3-039-037 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Mr. Toole as Serjeant Buzfuz at the Gaiety Theatre, 1871. London stage production of "The Pickwick Papers". 'The progress made by Mr. J. L. Toole during the last few years is extraordinary, and his present position at the Gaiety unprecedented. He is now the governing spirit at that elegant theatre, and reigns supreme both mornings and evenings. The morning performances are distinguished by a variety of entertainments that assimilate them to those given at Exeter and St. James's Halls, in which, especially on Saturdays, Mr. Toole is the distinguishing feature. Here he seeks to assume the mantle dropped by Mr. Charles Dickens, and appears before the bar of public opinion as the famous Mr. Serjeant Buzfuz in the celebrated cause of "Bardell v. Pickwick," of which Mr. John Hollingshead has prepared a version, adapting it for Mr. Toole's delivery...Mr. Toole...has so much facial expression that he seems to impart to it new humour, which affects the audience in a peculiar manner. What this is precisely must be witnessed, for it baffles description. Altogether, this is one of the best of Mr. Toole's impersonations, and will add greatly to his reputation. Our Illustration will give the reader a fair notion of his appearance in this character'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.