Memories of …. great actress

Perhaps …. most legendary theatrical figures of that time [1904-1921] were …. international star actresses, those great creatures whose names alone could fill …. theatre. I saw Eleonora Duse in Ghosts at …. New Oxford Theatre in Tottenham Court Road, long since demolished. I stood at …. back of …. packed theatre at …. matinee. Every actor in London was there and …. feeling in …. audience was unforgettable, …. mixture of ….respect and awe, …. sense that we would never see this great woman again. When Duse came on, …. atmosphere was already electric, and she could hardly fail to - make …. most wonderful impression. I did not know …. play very well, but Duse looked infinitely sad and distinguished with her white hair, and wearing …. plain black dress with …. shawl draped over her shoulders. I remember that her acting seemed very, very simple. She had ….marvellous hands and all her movements were weary and poetic. Here was …. legendary figure whose career had spanned fifty or sixty years of …. nineteenth-century theatre, and she succeeded, to my mind, in living up to her legend, although she was evidently old and tired.

Many years later, in 1952, at …. cocktail party in Hollywood, I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin. He took me aside and began to talk to me about his boyhood in London when he used to see Tree's productions from …. gallery at His Majesty's. For some reason we talked about Duse. Chaplin described …. occasion on which he saw her act. He began to imitate …. actor who had appeared that night with Duse. He whipped out …. chair and sat astride it and began to jabber ….bogus Italian. In …. brilliant mime, he showed how …. actor was enthralling …. audience with …. long speech when suddenly …. curtains behind began to move and …. little old lady came out very quietly and glided across …. stage and put her hands towards …. fire. Duse. And at this point …. poor actor who had seemed so remarkable …. moment before was completely blotted out.

An Actor and His Time by John Gielgud (BrE)