Iris Hoey (1885-1979)
Iris Hoey - From THE WORLD OF THE THEATRE by J.T. Grein, William Heinemann, 1921
(From THE WORLD OF THE THEATRE by J.T. Grein, William Heinemann, 1921)
Iris Hoey
MISS IRIS HOEY is London's latest, youngest, and most unrevealed actress-manageress. After a time the experienced playgoer fairly knows the ebb and flow of histrionic talent. Of some we know exactly how far they will go and in what manner they will go there. They are endeared to us like certain nostrums in the domestic medicine chest.
We know how they will apply themselves to the part affected. Those who, like America, are a land of unlimited possibilities, belong to the elect, and Miss Iris Hoey is one of them. Hers is the career of the self-made artist ever in quest of excellent guidance, every ready and studious, keenly observant, unsparing of self, and in more instances than one battling despairingly to win a forlorn cause. In her progressive record I can recall but one creation entirely missed and that passed almost unnoticed, and was more due to insufficient rehearsal than temperamental unsuitability; I also remember parts which she saved by mere tour de force; but, withal, her every appearance is full of interest, and proves that experience engenders growing versatility and intensity of emotional power. In the little play with which she made her first managerial bow (and a delightful speechlet to return thanks), in "Priscilla and the Profligate," by Miss Laura Wildig - which is, in its main theme, a chastened edition of "The Marriage of Kitty," a pleasant love story in a good world where lots of things are taken for granted and no one approaches the wickedness of reality - Miss Iris Hoey plays a girl of sixteen and a young woman of twenty-two.
I differentiate, to indicate appearance and mentality. Now, Miss Hoey is not sixteen, and in ordinary aspect she is in every way a most attractive specimen of tout ce quily a de plus femme - the French expression conveys it all. Yet so adaptable is her talent that when in the first act, with her hair plaited and brushed back over her forehead, we are asked to believe that she is still a mere chit, she imitates the ways of sweet and innocent sixteen so completely that on our part there is no need to make an effort - we accept the make-believe, for the intelligence of the artist overcomes the possibilities of doubt.
Anon we see quite a different woman, so changed, so world-wise, so elegant, so diplomatic, that we again accept the proposition of the playwright, who submits that the husband never suspected the identity of his one-day bride after six years' separation. It is in this part of the game which, of course, leads to the happy ending that we discover new sides to the talent of Miss Iris Hoey. She turns the light little part into a profound study of femininity, without ever weighting it; like a little bird she flits and flutters from phase to phase, from mood to mood, from smiles to tears, from real joy to affected anguish. "Mais ellejoue comme une Parisienne," said a French visitor. "That" - said I - "that is exactly what I want to say about her." Hers is the spirit of French acting grafted on an English text - no small achievement, forsooth!
There were two other interesting manifestations in "Priscilla." A triumph of the old school and of the new the delicious humour of a nouveau riche which rendered the few lines Mr. H. de Lange has to say a complete caricature; and the equally delectable manner of Mr. Frank Denton as an absent-minded beggar, who in rare nimbleness and aptness of poses blurted, propelled, catapulted commonplaces in such unconsciousness of his surroundings that we roared at his face, his gestures, and his voice whenever he darted for no particular purpose into the action. His is the priceless gift which is best compared to our late Herbert Tree when he spoke to those on earth as one who had just dropped from the clouds.
See also: Hansom Cab Sensation