The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-06

people. People often ask me IL Shake
speare can be made to pay. Well, l
| have done very well with his plays
Sir Herbert Tree runs one OF the largest
theatres In London with the plays OIL
| Shakespeare as its backbone and those
| splendid actors, e. III. Sothern and Ju-
| liza Marlowe, have been drawing DIG
houses for years in the United States IN
Shakespearean repertoire.
Next to this general leveling up OF
which / speak | have been struck by
the growing Independence and Juds
ment of the theatregoers. In my eariy
days the London cachet on play was
sufficient to ensure its success IN an.
part of Great Britain. Today that is not
so and each section passes lis own IN
dependent verdict on production. ms
development is due, of course, TO the
education of the masses and is part OF
general and worldwide tendency.
People are growing to think for them
selves. Ii is an age OF deceptraliza-
ton and the day is coming when eaeh
section of the country will have It's
own drama. Take the case OF the ohit-
ed states. Years ago the country WAS
dependent largely upon dramausls. on
This side of the Atlantic for their the-
atrical fare OF late years you paFD
developed a distinct national drama
clearly marked school of remarkablY
gifted writer's 1t was Inevitable. Inc
people tired of the plays based on ahe
dealing with conditions which were uh-
known to them. They demanded
strong, virile plays treating Win con
ditions of their national and domesue
life and today they are gettinS what
they want.
"one of the most hopeful signs in the
United states is undoubtedly the Sc
rious interest that is being taken in the
drama by the universities. At recent
dinner | told an English gathering OF
the work that was being done at Har-
yard by Baker and at columpla pA
Brander Matthews-and to many OF
them ii was news. Such work IS pouh'
TO have far reaching results and II
would beya splendid thing If the Eng
lish universities would follow the eN7
ample set in the United states.
..For conceive the stage as one OF
the most potential agencies FOR the
rightine of great wrongs. Charies
Dickens and Charles Reade did won
derful amount of good with the Wit
ten word, but the written WORD can
never command the same power that Is
behind the spoken word. That Is one
of the things that is becoming so wen
understood in the United States. fou
know, of course, that Bernard ShaW pc
lieves the sta ee to be the most powerful
platform in the world. lie has often
said that the reason he writes plays
instead of books is because OF the
greater power of the former methoo Oh
putting his views before the public.
Some people are Worrying about the
future of the legitimate drama. musical
comedy and the moving pictures are
said bv some to be injuring the drama,
In nv opinion we shall never see the
time when the legitimate stage loses It's
nlace and it lis healthier today than IL
has ever been Musical comedy Is
nj ca SAINT form of entert tainment but that
is all. 1t does not clash with the drama
and appeals to a different type of thea
tregoer The moving pictures are q
blessing to thousands. especially the
noor. but they create their own au-
diences and do not in my opinion, COM
pete in any serious way with the le-
pitimate stage. And what is more, they
never Will.
In answer TO a question as to his
plans for the next few years, Forbes
Robertson revealed the fact that there
is a possibility of a world tour before
he finally says goodbye to the stage.
Next fall he goes to New York and the
eastern part of the United States and
Canada with the same repertoire he is
now using in London. At the end of
eight months he returns to England for
er eight months tour of western Can
ada and the United States. 1t is at the
conclusion of that trip that the ques-