New-York tribune., 1910-10-30
LONDON PLAYS
Mr.. Maugham's Neurotic Drama
STAGE Notes.
London. October 1S.


..,i,,,, snectators at the first perform
80 allied il a neurotic play. II brings
-a-..l,a- +v.o weak. sinful women wne
are widely separated by sOciai ooi'"i-
Sims one is a gamekeepers dansH'ei'
whose expulsion from her fsther $ mouse
cn account Of her disgrace is dei1aailoeo
IL sorire and parson. When the game
1.earer. after forty years service Il
,r-oatened with dismissal Ter re!asi''S
- send her away, she Appeals TO Oii0
zo7,ire's wife 10 prevent MS diSclld' s's'
rTl,e wife. who is herself UnfalthIul' Will
40, hotter excuse than that she Is weary
~ the ,lnexciting monotony Of county
sarircdom. pleads for her TAINTED aSso-
,iate. hut without effect me E''iiie
l-c~ncr's daughter commits suicide III or
d.,r - rrevent her fathers discharge
-r1c e7.;ire's wife. reverting passlonateiE
-, 5,,-o,ior, 10 her husband after his IRE
,,fe,19,- Of COURAGE when the murderous
.,ar,aJzeaDcr tries 10 kin him, IS c'er-
v,ba,.7od with remorsc. Shall she con-
--es her own guilt to her husband? Inc
r,a-san saws Yes, and gives her ScTlpt-
,.raI texts for il 4 woman VINO herseh
loves The squire strongly dissants. Inc
so,,irc Is not told. The wife's atone
7,5.,lt is 10 bc The lifelong burden - her
,,y-,7 guilt. with unceasing devotion
Dr Iaye7dar. in one OF Margaret De-
lands tales. gives similar advice. but
Without casuistIy and with the slIhplIo-
s+,.o or common sense. In Mr.. -Iaugham
rlav there IS q complex study "f heu-
r.tic vonan's temperament with Ora
,,,a,ic debate at the end before she ialis
into ber husbands arms completely rec
.-nciled but with the secret Locked UP
=-,-prelz, in her own breast. There is an
actress trained in similar parts by Slr
Arthur Pinero for the imnersonatloh Oh
the waywald, brilliant. cxcitaoie heroine
and q wonderful exposition of the art OF
9ctinS il is. Seldom has Miss Irene
Nanbyrgh displayed finer combination
Of charm and power. At the outset she
IS the unconventional. sprightly vile o.
"A stolid SoIaersetshire squire, dlscon-
tented with The narTowness OF duH
comfy society. rebelling against the
Studied insults OF an .ntolerant mother
fu-law and whipping friend and Zoe
NTH p,ickly sarcasms. Fiiqpant and
caIous IN her treatment q husband ana
lover. she is tortured with a conscious
ness o. her own unworthiness after the
1raceIv OF the samekeepers daughter
With naturalHcss and Tathos the actress
reveals the distracted woman VINO
loatbas herself for her faithiessness and
shame and in utter beWildermenI casts
herself upon the mercy OF clergyman
and lifelong friend. The face rs
haunted with grief and remo~se: the
gestures are convulsive and frenzied;
The body sways with emotional excite
lnent. ana Jhe voice swells with monleh-
1arv impulse and breaks with repressed
feeling 1t is a great exhibition ol
stagecraft and temperament in the cN-
3aression Of intricate moods and motives.
The original title of the play was
LANDED Gentry" and it MAS obviously
>erittcn as a satire OF The naTroTness
n and eXllusy@ness Of social life IN The
}t shsres The sgUiIe's Wife represents The
" 1ushful middle class, and is snubbed
and djsllked by the descendants Of an
.ient county families. The squire and
The parson are nid-Yictorian figures.
who stand Tor dictatorship over meTals
end social habits, and their heartless-
ness Is artificially emphasized by The de-
cree Of banishment issued against the
eamekeeper and his daughter. There is
drawing room gossip about the scan
dals OF the Regency, and there is car
scatuIe oI d great lady o. bysone times
"a the squiTe's mother. impersonated
with genuine comic spirit by Lady Tree.
The satire misses fire because the back
ground is not taken from actual coun-
11y life. but is pIoyidod in order 10 suit
lie requirements 90 = sLage-made plot
Where IS the estate IN which the sqnire's
vie and the Earneheeper's daughter are
In such close relations thar one may be
contaminated by casual contact with the
other Certainly not ia any sfire known
~ the atlas a. English counties. Land
ed Centry-' was properly discarded ia
favor OF Grace as the title OF play
IN which a woman's temperament was
Lhe dominating interest.
while Miss Irene Eanbrugh carried
The play 10 d successful issue on the
opening night by sheer force OF brilliant
acting, she received substantial aid from
her associates on the stage. Not per-
hsps from Mr.. Dennis Eadie as the
lriggish squire, nor from Mr.. Leslie Fa-
Der as tho conventional psrson, nor
from Mr. Arthur Wontner as the shall
low, hesrtless lover. but certainly from
Mizs Lillah Mccarthy as the broad
minded friend who vetoed the clergy
mans decision IN favor Of repentance
and confession. Sl!s made her personal
it, felt b. incIsive Nigor and delivered
her trenchsut lines with unhesitating
convincing effect Alr Edmund Cwenn
reproduced Hith robust strength and
dramatic realism the rugged virtues and
frenZieG resentment OF the gamekeeper.
An artistic impersonation also was that
or tie ganlekeepeT's daughter by Miss
Gertrude Lang. Clever and even brill
liant as was the acting. the characters,
Ike the social background We're arti-
tcially contriged for the sake OF the
morbid probieEa which the playwright
was working out-atonement by silence
and devotion ia preference TO confession
with the risks OF disillusionnlent and
misery. Critics bored, like the heroine.
with ennui NAV pake a fetch of tho
a. frotic play, "nt L remains unWhole-
SDfas as dirt OF disease
sFisd are the attractsoyss sr the new