ABSTRACT
Carrollfirstattendedafull-scaleprofessionalperformanceatthe Princess'sTheatreon22June1855whenhesawShakespeare'sHenry VIIIunderthemanagementofCharlesKean.Hislastvisittoatheatrewas toseeJ.M.Barrie'sTheLittleMinisterattheHaymarketTheatreon Saturday20November1897.Heenjoyedthembothimmensely.Atthe endofhisdiaryentryaboutHenryVIIICarrollwrote:'Ineverenjoyed anythingsomuchinmylifebefore'andheconcludedhisentryforThe LittleMinister,whichhedescribedas'abeautifulplay,beautifullyacted', asfollows:'TheLittleMinisterisaplayIshouldliketoseeagainand again.'SadlythiswasnottobeashefellillduringhisChristmasvisitto Guildfordanddiedthereon14January1898.Thestrikingthingabout thesetwo'bookends'toCarroll'splaygoingwashowwidelyseparated theywere(byforty-twoyears)andthathisenthusiasmforthetheatre remainedundimmedtotheend.AccordingtoEvelynHatch:'Goingtothe theatrewasoneofMrDodgson'sfavouriterecreations,andwithhisusual precisionhekepta"play-record"whichshowedhowoftenyoungfriends weretakentosharehispleasure.'(Cohened.,1989,p.121)Givenhis methodicalrecordsofhiscorrespondenceandphotographsitisnot surprisingthatCarrollshouldkeepasimilarlogofhistheatregoing. Howeverithasnotsurvivedandtheevidencehastobecollectedand collatedfromelsewhere:firstandforemostinhisdiariesandtheninhis letters.HuguesLebailly,whohasundertakenthistaskmeticulously,has calculatedthatCarrollattendedthetheatreon479occasionsandsaw686 pieces(doubleandtriplebillsbeingcommonintheearlyyears). 1
Comparablerecordsofindividualtheatregoingarerareindeed.Atthe beginningCarrollwascontemporarywithHenryCrabbRobinson,who wasbornin1775,andattheendwithKateTerryGielgud,whodiedin 1958.AlongthewayCarroll'schronicleintersectswithHenryMorley, TheodorFontane,G.H.Lewes,CharlesEyrePascoe,ClementScott, HenryJames,JosephKnight,GeorgeBernardShawandWilliamArcher. Theseidentifiedauthorswillbepreferredtotheanonymouscolumnsof thepressasapointofreferenceforCarroll'stheatricaljudgement.The examinationofwhatCarrollwroteaboutthetheatreinthoseforty-two yearsprovidesadoubleinsight,firstlyintowhatwashappeningonthe
stage through the eyes of a man whose accomplishments encompassed mathematics, photography and authorship, and secondly into the mind and personality of that extraordinary and enigmatic individual.
