Evening star., 1909-09-12
The Foreign Stage
By MALCOLM WATSON.

LONDON. September 4, 1909.
HE past week. although unusu-
ally fruitful in new pieces, has
proved somewhat less exciting
than we had every reason to
expect 1t would. Pinero's work.
Of course, always calls for respectful at
tention. and the first performance of
''Midchannel'' at the st. James Is mani
festly an event Of the highest Importance.
But, that excepted, the plays presented
during the past few days cannot Ger
tainly be spoken of as taking first rank.
"Arsene Lupin," at the Duke Of York's,
was a distinct disappointment. 1t is a
third-rate "Raf1es.'' mixture Of farce
and rnelodrama. rather disjointed and by
no means remarkable for deft con-
struction. Charles Frohman has cabled
over that on your side It has made a
tremendous hit, and for the sake of all
concerned I hope Its success may be of
a lasting nature. The chances of Mad
anne x" at the Globe are much more
favorable. The piece itself is unabashed
melodrama, but the story is handled in
an interesting fashion. and the intensely
human acting Of Lena Ashwell bids fair
to insure 1t a good run. Sydney Valen-
tine also contributed his quota to the
general success.
"A Sense of Humor," at the Playhouse,
need not detain me long. 1t would prob
ably be all right as one-act curtain
comes just a little tedious. The theme
has certain elements of impropriety in It,
A French dramatist would assuredly
have turned these to the worst possible
knows the English public far too well to
risk anything by stirring up dirty water.
He merely skins over the surface and
arrives safely on the other side Of the
stream.
In Dear Little Denmark" Frank Cur
zon's new attraction at the Prince OF
Wales, Paul Rubens reveals his old tai
ent for writing effective lyrics and catchy
melodies. The plot. however. is too thin
for words. and the second act might have
been left unwritten for all 1t does to
carry on the story. AS an after-dinner
digestive Dear Little Denmark may
appeal to those satisfied with the light
est of fares. but for really hungry man
1t can have few attractions.
A somewhat unexpected development
has just taken place in the history Of the
Haymarket. The lease of that theater
is held by Fred Harrison, who a little
time back sublet the house to Herbert
Trench. whose ambitious repertoire
scheme. as l have already intimated.
speedily collapsed under the pressure of
practical experience. This week Harri-
son has taken the step of turning the
whole thing into private company
named the English Drama Company,
Limited, with a capital of $4,000. The
directors of the enterprise are Lord How
ard de Walden, S. H. Cochrane and Har-
rison himself. The first two are Trench's
hackers. De Walden is by way of being
playwright who had hardly yet
emerged from the chrysalis stage; Coch-
rane a partner In a we'll known firm of
ginger beer and soda water manufac-
turers in Belfast. 1t is hardly likely.
however. that the formation OF the new
company will lead to any immediate
change of policy.
Two days ago the London papers came
out with the news, contained in my last
letter, that II. B. Irving had secured
lease OF the Queens. I promised to say
something OF the new plays he has ac-
quired, and that pledge now redeem.
First on the list stands Justin Huntley
McCarthy's Caesar Borgia," a kind OF
historical melodrama which Irving has
already tried In the provinces I fancy
he has not an altogether unbounded
faith in its London chances of success.
but as Bernard Shaw says, You never
can tell" Next comes an adaptation OF
Gilbert Canaan. q clever young journal
ist, who has written a couple Of interest
ing novels, and also skit on the In.
corporated Stage Society, produced bv
that society itself, and Howard Peacey