The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1912-06-15
By Ed L. Keen.

: Oondon Correspondent of the United
Press)
t LONDON, June 15.-Struggling Am
9 erican playwrights, ~despairing OF al
Y emigrate to England-if they have the
goods. ~
7 Listen to the story of Macdonald
Hastings, young dramatist who two
months ago was absolutely unknown
outside small circle of friends, most
of them fellow newspaper men in
Fleet street. Today he has two plays
running to capacity houses in West
End theatres, and managers are tum-
bling over each other in their eager
ness to secure his next, and as yet I'M
| written production. More astonishing
still, until three months ago he had
never dreamed of writing a play. And
quite remarkable as his sudden sue
cess was the novelty of the idea from
| which was fashioned the vehicle in
which he has travelled in few weeks
from obscurity to fame-with fortune
in sight.
| Hastings had the goods. He was
lucky enough, also, to offer them first
| to manager who not only was not
too busy to read the manuscript of an
unknown correspondent, but who actu-
ally knew play when he saw it. 1t
voe ~, or;oirolitxr IF J,ic oopoort;on of
a drama in which there is no woman
problem and no woman character, that
attracted the attention of ]. e. We
dronne of the Royalty theatre, to
whom Hastings mailed his first Gram
attic effort. True, perhaps the title
piqued the managers curiosity. Hast
ings called it "The New SIN" Three
days after Vedronne received the
script he telephoned the author.
when can you come over to my Of
fee? l want to discuss terms for the
immediate production of your play"
CAS- soon as taxicab can get me
there" replied the new-fedged dram
atist, who usually rides in a motor bus
or streetcar.
Most of the theatres were full UP at
this time, but Vedronne, realizing the
value of the find, at once arranged for
a series of special matinees, and 1.-THE |
New Sin" went with bang from the |
start. The action is by seven male |
characters, but it was not only the |
novelty of the no-woman conceit, but |
the powerful and human handling of |
an entirely original subject that i'm
mediately gripped the playgoing public
and in a fortnight made Hastings
name almost as conspicuous as those
Of Bernard Shaw and Arthur Pinero.
Hastings new "sin" is that of living
when your death would benefit others,
and out of this curious notion, which
he originally intended for novel, he
plays seen in London for years. 1t
deals with the troubles of young man
who has been disinherited by his ia
Their but whose continued existence
will keep his Relatives from inheriting
the estate-thee testator being deter
mined that his heirs should not sup
port the disinherited youth
Except for little amateur acting,
Hastings, who is only 81, has had no
theatrical experience, and the ready
manner in which he grasped the tech
lique of playwriting is not the least
feature of his success.
When he left school young Hastings +
entered the civil service and was for
l time clerk in the war office. He /
got tired of the red tape, however, and
me day he turned his hand to writing / !
poetry. The weekly paper to which he
tent his first ,effusion promptly accept ,
ID it, and with the cheque came a note
anne kind. His subsequent efforts met
With equal ready acceptance, and in a
cry short time came an offer of a
,ost on the editorial staff. Of late
ears he has been connected with the
.ondon "Bystander," but it was rot
ntil this winter that it occurred to
i'm that he might be able to write a
lay.
Fleet street is always sympathetic I
ut pessimistic when Journalists turn i
D the stage as side line, and Hast
1gs' friends were no exception to the
ule When the news spread around -
nat The Mac-Hastings," as he is o
nown to his intimates, had written a
iece for the theatre, and the sexless II
haracter of his play was revealed, his Fl