director of Covent Garden,
the Olympic Theatre, and the Lyceum mark her as a
pivotal figure in nineteenth century British theatre.

L:i§IJ

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

In 1830 Madame Vestris leased her first home,
the Olympic Theatre, with the ultimate goal of
attracting fashionable spectators who had fled the
theatre en masse to escape the oppressing vulgarity.
By civilizing the house and purging her offerings,
she would create a theatre of the beau monde. The
first order of business was insisting on the strictest
decorum both in the auditorium and backstage. And
hand in hand with this new atmosphere were a
number of important production reforms. "She saw a
play not as a vehicle for a leading actor but as an
artistic unit." Rehearsals were adequate and disciplined, but she personally observed all performances
to note imperfections. The schedule included only
works not available elsewhere, performances were
over by eleven o'clock, the productions were kept
fresh looking and were often redressed during their
run, and unpopular selections were quickly replaced.
Much of the financial success was plowed back into
the company and into the house itself, a formula
which guaranteed marvelous entertainments for the
London public until 1838.
On July 18, 1838, shortly befpre undertaking a
tour of America, Madame Vestris married Charles
James Matthews. Her first husband, Armand
Vestris, had died in 1825, and from all reports she
had not lacked male companionship either before or
since that time.
As might be expected, the marriage aroused much comment.
Most considered it a marriage of convenience between a fading
beauty and an ambitious young actor. Others claimed that it
was a purification ceremony - a necessary preliminary to their
American tour. In any event, it touched off a round of Green
Room jokes about Madame and her "young tiger."

The marriage flourished, but the tour was a
disaster by any reckoning, and the pair returned to
England electing to dispel the gloom by leasing
Covent Garden.
The initial season was not particularly distinguished, but the patronage of the Queen aroused the
public's interest, and the box office flourished.
However, in 1842, debts had overwhelmed the
lessees. "Their failure had been a gallant one. They
had had two main objectives: first, to inaugurate a
school of modern comedy, and second, to give such
comedies productions that accurately mirrored contemporary life." Sad indeed that neither was achieved, but new standards of production for contemporary comedies had been established, and the
ground had been laid for future developments.
As a final exercise in management they leased the
Lyceum Theatre in 1847, but the times were against
them. Each season was a more bitter struggle for
survival. Madame Vestris became ill and in 1855
Matthews gave up management forever. It would
only be a matter of months before his wife would die
and his private world would fall apart. Although the

DECEMBER. 1974

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