New-York tribune., 1907-11-10
MORE MARRIAGE PLAYS
4 Ne1C Series of Them Presented at
London Theatres.
London, October 80.

London October 30
A playwright with ideas and an actress with
charm and power are irresistible even in a
theatrical play. w Somerset Maugham and
Miss Ethel Irving have triumphed in LADY
FREDERICK" at the Court Theatre by virtue of
this combination of talents The actress sue
ceeds By the delicacy and hexibility of her art
in making artificial stage character so win
some and delightful TO have a semblance of
real life; and the dramatst without producing
50 homogeneous and realistic play as "A Man
of Honor" has contrived to impart dramatic
interest to frankly theatrical story by sheer
skill in illuminating it with brilliant wit and
roordant cynicism. Otho Stuart who is bent
rpon making the Court Theatre centre of new
thought and original methods is perhaps under
greater obligations TO the actress than to the
author She lifts a complex play stocked with
old ia shioned devices above the level Of stage
conventions. She converts unreal puppet
o1o an impulsive. erratic Irish widow, full of
sersihility and cleverness. and by playful good
7arare q refined comedy style and self-restraint
and reticence at critical moments makes the
heroine innocent natural and winning. Miss
Ethel Irving needs 10 appear in a more emo
1onaI and consistent part before the full range
of her talents can be revealed; but 1t is already
apparent that another comedy actress with Miss
Tempests naturalness ana charm has been
trained in musical comedy for higher and more
satisfactory stage work.
Mr. Vaughan is a convert to the old-fashioned
idea that audiences like a long and rather in
yoved story II would be difficult TO follow
his complex plot. if the threads were not knotted
together with precision and firmness. Lady
Frederick Berrolles. a widow of forty, with the
tastes Of a woman of fashion, but without the
money for living in good style and keeping up
anpearances. has four admirers. One is dis
posed Of by the barrier of close relationship.
and another is thwarted when he tries TO take
advantage Of her financial necessities and to win
her through menace of debt collection and bank
ruptcy The third is Lady Mereston's brother,
Paradine Fouldes a cynical wording, with
whom she had once planned elopement and
then failed to keep the appointment; and this
does not offer much promise OF love affair
since II involves the rekindling of half-burned
ashes The fourth lover is Lady Mereston's
SON a rich youth of twenty-five. who is an in
fatuated admrer, Indifferent TO the fact that
Lady Frederick is nearly twice his age. Lady
Mereston, while making q pretence of friendship
for the heroine, is determined to prevent what
she considers an unnatural and unwise mar
riage. and she calls upon her brother TO assist
her by raking up scandal against Lady Fred
erick and blackening her reputation Paradine
Fouldes, who is as hard and cynical his sis
ter is hypocritical and sanctinonious, attempts
TO buy off the widow by offering her $4,000 if
she viii never see Lord Mereston again; and
while she IS roqvily in debt and at the mercy
Of money lenders ehe refuses the bribe with in
dignation ScanCe is the next suit. The old
adrnirer cannot re1,r to her old Irritation with
him because the elopement was rot carried
through: but there has been a Bellingham di-
vorce mystery and he charges her with COM
plicity in it. She proclaims her innocence and
succeeds in convincing him Of it; and when his
last card has been played. she shows her hand
and IL contains bundle Of compromising letters
written by Lady Merestons late husband and
obtained in a hospital ward from the dying
mistress Melodrama of purely mechanical
sort brings the first to a close. after Fouldes
has begged her 20 burn the letters and she has
trfpped out of the room in saucy triumph.
The authors business naturally involves the
triple task Of extricating the heroine from the
Bellingham affair, enabling her to destroy the
bundle Of letters in moment Of magnanimity
and bringing about the disillusionment Of the
infa tuated young lover. These results be
predicted without clairvoyant intuitions after
the first fall of the curtain; but the expedients
by which the end is reached fill the two remain
ing acts with interesting detail. Lady Mereston
produces from the Bellingham proceedings a
confession Of guilt signed by Lady Frederick.
tempt to protect the honor of another woman
who could not have survived exposure. Fouldes
acquits her. and the impressionable young
nobleman begs her TO marry him without delay;
but Lady Mereston cannot understand how an
innocent woman could have incriminated herself
in order 10 save the guilty Lady Frederck's
hour for revenge has come, but instead of turn
ing against her prosecutor she burns the bundle
Of letters in her possession The process Of
estranging the infatuated young lover is COM
peted by a frank exposure of the secrets Of her
toilet table by which her eyes treated with
belladonna her complexion is remade and her
hair touched up with dye Lord Mereston is
PEELED by her honesty and the ground is cleared
for a reconciliation between Lady Frederick and
the worldly wise, middle aged Foudes. 1t is a
theatrical play with startling condolences
creaking mechanism, documents at every turn
and ceaseless use Of stage-worn devices; yet
the construction Is good. the situations are ef-
fective and the dialogue is often brilliant and
never dull Mr.. Maughams methods OF execu-
ton are highly finished he has a true sense Of
character, and he gives actors as many chances
they want. He is capable OF writing great
drama and may do IL when he succeeds in find
ing d scheme entirely worthy of his talents.
Mrs ". K Clifford's Likeness Of the Night"
when the Kendals produced il, was considered a
sombre painful play, although true to life and
admirable in literary form. She has written a
pleasanter play for matinee performances at the
Court Theatre and IL has been admirably en-
acted by picked company Of artists Hamil-
TONS Second Marriage" enforces the moral OBJ
legation Of marriage and of absolute truthful
ness and there is nothing morbid or sinister in
the problem play. The first marriage has been