The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-14
FRENCH DRAMATIST'S
STRIKING CAREER
London Manager Secures w. s
Gilbert's ewPiay-ItS Natur e
a Complete Secret.
From a Staff Correspondent.


PARIS, Feb. Is. - Perhaps nothing
connected with French theatricaIs at
present Is more striking than the sue
cess of Antoine Brieux, whose play,
Maternity" at the Theater Libre, is
one OF the hits Of the Paris season.
For Brieux's plays, one and all, have
been stage sermons directed against
what their author considers social
evils. and the appeal which they have
| made to audiences of the VIGOROUSLY
lightminded capital is the more re-
| markable in that Brieux absolutely de-
clines to sugar-coat the pill There IS
little, if any, humor in his pieces, and
no love interest. Just as Maternity"
the most flercely discussed French play
| Of the year, advocates exactly such a
policy of -productiveness as Pres
ident Roosevelt recently called race
| suicide so Les Avaries" showed how,
in the dramatist's opinion, the sins of
fathers are visited on children, and
Les Remplacants" attacked the baby
farming system in Paris.
Playwright at Fourteen.
But Brieux himself and his curious
story are even more striking than the
success which his plays have gained.
The son Of a carpenter in a poor quar-
| ter Of Paris, he saw the seamy side day
after day, and his up-bringing was not
| calculated to make him afraid OF
shocking anyone by telling what he
| knew. His fathers shop stood in the
| heart of the famous "old clothes mar
| ket'' OF the Temple. and the paternal
| Brieux made a speciality of construct
| ing collins. The son commenced writ
| ing plays with a purpose when he was
| fourteen. and believed in himself so
| thoroughly that he refused to learn the
| carpentry Woodworking in the shop
only when there was an unusual
amount to be done. He served his
| term I'm the army, and then married a
| girl Of his own class, but who had a
| little money and set about what he
meant should be his life work. But
| theatrical managers would have moth
| ing to do with his early efforts, and one
| impresario asked him how he sup
posed that any busy man would bother
| to read his handwriting, which was
! blurred and hurried. AS 1t happened
| the young Mime. Brieux wrote cop
| per-plate hand, and so after that she
copied out all her husbands efforts.
Finally success came to the playwright
| with 'L'Engrenage," which the Odeon
management produced. His next play,
| Blanchette," was given at AntOine's
| with success. and the moral of this
play was that poor families did wrong
| In over educating their daughters so
as to make them disconnected with
| their natural surroundings.
| Porel the Odeonts manager, once
asked Brfeux If he would not consent
| to give love some place in his plays?
| Not" replied the dramatist, while I
have open to me a world so fncoherent.
and so tragical, and the rubbish heaps
| Of ruined systems need to be cleared
away" For several years Brieux has
declined to work in Paris, and he now
visits the capital only when in search
| Of matter" or when a play of his is in
| rehearsal. His pieces are written in a
| farm house, of which he is now the
| sole tenant. in the heart of the Loire
country, and over the gateway to this
| habitation the dramatiSt has caused q
| sign to be raised with this significant
legend, Il am here to be alone"
| Gilbert Writes a Play.
Luck hasn't been with Arthur Bour-
CHER to any great extent lately, neither
embarrassing Julia" nor Haddon
Chambers latest play, which this man
/ ager produced in London, having been
! real success, but Bourchier has scor-
| ed over his rivals in getting hold of the
| new play which w. S. Gilbert has writ
| ten. Londoners had become to believe
| that the author of 1.-The Mikado" never
would give the stage another work.
! and it is safe to say that the first night
| of the piece with which he has broken
! his long silence will be awaited with
| interest such as no recent production
| has aroused. Meanwhile, absolutely no
details are forthcoming regarding the
nature of the play, and such reticence
| seems to be the rule now with British
| n rcf NH ~
| no one outside the theater at which
IT is to be given ever knows anything
| about P1nero play before the curtain
! rises thereupOn. and of late Mr. Barrie
( too, has refused to allow anything of
| real Importance to be published con-
/ corning the plots Of his forthcoming
| pieces. In the case of Little Nary If
| is said that Barrie even went so far as
to bind by affidavit the actors who were
| to perform his play to the effect that no
mixing of it's theme should be revealed
1 by them.
Beerbohnn Trees production of 1.-THE
Darling of the Gods" this week was
| gorgeous example of stage mounting
| and am told by q playgoer who had
seen the American production that tha
| London manager had gone Belasco one
/ better. AS much care was taken for
/ historical accuracy and for exactness
IN details of costume as for picturesque
| effects. Tree contented himself with the
part of the villain, and none other than
Lena Ashwell was The Darling" vet
with all their efforts and with all the
/ appreciation of the scenery there was
| general comment on the thinness of the
plot and reminiscent qualities of manv
of its incidents. London has become
rather used to magnificence in stage
setting, thanks to the pantomimes, to
| the Drury Lane production of Dante"
and to Trees production of ULYSSES"
| and in consequence, and although the
success of The Darling of the Gods ia
| assured. there Is little chance Of its
making such stir as # did in the
| limited States