New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-13
London, lrch 8.


tres the state of things must really be
had. The word slump has none of
that elegance We are taught to OK
pect. and sometimes find, in the Eng
can be quoted as authorities for its
use: still; it is branded in the diction-
aries as obsolete. colloquial, or Amerl-
can. Protests were at once heard,
Friends of the drama thought the as
sertion unfair, even if true. An emf
nent actor manager remarked that it
was a damned shame TO say such
things; thus raising the whole question
Of criticism in relation TO plays and
plavers. one or two of these august
beings had themselves interviewed, "a
practice now II -quent, in order to de-
clare 1T, wha yer might be true
elsewhere, their own theatres were
prosperous. 1t as admitted in the
original statement that the slump.
though general, was not universal. out
of twenty-eight theatres all but ten
were said TO be in trouble; and of the
ten not all were at their best
Then came the philosopher. who
searches for the cat of things, and
found three:
l. A plethora of bad plays.
>. Lent
8. The taxi strike.
No doubt the strike keeps many peo-
pie at homo. 1t has lasted two months
never be sure Of getting taxi after
the theatre; and cannot now. This
difficulty affects mainly the public of
the stalls and boxes. Pit and galleries
are content, now as ever, to travel by
tube or motor bus: A man can always
shift for himself; his troubles begin
when he has ladies to look after. The
deterring influence of Lent may count
for something; and of the weather. The
badness Of plays must be admitted:
and of their production.
Long since. managers began to ad-
nit they could no longer forecast the
success or failure of the pieces sub
mitted to them. They are very astute
men of business, these managers.
Sometimes they are good judges OF
PLAYS But the taste Of the public va
ries and whether a play is TO succeed
or fail does not depend wholly on the
goodness or badness of the play. II
depends on whether it happens 10 hit
the taste of the town at the moment.
asked a manager whether the critics
could do much toward blessing or
damning a piece. He thought not.
asked what did.
There is no absolute rule. But it's
D. more what people say TO each other
than what the press says next morn
ing"
have known a publisher of that
opinion about the sale Of books.
It IS now some years since we have
been invited TO regard with admiring
awe the regeneration Of the English
stage. Can It be that this regeneration
is one cause Of the slump?
think OF Mr.. Bernard Shaw, one OF
the regenerators Mr.. ShawNs a So
cialist on the platform and an An
archist on the stage. Can it be that
he is one Of the causes?
think of Mr.. Granville Barker. He
is playwright, actor. and manager. in
one. Can he be a cause? As play
wright, he attained the distinction OF
being censored: even before that in
corruptibe guardian of the public NOR
ais. Mr.. Charles Brookfield, author OF
dirty little piece known as Dear Old
Charley" had been appointed joint
reader of plays by the Lord Chamber
lain. Mr.. Bankers Waste turned, |
believe, on abortion. and dealt pre-
sumably with the psychological effects
Of that physiological process. y pri-
waite performance Of this prohibited
piece was given at the Savoy Theatre,
which / was not privileged TO witness.
What ! say therefore is hearsay, but
matter Of common notoriety.
But 7 have lately seen Mr.. Granville
Bakers Twelfth Night" at the Savoy
Theatre: a play originally written by
one William Shakespeare. Mr.. Bankers
ideas Of dramatic construction differ
from Shakespeares. t. the play for
which Shakespeare thought five acts
none too many, Mr.. Barker allows only
three. Whether he holds that Bacon
wrote Shakespeare ] know not, but he
clearly holds that he, Barker, knows
better than Shakespeare knew in what
form this comedy Of Twelfth Night
ought to be produced. The change from
FIVE acts 10 three many be one item In
the regeneration Of the Elizabethan
drama, and Of the stage in general.
There are other items. The savoy
stage itself has been not only regen-
Grated but whitewashed or / suppose
white painted. The enlarged pros
cenium is a splash of white; dazzline
white. The curtain has been set back
The space between the foothghts ana
the curtain is so much broader as 10
allow the wings 10 begin i'm we" OF
the audience; as IL Professor Rem
hardt's methods had influenced MT
Barker. There is a broad dais or ster
IN front Of the curtain: which itself Is
Or once had been, white; now dirtS
white; limp and wrinked; rag OF
curtain. Some OF the actors passed ii