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Untitled Article
ON THEATRICAL REFORM . ( Continued from page 560 . ) And what must theatres be under the better arrangements which are dawning upon us ? They must be small and well-arranged buildings , wherein the whole audience may hear and see equally well . Of course there ought to be no censor : I doubt whether even a
licence should be insisted on . If there were a nuisance got up under the name of a theatre , the law might abate it like any other nuisance , upon the moral sense of the community being against its continuance , but at all events no further control should be exercised than is exercised over public-houses and other public resorts . The prices should below , much lower than they have hitherto been .
Half a crown should be the very highest price , but two shillings would be better . Perhaps it would be better to make the price of admission to all parts of the house alike , as is the case in foreign theatres , and reserve the gallery and boxes for parties or families who might require them . One theatre should only meddle with one class of performance , for which it would be specially adopted , and probably the companies would find it for their interest to hire
the houses , and divide profits in such proportions as might be mutually agreed upon . The expenses would be small , and though the prices of admission would be small also , yet not when considered with regard to the price of the necessaries of life , still the smallness of the price would insure , with all other appliances , constantly full houses night after night . It is for the mass of the public , and not for a portion , it is to the many , and not to the few that actors and actresses must henceforth look for a reward . Hitherto
some few actors have been paid large salaries , and have realized large fortunes as a compensation for being held below their fellows on account of their position in society . When they shall be in higher esteem , a portion of their payment will be in the general sympathy of the community , in the honour and respect with which they will be regarded , and they can afford to forego a portion of their pecuniary recompense on that account . They will be content with a moderate remuneration , more on a level with other
professors of the fine arts , amongst whom actors are perhaps after all the most entitled to consideration ; for a largeT amount of high qualities are requisite to form a first-rate actor than are requisite for the professor of any other art . It is evident , that such theatres as I am contemplating , as they would be of small size , must be more numerous , and scattered over different parts of the town , to
save people the trouble and annoyance of making long journeys , which would perhaps occupy more time and cause a greater expense than the price of admission . Under such arrangements , a visit to the theatre would not be a matter of previous preparation and forethought . Casual visitors would continually increase . The facility and cheapness of admission would be the means of
Untitled Article
$ 16 On Theatrical Reform .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1833, page 616, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2622/page/32/
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