The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-12-04
The c0RRypIlha ARTS.

Sir Henry Irving formally opened the
Grand Theatre, at Woolwich, the other
evening. says the London Telegraph.
Sir Henry said: II have never ceased TO
maintain that a well-conducted theatre
is a necessary adjunct 10 your true CIV
ic life. You must have some satisfac-
ton in the dramatic instinct that is in
ALL or in most Of US. for ] expect some-
times that certain consors OF the stage
are unhapplly born without 1t. That Is
a grave misfortune. But you who have
the dramatic instinct can not nourish
IL upon the ordinary incidents OF your
daily lives. You can not have general
elections every week. l am told that
the declaration of the poll is very
dramatic moment. Colonel Husnes,
however, can hardly have enjoyed IL
much on this occasion, for he was re-
turned with very little excitement But
you may not have d poll more than
once In Ave years, ana how Is your ap-
petite for drama to subsist on thatE IL
is the function Of the theatre 10 keep
you from starvation. The acted drama
holds the mirror up 10 nature. say the
acted drama, because Shakespeare
when he talks of showing the very age
and body OF the time, its form and
pressure. obviously means this 10 be
done through the medium Of the stage.
Well, there is a great variety Of drama.
and you constantly hear that this or
that play Is good, bad or Indifferent.
and sometimes legislator rises In the
house of commons and implores that
body or the government, or both, 10 In
tervene 90 save the playgoing public
from some terrible corruption on the
stage.
People will dispute Till doomsday
about the moral influences OF the
drama, because any representation or
human nature L. sure to be the signal
for alarm 10 everybody who thinks that
men and women ought 20 be trained
without any knowledge Of life. Dangers
there are of course, In all exercises or
the imagination. A great novelist has
written a book 10 show the vicious IN
ruence OF music. In the infancy or
painting 1t was The firm belief or re1Ig-
ious teachers that art would corrupt
the world III 1t were not severely limit
ed to sacred subjects. You remember
the scandal that befell the painter in
Brownings poem when he turned
away from paintings angels and pro-
duced lifelike portraits of citizens. They
were greatly delighted at first-at least
some OF them were-and then II was
decided that this gift OF portraiture
was dangerous, and Fra Lippo Lippi
was bidden TO return to tn" angels,
Well, the drsmatist can not always be
drawing angels. and the actor can not
always be playing them. Public opin-
ion in regard Ia the stage is governed
on the whole, l believe, by robust
common sense, which rejects the no.
ton that the theatre, IL allowed 10 ex-
ist at all. shall be a place where human
nature must not be exhibited. No doubt
there Is a point whore freedom be-
comes license. but think you Will find
that IL II not the license OF the Lord
Chamberlain The theatre today does SO
much TO brighten the lives OF the peo-
ple that il ~ entitled TO the support OF
all the elements OF sound citizenship
and Il Is because ] see those clements
so strongly represented in this gather
ing that l confidently predict for this
play house In which we stand the sue.
cess that the energy and capacity vi
its founder so tichly deserve