The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-31
TIE STAGING OF sHAKEspEARE,
Nr. Beerbohm Trees Defense of the
Public Taste.
From the Fortnightly Review.


From the Fortnightly Review.
Sir" said Dr. Johnson. II have not
even mentioned Little Davy' in the pref
ace TO my Shakespeare.
"Why?" ventured Boswell, do you not
admire that great actor?"
Yes" replied the doctor, "as a poor
player who frets and struts his hour upon
the stage-as a shadow"
But" persisted Boswell. has he not
brought Shakespeare into notice?"
At this the immortal photographer fired
up "sir, to allow that would be to lam
poon the age. Many of Shakespeare
plays are the worse for being acted"
Then Boswell. Scotchman that he was,
once more replied with a question;
What! Is nothing gained by acting and
decoration?"
"Sirr replied DR.. Johnson, breathing
hard; Sir he Numbered, he brought
down his fist with all the energy of his
rotund and volcanic personality: "Sir!'-
and for once there was a silence-the only
silence that is recorded in the life of that
masterful personality
In this brief conversation is raised the
chief question which has divided lovers
of Shakespeare for three centuries past
Ought his works to be presented upon
the stage at all? Strange as it may seem
in an actor l am bound to say that 1
can understand this attitude of mind
which was shared by many thinkers of
past ages 1 am not astonished even that
such acute and genial critics as Charles
Lamb and NORTHUMBERLAND such serious
lovers Of Shakespeare as Hazlitt and En-
erson-held the opinion that the works of
our greatest dramatist schould not be
seen upon the stage.
We ere told that under the present sys-
tenn ii is no longer possible for Shakes
peare's plays 10 be acted constantly and
In their variety, owing to the large sums of
money which have to be expended, thus
necessitating long runs. OF course, if q
large number of Shakespeare's plays could
follow each other without intermssion a
very desirable state of things would be
attained but my contention Is that no
company of ordinary dimensions could
possibly achieve this, either Worthily or
even satisfactorily. Leaving out of con-
sideration for the moment all such ques-
tons as rehearsals of scenery and effects,
1t Is impossible for one set of actors prop
erly to prepare one play in the space Of
a few days. while they are playing an
| perience of rehearsing Shakespearian
drama in a serious way will bear me out
that a week or a fortnight, or even a
month, is sufficient to do the text any
thing like justice. And even when at
tempts of this kind have been made can
1t honestly be said that they have left
any lasting impression upon the mind of
the fancy? l contend that greater SER
vice for the true knowing of Shakespeare
works is rendered by the careful produc~
ton of one of these plays than by the in
dfferent-or, as l believe it IS now fash
ionebly called, the adequate"
tation of half a dozen of them By deep
ly impressiug an audience and making
their hearts throb to the beat of the poet S
wand, by enthralling an audience by the
magic of the actor who has the compell-
ing power. we are enabled to give Shakes
peare wider appeal and larger fran
chse-surely no mean achievement.
Thousands witness him instead of hun
dreds; for his words are not only, or pri-
marily, for the literary student; they are
for the world at large. Indeed, there
should be more joy over ninety-nne Phil
istines that are gained than over ore elect
that is preserved. I contend that not only
is no service rendered to Shakespeare by
an adequate" represen tation, but that
such performances are disservice, in so
far that a large proportion of the audi
ence will receive from them an impression
of dizziness. And in all modesty it may
be claimed that it is better to draw multi
tudes by doing Shakespeare in the way
the public prefers than to keep the theater
empty by only presenting him adequate
ly," as these counsels of imperfection
would have TO do
/ take it that the proper object of put
ting Shakespeare upon the stage Is not
only to provide an evenings amusement
at the theater, but also to give a stimulus
to the further study of our great poets
works. If performances, there FORE make
but feeting impression during the mo-
ments that they are in action. and are
forgotten as soon as the playhouse is
quilted, the stimulus for diving deeper in
to other plays than those that we have
witnessed must inevitably be wanting. For
my own part, l admit that the long run
has its disadvantages-that IL tends Gun
less fought againsD TO automatic acting
and to a lessenng Of enthusiasm, passion
and imagina ion on the part of the ac-
tor: but what system is perfect? IL is a
regrettable fact that in all the affairs Of
life, whenever we strive for an abstract
condition of things We are apt to como
into collision with the concrete wall which
is built of human limitations-as many an
idealists battered head will testify. In
making a choice one can only elect that
system which has the smallest number OF
drawbacks TO its account. The argument
that the liza abilities involved nowadays in
producing a Shakespearian play on the
modern system are so heavy that few
managers care TO face them. and that
therefore, unless a change in sych system
takes place. Shakespeare will be banshed
from the London stage altogether-is III
my opinion a lalacious one. Again
apologize for intruding the results of my
own experience, but feel bound 10 state
If only for the purpose OF encouraging
others to put Shakespeare on the stage as
magnifcently as they can afford-that nc
single one of my Shapesperan productions
has been unattended by a substantial pc
cuniary reward.
IN N ~ Wu m "a IN n nHg~