Beardsley’s ink-and-pen drawing "Comedy-Ballet of the Marionettes III" aptly depicts a performance on stage; three actors in costume and in motion. One actor is clearly in clothes that are usually worn underneath garments. At the bottom of the picture, musicians are shown playing several different musical instruments and a conductor leads the band. True to Aubrey Beardsley’s art style, the picture is strange in its outlandish presentation of what appears to be a male dressed in a female’s costume and another in undergarments flanking what looks to be a female who has a mask in her hand. They appear to be moving to the music being provided by the figures below the stage. These figures have various instruments and there is a conductor present. A review of The Yellow Book volume 2 in a national newspaper used the words “ungainly” and “repulsive” to describe the series of drawings to which this illustration belongs ("Dulness in Yellow"). Therefore, according to the critics, these drawings were unfavorable. In defence of the review, Beardsley's drawing truly is unusual and a bit eccentric for this point in time. However, it was in keeping with a type of comical style that a plebeian audience in the late 19th century might require of a music hall performance (Senelick 151).