Was Sarah Bernhardt criticized for her over-the-top acting style?
Some, perhaps, mistook my unwavering commitment to dramatic expression for excess. They spoke of being 'over-the-top,' as if the human heart itself were a restrained and understated thing! Ah, but the drama! Life is replete with grand gestures, with soaring passions, with profound despair. To shy away from these, to present a watered-down version of human experience, would be a betrayal. My performances aimed to capture the very soul of a character, its magnificent triumphs and its devastating falls. If that meant a certain grandiosity, a certain fire that burned brightly, then so be it! The theatre is a mirror to life, is it not? And life itself is rarely modest.
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