New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-08

HOrnlrndn Is UOIls liS oP""N
the realization OF a lifelong amoi''oii'
Most people call the Gaiety MISS Horhi-
mans Theatre" and most people are uh-
der the Impression that Miss Hornlii'an
20 an actress of considerable ability, but
such is far from the truth AS matter
NJ fact she has never been on the stsse
except to make speech, ana IL Is uo"D
ful If she has ever recited Il poem IN pun
ITO Her devotion to the stage has peeh
deener than the desire to display any per
sonaI histrionic ability, and when you
Learn that Miss Hornman's company Is
coming to America, as they VIII uo eoiy
next year, you may safely resar" nei
purely in the light Of manaseress VIII"
high ideals and big ambition.
No woman OF the present generation
has done more for the English stage IMAM
she. To her the Irish Players from the
Abbey Theatre, Dublin. owe much' ohe
financed them and set them on their rect
so 20 speak She spent thousands Oh DOL
lars In supporting their early enterprise
long before she established her theatre IN
Manchester. Here she has devoted her-
self 10 the making Of dramatists ana
octors and actresses. Thousands Of plays
Ihave been submitted to her, and TO each
one she has given personal attehtlou'
Stanley Houghton, the writer OF h'huie
wakes" and Of THE Younger Genera
ton" is a product Of her Mahches'e'
school, but years before that she was as
ISOLATED with the discovery, in dramatic
sense. of men of even greater fame.
ttar first venture I'm the theatrical 90
main was in 1893, when she was asso'l-
AIRED with that notorious failure THESE
are her own words-the Avenue lhea',e'
! ! ondon. She supplied the idea ana lhe
| Initial The latter she lost, nut her
| ordor was increased because. as she toiu
/ ,bo Tribune representative, she learnt
Great deal and the results were more
! sruitf,,l than any of the snowy successes
Of that period" George BeThaiu o"'
has stated that through the production d.
that theatre of Arms and the Man "e
became A dramatist. GranvIIle nai
n,as an understudy: Louis n. Parker han
bis erst little play staged there ana Au-
I brsv Beardsley's work was hrst seen "
the man in the street for IL was lie
who supplied the idea for the pos'e'
which was considered so hideous '"s|
Mics Horninlan declares II frightened
! rdon from going to the theatre.
Miss Hornlman, who was born III me
| suburbs OF London, In middle class LIS
senting surroundings, where the thedtle
Was considered something too Hnpossioie
| for discussion. says 1t was TINS tnat
aroused her childish obstinacy ana gave
birth 10 a childish resolve that she would
| have a theatre Of her own. Her hrst as
| ISOLATION with the Irish National Theatre
| Society came soon after the Avenue
| Theatre failure. and ii was she VINO sup
nlied the capital for the erection OF the
now we'll known Abbey Theatre in Dub
lin. and for some years she helped them
with a subsidy until they were able to
90 on without the horrible incubus OF
| the assistance Of an Englishwoman'
Five years ago she went to Manchester,
and soon afterward bought the Gaiety
Theatre, and did her best to start what
she calls civilized theatre In England.
Her one regret is still that she had not
the capital TO establish this venture In
London. But the ambition is not yet too
far off for realization.
As yet she has no definite knowledge OF
the itinerary OF her visit TO America,
beyond the fact that her company Will
play in Chicago and Montreal. but one
| thing is certain, she Is determined that
the American contingent from the
Gaiety shall be treated as racers and
not cab horses and not worn out by ordi-
nary American touring" They Will in
clude in their repertoire The Rivals,
THE School for Scandal" Twelfth
Night" she Stops to Conquer" Of the
! old school-the plays and not cooked up
versions. she emphasized-"Nan," Silver
Box." CANDIDA" What the Public
Wants" and perhaps The Younger Cen
GRAFTON"
81 am particularly anxious to call at
tention 10 the fact that no English speak
| ing man manager could bring anything
! like such a list OF Rays she said our
/ tour will last about twelve weeks, ac"
cording 10 present arrangements, ana
every member OF the company Will be
from the Gaiety Theatre. l want your
| American readers to understand that
myself am not an actress. | have never
appeared in any play and | have only
once been In a charade at a Hydro. IL
would be truly beyond my powers TO
| learn a part or impersonate character
Thank heaven, / know that this is a
fact! | also have been reading plays In
three Languages for thirty-three years,
and again | thank heaven and touch
wood (suiting the action TO the word)
that 7 have never even wished to write
play. These are my two greatest assets
| in running my own theatre" she added
| with a significant smile.
| Asked for her views on the American
stage Miss Horniman confessed that her
| knowledge was largely superficial. as
only on one occasion had she been in
America. Then she had stopped in Bos-
/ ton for a few days, when her company
played Mr. Masehed's Man" at mat
inee there 80 all | can say must be
taken as being simply made in ignorance
founded on observation" she added. II
have seen a good number of American
plays, seen American acting, and l have
had much American manuscript sent In
TO me. As far as | can judge the future
in America will depend on which or
two forces becomes the stronger. VIII it
be the drama made by the country Tor
the country growing up from crudeness
to completion, or will II be the bringing
over of the exotic from England and
making II acclimatize itself thereI
81 am going to the States early next
year for two principal reasons. One Is
that have no objection 10 bringing back