Plays and players in modern Italy, being a study of the Italian stage as affected by the political and social life, manners, and character of to-day . the swinging, almost flapping, limbs ofBelfaccini are more remarkable than the quaint shufflingof Sor Pannera. There is, to me, just a touch of mannerismabout him at times—particularly in a gesture of takingoff his hat—^which was common to two of his numbers have probably told on him; and he hasallowed several of them to make use of Ferravillas stockof tricks. For all that, they are personalities; there isno need to state that t
Plays and players in modern Italy, being a study of the Italian stage as affected by the political and social life, manners, and character of to-day . the swinging, almost flapping, limbs ofBelfaccini are more remarkable than the quaint shufflingof Sor Pannera. There is, to me, just a touch of mannerismabout him at times—particularly in a gesture of takingoff his hat—^which was common to two of his numbers have probably told on him; and he hasallowed several of them to make use of Ferravillas stockof tricks. For all that, they are personalities; there isno need to state that they are amusing. He succeedsin making his audience laugh: that is not, in itself,a great feat; but he makes them laugh in the rightway and at the right thing ; which is. He always keepscommand of his pubUc. He does not simply set inmotion a current of mirth which goes on and on,creating laughter at anything or evers^hing wise, witty,or wicked, so that the play only has to keep moving forthe audience to keep laughing. Every touch goes home;and I am convinced that if he stopped suddenly inhis acting and broke to them, with tears, his mothers. Photograph by FERRAVILLA THE DIALECT THEATRE 293 death, they would weep as heartily as they hadlaughed. To describe the thing that touched me most: one of hispieces was an old man, who recounts to his niece how hisdoctor has recommended him a little music in the eveningsfor cheerfulness sake, and who totters to the piano andplays and sings. This, as a piece of characterisation,certainly deserves a place beside Novellis young priest, in• Divogando; and, perhaps, is even more simply reality of the old fellow, neither a stage saint nor a pieceof artificial decrepitude, but a dear old chap of the realworld, with some humour and a touch of acidity, in aboutthe proportions of the oil and vinegar in a well-composedsalad; and—to carry on the simile of the salad—^thegreen about him, if not actually growing, fresh and juicystm.
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, booksubjectitaliandrama, booksubjecttheater
