The Washington herald., 1909-01-17
Miss Nethersole's Play.


notwithstanding the apparent interest
Of the narrative. and the strength of the
climacteric periods. there are several
other features IN connection with The
Writing on the Wall. which Miss Meth
ersole played az the Columbia last week,
which may mitigate against its prolonged
success. The first is visible in the char
acter Of the tragedy in which the drama
eliminates. A little child is introduced
Ia the first act. and instantly becomes, as
such characters always do. a central
point Of pathetic interest and under the
most horrible circumstances imaginable,
The ceasing Of his innocent life is made
The turning point in the action and the
essence Of the moral OF course, Mr..
Huribut had 10 do this, in order fully 10
consummate the retTibutive idea which ne
had conceived 10 be the foundation of his
theme, but al the same, people do not
ike 10 see vivacious young lives thus
suddenly and gTeWSOmely cut on for any
such purposes On the contrary, they
Ike TO see them left, after having played
their part in the story, 10 at least that
Imaginative future Of JOY and success
which their bright and interesting Ia
lures would seem TO prognostigate.
The sympathy of the ordinarily consti-
tuted human being instantly goes cut 10
children, and il is with a feeling Of pro-
found mental disQuietude that the on
locker departs after Witnessing such a
catastrophe Whether the author could
have obtained such an effective ending
BY playing on the supposed death OF the
child. coupled with his ultimate preser-
Tstion. as he did by his destruction IS
Questionable. but the fact remains that
the thing. as II is. is entirely repulsive.
It results in the regeneration, perhaps. Of
the father: but. judging his character as
We see it delineated IN the play. was he
worth the price, No ray OF hope seems
10 Hiunine the utter baseness of q life
almost finished. while the budding life
had promise. at least
Another thing IS the dragging in OF the
love affair Would it not be possible 70
depict the inner consciousness Of the
love in the heart OF the young philan-
thropist without the bald and brutal ex-
preston thereof Men OF such 6ne sen
sibIlity, correct conception OF duty and
nobility Of mind, usually hesitate before
such avowals 70 a married woman, under
the husbands own roof. Then, again,
the familiarity 10 theatergoers Of a ma
jority Of the circumstances may work
against the play. for surely the discovery
Of a certain condition by the interchange
or miscarriage OF tVe packages, or. for
that matter. the creation OF dramatic
suspense Of importing the life OF a sym
pathetic character. is one Of the ancient
tricks OF The playwriJing trade; and
these are not all
II success comes to the production. II
viii probably be from good acting more
than any other cause, for Miss Neither
sole certainly does the best work Of her
career. and the supporting company is
excellent. OF course, we do not. nor
never have been able 10 see the neCes-
sity Of the inordinaIe amount OF back
revealing meandering 70 and fro on the
stage that she INDUCES in. for living
people DO not 90 such things in actual
life, but when the opportunity comes
for the expression Of intense feel
ing by means of the voice and facial
play, her acting IS certainly of the most
convincing character. and never has her
power been more stTikingly exemplihed
than in the scene Of the present play. at
that moment when her mOtherly instinct
tells Der that her child IS lost 70 her
forever.
If the csliber OF the present vehicle
mn If
ance IN the role. we think she need not
despair. for both mentally and physically.
she seems better equipped now than ever
for the exigencies OF the emotional ac-
tress' art