|
| Winifred Emery (1862-1924) |
|
In Press and Literature |
(Playgoer and Society Illustrated, Vol 1 No 2, November 1909)
A Chat with Miss Winifred Emery
Although Miss Winifred Emery was gowned in the stiff fashion of other days for her impersonation of Good Queen Bess, she greeted me with the frank alertness of the twentieth century woman when I entered her dressing-room at the Lyric for the interview she had kindly promised THE PLAYGOER AND SOCIETY.
"I think my part in Sir Waiter Ralegh the finest that I have ever been asked to play, and one that gives me immense satisfaction in the playing," she said in reply to my first query. "The character of Queen Elizabeth has always attracted me, for it seems to embody all the weakness and strength, the smallness and the greatness, of woman's nature. Few women would have made better use of the almost autocratic power placed in her beautiful hands; history itself illustrates how much ill she might have done. Even at school my admiration for her, as woman and sovereign, caused some surprise, for most of my girl friends adored the beautiful and apparently ill-used Queen of Scots. We had many heated discussions on the qualities of the two women, and I was always made to admit that my favourite did misuse her royal prerogative in the execution of her cousin, but always maintained that the unfortunate Mary would not have forgiven as much as did Elizabeth.
"Another point of interest to me in the part is that it is the first time I have depicted an actual historical personage, royal or otherwise, on the stage. Even the dresses and accessories are interesting, for they are faithful copies, only slightly modified, of reliable paintings of Queen Elizabeth. My appearance in the dress I wear in Act II. always causes a wave of amusement in the house, but if my good friends in front could have seen me in the exact copy of the dress worn by the Queen their mirth would know no bounds. Personally, I was prepared to wear anything which would make my presentment of the part exact and complete, but Mr. Lewis Waller recommended some slight modification!
"The abrupt change from one mood to another? Well, is not such variableness essentially feminine? The woman of today may have learned to control her temper, but it is possible that by the habit of calm and judicious calculation she loses some of the spontaneous generosity which distinguished many of the actions of Queen Elizabeth. Do you wish me to tell you that the women of today are just as vain, as devoted to fashion, and as unscrupulous in their methods, when their hearts are set on personal adornment, personal favour, and personal advancement, as was Elizabeth? In spite of her many weaknesses, perhaps because of them, she was a true and permanent type of a strong-brained, capable woman, and I am proud to interpret her character as it is drawn, and drawn with care and insight, by Mr. William Devereux.
"About myself? Well, I have always had a great desire to play character parts. My father, as perhaps you know, was a fine exponent of such parts, but up to now, either from accident or because I have no special trick of manner or physique, I have played 'straight' parts. Now I have made a start with Queen Elizabeth I hope to continue and disguise my own personality in that of others. I believe that there is a public for good historical drama, well cast and staged, don't you?"
Remembering the phenomenal success achieved by at least two plays of this class during the last few years, I frankly agreed with Miss Winifred Emery.
"Now you are asking something a little out of my province," she said, as I introduced the subject of the censorship. "I leave all managerial matters to Mr. Cyril Maude, and I think he has given a decided opinion on the subject; but I shall do no harm in saying that I think the censorship a necessary part of the proper conduct of the stage. Few of those in actual management desire any alteration, I think."
This non-committal reply, accompanied by the deference to the opinion of a husband, which one hardly expects nowadays, led up to the query as to the extent of Miss Winifred Emery's sympathy with the woman's suffrage movement.
"I am heart and soul with any movement which will result in the betterment of the position of women generally, and especially that of women workers, although I am prepared to admit that women of the play are well looked after under the present regime. Whether or not the right to vote will be of continuous advantage to the community at large remains, of course, to be proved. It cannot be disputed that many women are more fully qualified mentally and socially than some men who enioy the privilege of voting: but, in spite of this, I sometimes wonder whether the cause is really worthy of the whole-hearted noble enthusiasm which lies like a gem in a crude setting of cheap martyrdom and unseemly brawls. No, I don't take an active part one way or the other. Most members of the profession, whether men or women, have to face the fact that the publicity of their calling induces undue interest in their personal movements, and gives, perhaps, more importance to an appearance at a meeting than was intended."
"A National Theatre? No, I don't think it is at all necessary, nor do I think it would be a success in the most glorious, most cosmopolitan, and withal most commercial city in the world!"