New-York tribune., 1912-03-10
WITH JOHN GALSWORTHY
Talks About Rise of New School
of Plays and Acting
in Enalond.

Iobn C;a1gyyo-thv. .ra T0-l.sh playwright
and novelist. Of quic. 1'nncr and thought
full. sympathetic mic" h.a come to America
TO assist in the rrr, .g.on OF his play
"The Pigeon" al 7fl. mess Little The
atre. He has Giscoyc-cl q tendency IN the
English world Of tho ,soatgc which he be-
lieves will i'm time ~ry".ujonize the stage
and make of it, pcrhaos, a hith hne ART
1t is the invasion of the theatre in Eng
land by the literary mon.
More than is realized here in America
MIR. Galsworthy says the novel has oeeh
until now a feature Of English life. Mover
reading has been In" principal pastime
among the thousarCa of Engiishmon VINO
soend their evenings in the customary way
at home.
Now the men vino have interested the
nation with their books are turning u
plavwrtinC" explained Mr. GalSWorthN'
"and this move must eventually lead the
theatre out of commercialism ana INTO
more serious consideration as a Worlh-
while institution II has already gwen rise
to a new school {. 1,.inG. I would say
that Normal McKirn-' Dennis Eadie ana
lanes Hasrn are leaf1, representatives OF
this school With tl,.a there is no thought
Of exploiting their perso21lues. For them
the pIsy is the thing and they study 10
hiring out its full meaning, submerglhg
themselves willingly toward this end.
"Tbe literary drama has need of such
sctorg for being written .gDontaneously ana
to 6evelon certain idees or imagnings u
soes its own way ~c-avdloss Of the special
manners or mett.Ga OF De actors VINO are
10 interpret II.
"And Nat 4 iust where the literary
plsvvrisht will make fine art Of the
drama He is not writing plays TO order to
~ the peculiarities of leading actors nor
tor the nu~pcse Of providing them with ma
t,risl TO keep thcm before the public. Ihis
system. which has been and still is so
mucn in practice is death 10 'he De'' Al
terests of the stage.
tone Of quiet conviction crept into Mr'
cs,sworthv's voice as he spoke, and that
tif ANYTHING can fairly be judged from
brief interviews the nearest ne comes u
expressing the deep running enthusiasm
that seems TO be a vital. though hidueh'
element in him. The intense manner, the
burning eyes and the restlessness that are
characteristic Of most people who nave
vital interest in their lives and who are
heavily stocked with the usual accompam-
vent entbusiasm-are lacking in him.
.Tr Frame" went on Mr.. Galsworthy'
.,ho literary playwright is and has been
nron,inent factor But | do not think tha'
.to Eno1isb stage will grow like the French
an any WAY. II VIII grow, / fancy more
like the Russian. In Russia nearly al '"e
leading novelists and essayists write plays
as well. .,,,
.In anv event. there seems constantly
increasing interest in the theatre III Ehs
land and a growing disposition 10 Ies"iu
a as an institution Of value. some year
ago we had what was called rehalSSdhce
of art in the theatre, during Which uille
there was a good deal of talk about YAK
ing the theatre seriously, and great deai
was done to improve stage settihss anu
the like. Then followed an anti-renais-
sance. led by those who believed IN So
called popular plays and the star system
of acting. All this was before the literary
men made any determined c=oTt 10 use
the theatre as an outlet for their IDEAS.
Now that the literary drama Is making
itself felt as a distinct feature Of the Eng
lish stage II is slowly but surely winning
a following of its own that is constantly
increasing in numbers.
DO Won think the literary drama will de-
velop the repertory theatre idea?' he was
asked.
THE repertory theatre is habit re-
sponded Mr.. Galsworthy, "and habit That
has never existed in England. II Is nara
TO say whether It can be cultivated or not
The mere idea that a theatre is changing
its bill every few nights puzzles and dls-
tresses the. average English playgoer,
With him going to the theatre is an event
and one for which he books seats In ad-
vance. As rule, he wants 10 see some
thing that has been specially pointed out
10 him as worth seeing-something that is
having "a run. - In; Germany. where the
repertory theatre idea has succeeded best,
Il is customary for people to. go out in, the
evenings. 3 1t is not an event with them.
They drop in 10 theirs fayorite theatre to
see whatever 1t offers them confident that
they will see something good.
There the lesson of Tthe necessary econ
omy which must be. exercised in the run
ming of a repertory theatre has not been
learned I'm England People are not USED
TO plainly set stages.f for instance. They
expect Iayishness, and no manager can pro
vide a new stage equipment several times
a week. ~ ,t"s
",rhe conditions in England seem hardly
possible for ,repertoryi work. In Germany.
you know, the real explanation for the sue
cess of repertory theatres is that the gov
ernment subsidies them
When It came TO discussing his own work
the most unusual theory. Mr.. GalswOrthy
expressed concerned the use of music in
the drama.
1T is a very difficult thing to weave prop
erIy into the dramatic fabric" he said
slowly. yet ] believe music has a definite
place in the drama. The drama concerns
the daily life Of people and the motives
that influence them. To my mind music
10 very important influence In the life
VI every one OF US.