Theatre Royal, Adelphi Seasonal Digest for 1845-1846 Ed. Gayle Harris

Theatre Royal, Adelphi Seasonal Digest for 1845-1846
Ed. Gayle Harris

Such excess seems to have been justified. To celebrate the success an elegant supper was given for the management and cast. Representing the latter, Paul Bedford presented to manager Ben Webster a silver facsimile of the Warwick Vase as "a token to their regard for his unwearied exertions and perseverance, and to commemorate the unprecedented prolongation of the season" (Times, 28 September 1845, p. 6).

Adaptations of French plays were standard fare at other London theatres as well as the Adelphi. A correspondent to the Theatrical Times (24 October 1846), assessed this trend:

[Those] unacquainted with the proceedings behind the curtain, must be astonished at the number of translations from the French that are continually palmed upon the public; and must naturally conclude therefrom that there is a dearth of native dramatic talent, whereas the sole cause of this state of affairs is the fact of the indolence or want of enterprise in managers generally. They are unwilling to incur the risk of producing a play which may prove unsuccessful, and therefore they prefer translating one which has received the fiat of approval from an audience (although that audience be a foreign one, and the tastes of the French are in dramatic respects widely different from our own.) Yet, nevertheless, they think that with a little mutilation and a few alterations, it may be rendered palatable for a short time, and thus save them the outlay of much expenditure.... Some thousands of plays of all kinds are every season submitted to the managers of our theatres, for their approval. They are taken in, doomed never to see the light again until called for by the authors, to whom they are returned unread (p. 165).

Although adaptations from the French abounded, the season did produce multiple variations on one work of English origin, and the Adelphi, on 31 December 1845, produced the second of what was to become a plague of crickets, based upon Dickens' The Cricket On The Hearth. In all, seventeen versions were presented at various London theatres during the holiday season.

Charles Dickens apparently wrote the story in ready form for pirates to plagiarize, dividing the story into three "chirps," or acts (although the Adelphi production was given in only two chirps), and providing dialogue that could be simply lifted in sequence--possibly to preserve the integrity of the original version.

The previous year, the Adelphi had produced Dickens' authorized version of The Chimes, but, for Cricket, Dickens instead gave sanction and advance proof sheets to the Keeleys for use at the Lyceum but was powerless to prohibit the multitude of productions at other houses. From the simultaneous publication of the story and first authorized dramatic production at the Lyceum on 20 December 1845, it took Edward Stirling only eleven days to produce a version, and subsequent adaptations rapidly appeared at the Victoria, City of London, Albert Saloon, Marylebone, Queen's, Pavilion, Garrick, Effingham Saloon, Standard, Haymarket, Bower Saloon, Olympic, Grecian, and Apollo Saloon. It may be fairly asserted that Dickens reaped no reward for his assistance to the adapters of these various productions.

The Sunday Times of 17 January 1847 (p. 3), under the heading, "The Stage as It Is" presented a critical analysis of the theatre in general and the causes of its "decline": (1) exorbitant rents charged by proprietors to lessees, leading the latter to adopt dubious schemes approaching extortion to meet the rents (2) rehearsals which were too few and too careless, actors seldom if ever studying parts at home (3) scenery which is seldom built and in place before the first performance (4) the custom of admitting the "dame du pave" frequently by free admission on the theory that they are an "attraction" (5) callous treatment of actors by, for example, having them line up for the "opening of the treasury," and posting substitutions openly in the Green-room--putting the actor who has been substituted into the mortifying position of having everyone know that he has taken a part refused by someone else.

There was, finally, an event in the personal life of the manageress, Madame Céline Céleste, which bears recording. The New York Herald of 7 June 1846 reported that the daughter of Mme. Céleste, by her marriage to a Mr. Elliott, had eloped. The girl, as a child, had been left in Baltimore under the care of Mr. Johnson. In the meantime, the young son of the guardian had grown and reached maturity with the girl, and "without asking the consent of either 'ma or 'pa, they proceeded on a visit to the parson, and became indissolubly united for the remainder of their lives." As both enjoyed considerable financial security, their future seemed assured (New York Herald, 7 June 1846).

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Theatre Royal, Adelphi Seasonal Digest for 1846-1847

Ed. Gayle Harris

Of the adaptations from French sources, The Phantom Dancers was perhaps the most successful, with 102 performances to its credit. Taken from the ballet, Giselle, the musical directors borrowed directly from Adolphe C. Adam's score, but, eclectically, also included some Ethiopian airs as well as a parody of "Buffalo Gals, Can't-ye-come Out Tonight." The Sunday Times pronounced The Phantom Dancers "another great success ... at this fortunate little theatre" (8 Nov 1846, p. 2).

The illnesses of Wright and Bedford in January of 1847 apparently caused the Adelphi management no little concern and no small effort to replace them. Bedford's illness was apparently the more serious, being reported by the Theatrical Times as "a ruptured blood vessel" (30 Jan 1847, p. 32). The Theatrical Journal commented on a rumor that Bedford had died, "We are glad to say since his decease he has resumed his theatrical avocation this week at the Adelphi" (13 Feb 1847, p. 56). His Royal Highness Count Montemolin attended Bedford’s first performance on 11 February, in The Green Bushes.

Falling victim to its own success, the Adelphi had outgrown its house. In December of 1846, it was reported that Manager Webster had purchased the western side of Bull-inn Court for six thousand pounds. The press announced the Adelphi was to be razed and a new house built on a much larger scale, using several adjoining properties. Moreover, demolition was to begin after Easter of 1847, and the Adelphi Company was to remove to the Olympic, should George Bolton not resume his lease there. (Bolton, in fact, filed for bankruptcy in July of 1847.)

By March of 1847, immediate renovations may still have seemed a likelihood, since the managers were relying on the aging standard, Green Bushes. The Theatrical Journal commented that even though Green Bushes was reaching its 200th night, "the management still persist in cramming it down the throats of the people." The same source then went on to offer a perhaps telling description of the theatre's fortunes: "Business has been very slack, nor can it be wondered when the entertainments are so poor and scanty, while all around are brilliant with attractions and novelties. Buckstone's new drama is sadly wanted; till then the management must be content to play to empty benches" (6 Mar 1847, p. 75).

Buckstone's Flowers of the Forest, which opened on March 11, did apparently reverse the public trend back to the Adelphi's benches and played 79 performances during the remainder of the season. Title Deeds, which opened in June, was attractive as well. By the end of July, it was still drawing well, causing the management to postpone the scheduled opening of How To Settle Accounts with Your Laundress.

In July, arrangements transferring the Lyceum Theatre to Charles Mathews and Madame Vestris were being concluded, and a new company was being formed by them. In this new company were to be Mrs. Fitzwilliam, Miss Kathleen Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Charles Selby from the Adelphi. The Sunday Times reported it to be understood that the new Lyceum management would confine itself to petite comedy, vaudeville, light farces, and burlesques (11 July, p. 2).

GH