New-York tribune., 1911-10-01
STAGE REFORM
Ellen Terry'S Sons Designs
New Scenic Devices.
London. September 9.

LONDON, september ..
! Voices crying aloud in the wilderness
/ for reform must be shrill or nobody will
/ hear them. Mr Edward Gordon Craig
has startled theatregoers by a vehement
attack on current methods Of producing
plays. and actors and managers have
condemned his structures with fine irony
and coarse ridicule He would have
. been silenced at once II he had not sue
ceeded in making q reputation on the
Continent for progressive ideas in en-
/ larging scenic effects, improving the sys-
TEN of lighting and other stage arrange
ments and revealing fresh resources for
softening and intensifying color blends
and contrasts and for managing grada-
tons Of light and shade Consequently
his new book on the art Of the theatre
is likely to pique curiosity, if not TO
command attention. and his exhibition
of designs and models at the Leicester
Galleries is attracting many visitors.
The show is well timed, for it contains
drawings and models for Macbeth
which can be compared with the actual
setting Of the play at His Majesty's
Theatre
At Sir Herbert Trees production there
was striking scene for Lady Macbeth's
sleep walking. A long fight Of narrow
stone stairs set close against a bare wall
ran from the top Of the stage half way
down. where there was a ledge for a
candle. and then turned by sharp zig
gag toward the floor. Without the help
of stone balustrade or handrall Lady
Macbeth crept. tread by tread deposited
the candle on the halfway shelf and
wrung her hands and mOaned piteously
during the remainder OF the journey
downward. When she attempted to re-
turn she fell at the bottom Of the stairs
and after a long pause retraced her
steps TO the candle and slowly mounted
the remaining treads feeling her way By
the wall. There was no door by Wnlch
the two watchers could have entered,
and there was nothing 10 suggest the
environment Of Scottish medieval cas-
lie. There could hardly have been "A
more primitive setting for a memorable
scene. Nothing could be seen except the
stone steps the sleep-walker, with her
dark nightdress and taper, and the two
watchers in deep shadow.
In Mr.. Craigs design there was an
even higher flight Of stairs but the
treads were broader, there was no
abruDt turn for reversing the zigzag and
~. lines curved outward and Inward
and were ornamental. AS though con-
s,ructed for a habitable castle. There
80 larger effects Of space than in the
.o+,.al stage scene. and Lady Macbeth
.orld have gone down and up again
cor,fortablv without giving the specta-
tors an uneasy feeling that she might
sou anv moment. At the base OF
,orye central column sculptured hgures
ryero indicated. and in a separate design
these were worked out in detail so as 10
rorreseDt a group Of Scottish kings and
Queens The sleepwalker would not
have left her candle half way IN
,oriIous descent. but would have carried
II 10 the bottom 70 light up these reini-
r{scences Of the g!ories Of royalty. Ihe
descent and remounting Of the stairs by
o devious way. ht only for castle dun-
geon or a cathedral crypt wouid nave
bezn avoided and the spectators At
,ortior vould not have been diverted
fron the tragic pathos Of the helpless