The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-23

spearemeant IL to begiven, and, by avoiding
waits between the acts, in approximately
the same time as was required on the Eliza
bethan boards; and, secondly, the woodland
fairy atmosphere Of the dream comedy
vas realized soenioally with consummAte
craft. Eor the first time. as q Berlin critic
wrote, one saw the work Of Shakespeare
without. the hacking and comforting Of q
nAmeless collaboration, whose impossible
task II had always been to abbreviate and
rearrange the scenes 30 a. to make them
possible on the ordinary modern stage;
and for the first time one saw Shakespeare
land OF faery transmitted into scenery that
was In harmony with its poetic charm Of
suggestion. .
The means Of presenting the full text
rapidly and in the proper order was what
the Germans call the DTehblhne, or pivot
stage. Behind the footlights Is a turn
table, IN which It is possible to set three
or four scenes at once and swing eacfrbefore
the footlights the moment It Is required.
1t was the original intention Of Meesrs.
I Wagenhals and Kemper to construct the
stage Of the Aston on this plan; but the local
fire laws (which in spl'e OF everything
threatened to turn "A Midsummer Nights
Dream into an All Winters Pipe Dream,
prevented this-the pivot stage could not
be constructed without putting the system
Of patent sprinklers out OF business and
further reducing the already minute rll
from the stage pump. Thus in the present
production the customary delays between
scenes-the tedious waits that have dragged
out so many OF Shakespeare's brisk and
varied narratives Of boredom-are in
evitable, though reduced to a happy mini
mum. And beautiful as the production Is a.
a whole, some Of the atmospheric charm Of
the B erlin production is also lost.
Yet what cannot be done, or il not, in Eng
land and America can be lone In progress
sve modern nations, as. for example, japan,
where the pivot stage has already been
installed, and actually Is done in Germany.
For the sake OF our discussion let VS. assume
hat In the present instance Shakespeare
had to choose between the pivot stage
the amplest resources Of modern staReorait
and his theatre on the Bankside. No
play in the entire range OF the Eiizabethan
drama Is more favorable to the champions
Of the modern mise en- scene, for none gives
greater scope TO scenic illustration, and
none has fewer scenes or fewer changes
Of scene. Many Of the plays, and the great
est Of them, as Romeo IN Juliet" Ham
let" Lear" and -Othello,' though easily
and effectively run of In their entirety on
the Elizabethan stage, present obstacles
difficult and perhaps insuperable even
10 the pivot stage.
What, then. wa the nature OF the stage
that afforded Shakespeare such Hreedom1
Three centuries OF tho most pious and
painStaking scholarship, which have left
no word OF the text ungueseed at, no comma
u~nquestioned, only intensihed tho OBJ
security that has hung over the Globe Theatre
Of the Bankside. And yet the main fea-
lures are so specifically set down IN con-
temporary records or so plainly implied in
che texts Of familiar plays as to be patent
20 the most cursory view. Last spring
] assembled them In ar article In the
Atlantic Monthly entitled Shakespeare and
the Plastic Stage" The present purpose
is to apply them With greater detail In this
concrete example
The features Of the Globe Theatre which
figure in "A Midsummer Nights Dream
may % seen at a glance In tho accompany
ing diagram. They were. az the main
sage which though . single platform
breast high in the pit I have divided for
convenience OF Illustration into the part
bSneath the loft-thS under. surface OF
which was called the shadow or the
"hsavens"-and the apron which sur
rounded It OF three sides; and ~ IN alcoYU
behind the main stage and framed by what
was IN eject q prosceniun arch. There 10
abhnHant evidence that the main staos