Event Comment: Receipts: #200 7s. 6d. (Account Book). Mainpiece: With New D
resses and Deco
rations. [The fi
rst of a se
ries of five pe
rfo
rmances (the last,
Merchant of Venice, 18 Nov.) which got Macklin dismissed f
rom the theat
re until 1775, when his lawsuit against six pe
rsons whom he claimed fo
rmed a conspi
racy to hiss him f
rom the stage and
ruin his livlihood was concluded favo
rably fo
r him. His pe
rfo
rmance of
Macbeth was favo
rably t
reated but with ce
rtain misgivings in the
Morning Chronicle (25 Oct.), but he was me
rcilessly c
riticized in the
London Evening Post and
St James Chronicle: "In Act II, Sc. i,
Shakespeare has made Macbeth mu
rde
r Duncan; Now M
r Macklin, being dete
rmined to copy f
rom no man,
reve
rsed this incident, and in the ve
ry fi
rst act, scene the second, mu
rde
red
Macbeth." The favo
rable
review (Mo
rning Ch
ronicle) thought he did well in fi
rst and last acts, but gave way to stage
rant and "vehemence of ene
rgetic exp
ression" wanting any va
riation in tone in between. It also pointed out a ce
rtain faulty memo
ry of his lines. His novel stage effects came in fo
r a pa
rag
raph of comment: The alte
rations in the jeux de theat
re respecting the
rep
resentation of this t
ragedy do M
r Macklin g
reat c
redit. His change of the scene
ry is peculia
rly cha
racte
ristical. The Quad
rangle of Macbeth's castle, and the doo
r which is supposed to lead to Duncan's apa
rtment (both of which a
re enti
rely new) a
re additions of consequence to the exhibition of the play. The doo
r also th
rough which Macbeth comes to the
Weird Sisters, in the 4th act, is a bette
r and mo
re p
robable ent
rance than th
rough the common stage po
rtal. The d
resses a
re new, elegant, and of a so
rt hithe
rto unknown to a
London audience, but exceedingly p
rope
r. The Banquet was supe
rbly set out, and it must be confessed that the manage
rs seem to have spa
red neithe
r cost no
r assiduity to o
rnament and add to the effect of the
rep
resentation." A favo
rable lette
r f
rom a co
rrespondent to the London Evening Post adds: "I must obse
rve, M
r P
rinte
r, that f
rom the g
raceful and cha
racte
ristic manne
r in which Macbeth was int
roduced by the ma
rtial music and milita
ry p
rocession, f
rom the manne
r of M. Macklin's acting, f
rom his judicious alte
ration of the d
resses, the disposition of the scene whe
re the King is killed, the cave of the witches in the 4th act, f
rom the imp
rovement of
Mrs Hartley's thinking in
Lady Macbeth and f
rom he
r manne
r of speaking, which seemed plainly to be the effects of some intelligence she had
received f
rom M
r Macklin...I thought M
r Macklin dese
rv'd g
reat p
raise." See the newspape
r comments all gathe
red and
rep
rinted in an
Apology for the Conduct of Charles Macklin, (London, 1773). See also note to 30 Oct. See also
London Chronicle, Oct. 23-26 (cf.
Odell, I, 453). The
Westminster Magazine suggests the pe
rfo
rmance was pitiable. "Macklin knew what he ought to do, but could not do it." The Scenemen's pay this week was about double the no
rmal cost. (Account Book).] Ve
rse Squibs f
rom St James Ch
ronicle (Oct. 1773) against Macklin: @Macbeth@"Eight Kings appea
r and pass ove
r in o
rde
r, and Banquo the last"@Old
Quin, e
re Fate supp
ressed his lab'
ring b
reath@In studied accents g
rumbled out Macbeth:--@Next
Garrick came, whose utt'
rance t
ruth imp
ressed,@While ev'
ry look the ty
rant's guilt confess'd:--@Then the cold
Sheridan half f
roze the pa
rt,@Yet what he lost by natu
re sav'd by a
rt.@Tall
Barry now advanc'd towa
rd Birnam Woodv@No
r ill pe
rfo
rmed the scenes--he unde
rstood--@G
rave
Mossop next to
Foris shaped his ma
rch@His wo
rds we
re minute guns, his action sta
rch.@
Rough
Holland too--but pass his e
rro
rs o'e
r@No
r blame the acto
r when the man's no mo
re.@Then heavy
Ross, assay'd the t
ragic f
rown,@But beef and pudding kept all meaning down:--@Next ca
reless
Smith, t
ry'd on the Mu
rd'
rer's mask,@While o'e
r his tongue light t
ripp'd the hu
rried task:--@Ha
rd Macklin, late, guilt's feelings st
rove to speak,@While sweats infe
rnal d
rench'd his i
ron cheek;@Like
Fielding's Kings [in
Tom Thumb] his fancy'd t
riumphs past,@And all be boasts is, that he falls the last.@ Also f
rom St James Ch
ronicle:@
The Witches, while living deluded Macbeth@And the Devil laid hold of his soul afte
r death;@But to punish the Ty
rant this would not content him,@So Macklin he sent on the stage to p
resent him.