The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-31

Bernard Bhaw'S Plays.
Under the title Of Plays Pleasant and On
pleasant Grant RichardA London)M Mr.. BnRNAnD
SHAW has published seven dramatic compost
tions. one OF which. Arms and the Man" has
been made familiar to American ~playgoers by
Mr.. Richard Mansfield. The author tells us
frankly In q preface that these plays are given
to the world through tho press because. so far
as most OF them are concerned, he annot get
them acted on the stage. Even were Il other
wise. he thinks that It would still DO noedful
to publish plays as we'll a. perform them,
unless they are to remain unknown to those
who either dwell out Of reach Of the theatre,
or. as a matter Of habit. prejudice. comfort
health, or age. abstain Voluntarily from play
going. In Mr.. shaw's opinion, there IL still
another reason for publishing plays. which
would hold good even II people went to the
theatre as regularly as they buy newspaper.
A perfectly adequate and successful stage
representation Of a play requires Q COM
bination Of circumstances 50 extraordi-
narily fortunate that our author. for
his part, doubts II It has ever occurred In the
history Of the world. He says that II he had
not read Shakespeare plays, for example. as
we'll as seen them acted. his impression Of
them would be not merely Incomplete, but VIC.
lently distorted and falsi1ed. Not even when q
drama Is performed without omission and al.
teration by actors who are enthusiastic dis
ciples Of the author does It escape transflRura.
ton. The very originality and genius of the
performers conflict with tho originality and
genius Of the author. Nor does an author, a. q
rule. object to this; even II he had nothing to
gain pecuniarily by conniving ct the glorhca-
tion OF his plays by the performer. the actors ex-
cess Of power would still carry It's own author
ftv and win the Qvnnafhv NJ fhA ankhorba k{.
trionic instinct unless he were o realist Of
f~anatlcal integrity. Mr.. Shaw. accordingly, has
arrived at the conclusion that his own view Of
his work can only be conveyed by himself.
Since. however. he could not act q piece single
handed. even II he were q trained actor,
he has to fall back on his powers OF literary OF.
PRESTON. as poets and novelists do.
30 far this has hardly been seriously
attempted by dramatists. OF shakespeare
plays we have not even complete prompters'
copies; the folio gives scarcely anything but
the bare lines. What YOU we not give. asks
Mr.. Shaw. for the copy Of Hamlet" used by
Shakespeare at rehearsal. with the original
business" scrawled by the prompter's pencils
II we had. In addition. the descriptive direc-
lions which the author gave in his function OF
manager-above all. tho character sketches.
however brief. by which he tried to convey to
the actor the sort Of person he meant him to
incarnate-what a light they would shed not
only on the plays, but on the history Of the six
teenth century. Such literary treatment is
much more needed by modern plays than by
Shakespeare's. because. in his time. the action
Of plays was very imperfectly di0eren-
tiated from the defamation OF verses;
and descriptive or narrative recitation did
what is now done by scenery and
business" Any one reading the mere
dialogue OF an Elizabethan play understands
all but half a dozen unimportant lines Of il
without difficulty; whilst many modern PLAYS.
highly successful on the stnge, are not merely
unreliable. but positively u~nintelligible. with
out tho stage business. Obvious as this Is. the
presentation OF plays through the literary me-
dunn has not yet become M nrt and the RESULT ia
that 1t is very difficult TO induce the English or
American public to buy and read plays. Why
should they. when they find nothing In them
except tho hnre words. with a few carpenters
and costumers' directions? Mr.. Shaw, on the
other hand. has undertaken. In the two vol
umes before US, not only TO print and publish
the dialogue OF seven plays. but to convey their
full Significance to the reader. This he not
unreasonably considers the institution OF n
new art. which will ultimately lead to tha
production OF q mixed composition which will
be part narrative. part homily. part description.
part dialogue and part drama. In the present
experiment the author has tried TO put down
nothing that Ia irrelevant to the actors per-
formance. and. through 1t. to the auditors
comprehension OF the play. He has been COM
PEELED. OF course. to omit many thincs that a
stage representation could convey, simply be-
cause the literary art, though highly developed
dramatically. is still in its infancy as a techni-
cal speech notation: for example, there ara
fifty ways Of saying Yes and Ave hundred Of
saying No. but only one way OF writing them
down. He believes. however, that II the read
ers OF these plays. as they are here printed. will
do their fair share Of the work they will under
stand nearly as much OF them as the author
does himself.
The three plays in the first volume. wild
overs Houses. Tho Philanderer." and MIRA
Warren's Profession" are described on the
title page as unpleasant" They are 30 de-
scribed because their dramatic power IA used
TO force the spectator to face unpleasant facts.
In them We are confronted not only with the
comedy and tragedy OF individual character
and destiny, but with those social horrors
which arise from the fact that the average
home-bred Englishman. however honorable
and good natured he may be in his private
capacity. Will as a citizen. shut hts eyes to tho
most yillainous abuses II the remedy threatens
TO add another penny In the pound TO the
rates and taxes which he has TO be half cheated.
half coerced into paying. In "Widower's
Houses" Mr.. Shaw has shown middle GLASS
respectability and younger son Rentility fat
teninR on the poverty OF the slums, as nIea
fatten on Nth. That. certainly. il not A pleas-
ant theme. In THE Philanderer" he exhibitS
the Grotesque sexual compacts made between
men and women under marriage laws which
represent 10 some of us a political necessity
ESPECIALLY for other peoplel. to some q divine
ordinance. 10 some q romantic ideal. 10 some a
domestic profession for women. aud, TO some.
that worst Of laundering RbominAtiona an IN.