New-York tribune., 1909-04-08
LONDON NOTES
Pageants- HedicaI PLays-a Pre-
Rapbaelite ShOr.
London. March q.

honQon, MarCn
American tourists will be favored with an un-
usually fine series of pageants this year. The
..rliest viii he ecclesiastical and will he de-
signed 70 illustrate the evolution of the English
,-b,5rch from the earliest stages of legendary
.istorv This is 70 he enacted in London from
,be 10th 10 the 18th of June and it will have
she natronage Of the bishops and Of smart So
clstv. The York pageant viii be the last Of the
..-ies devised by Louis y. Parker the mod
ern restorer Of this ancient form of local enter
,sinnent. II Will be the longest and most elab
orste of these historical displays. and will be
yroduced on the grounds of ST. Mary's Abbey
during the last week in July. The history of
sire famous town will be pictorially represented
.ad illustrated for a period of two thousand
wears and the climax Will he rounded ont with
the siege in 1644 and the march out of the de-
fsnders with the honors Of war. There will be
q Welsh carnival in Cardiff about the same time.
end ~ Colchester in Essex, there will be an
East Anglia fete. with memorials Of the Roman
occupation and the Saxon. Danish and Norman
,nyssious Bath is also making prepare tions for
G nagesut which will illustrate not only the
T7ousn period but also the social revels of the
eighteenth century. when everybody Of imPor
+snce in political artistic circles visited the
famous spa There will be a most interesting
masquerade # ali the distinguished men and
-nu7en whose houses have been marked among
tbe rarades and crescents, introduced 10
paeeant audience The London season promises
5o he unusually lively and brilliant There is
some talk about the possibility of premature
hreak-up through a general election. but the
Liberal hostesses numerous and powerful.
sDd ought to be able TO avert a catastrophe
-uinous TO metropolitan trade.
The last experiment of the Afternoon Theatre
81 His Majesty's is less promising than the trial
performances of preceding plays. The House
of Bondage.' by Seymour Obermer. has so
luminous title that the secret is out before
The curtain rises. There cannot he any doubt
respecting the theme. Marriage without an open
door for divorce must be the House of Bondage;
and there can be only one method of stage treat
rent-that of having husband and wife unfortu-
nstely mated and each in love with somebody
more congenial than the rightful partner Con-
vention morality and law must enslaVe them
and there cannot be any escape for one or the
other The plot is completely outlined by the
title and. while details are to be filed in, the
suirit Of the drama is known in advance The
effect is intensified by having the wifes lover
sn eminent surgeon and specialist, who Is calied
upon TO operate on the husband in critical
case. The love motive is complicated by ques-
tion Of professional honor and moral duty. and
,he conflict is sharpened by the fact that the
rsrienr EFFORTS from the specialist the confession
that he loves the wife. Virtue triumphs; the
natjent's life is saved and a career is opened
for him in Parliament. Two couples desper-
stely in love with each other are kept apart, and
fhe curtain comes down after frantic declama-
tion in favor OF more rational divorce law than
now prevails in England.
Medical plays have a morbid fascination for
authors but repel audiences. Spectators begin
to sfiver whenever an operation is talked about
When the doctor is the lover and there is any
chatter about professional honor, an audience is
chilled That is because every man or woman
knows that in a crisis the family physician must
be depended upon, and that there can be no
backer traitor II he plays with life and hastens
death for reasons Of his own. The betrayal of
the secrets Of the confessional cannot be fouler
proceeding. according to modern standards than
double dealing on the part of doctor when he
has the issues OF life and death in the hollow of
his hand No audience ever enjoys even mo-
1nentary Jack of confidence in professional honor
on the stage and there is little appreciation Of
medical hurors even When types of regular
Tractiriouers are selected for satire rdcule,
as in NTr Bernard Shaw's Doctors Dilemma"
In Nr Ohermer's play purely theatrical situa-
ton is created for the sake OF strengthening
artihcialIy the argument against existing divorce
laws. The two pairs of unhappy people are eX-
hhited as victims Of the inequities OF the sys-
TEN. The story is unpIeas SAINT and the argument
for reform is not conclusive. The fine qualities
OF the acting when artists like Nj Aubrey
Smith. Miss Eva Moore and Mr.. Herbert War
inz are cast for the leading parts, DO not offer
FMPI 0YNfFNT AGENCIES. "