New-York tribune., 1918-07-14

atre for the benefit of the Free Milk
for France Fund.
"At the Hawks Well' was written
for the Japanese actor and dancer by
William Butler Yeats, who founded his
play on the Japanese legend of an old
man who watched by a desolate, an
cient we'll for fifty years, hoping that
one day the waters would bubble up
and that he, drinking of them, would
thereby attain immortality. Those
who know the exquisite verse of Yeats
need not be told that this work is as
inspired and painstaking as usual.
Yeats might almost be classed with
Flaubert for the severity Of his self
criticism. Visiting Lady Gregory in
Ireland, Yeats used to come from his
room at dinner time declaring he had
done good days work because three
full lines had been written since morn
ing to his satisfaction. It would be
difficult for such combination of
genius and laborious effort to fail, and
there is no need to mention the meas
ures to which poor Lady Gregory had
! to resort to keep her guest at continu-
Gus labor.
The Japanese "Noh" drama is a her
ltage. and may be compared to that of
the ancient Greeks, inasmuch as speak
ers and players are used in both, as
we'll as masks. (The idea of the Greek
chorus was seen here last winter in the
arrangement of "Lc Cog dor" pro-
duced at the Metropolitan The word
"Noh" is a animation of two Chinese
words, and means possibilities-the
possibilities of art, or, in other words,
technique. Scenery in the modern
sense, or in any sense at all for the
matter of that, is unknown in the "Noh"
play. Imagination must serve the audi
ence at all moments. Those who saw
The Yellow Jacket" will understand
what mean, for the principal comment
on that wonderful little play was con-
corning the lack Of scenery. The masks.
too, are regarded curiously by Occiden.
tai audiences. Yet when the Roman thea
ire became more intellectual the play
ers abandoned makeup for moulded
masks, asserting that these expressed
better types of character, and that
ehe expression of player is, after all,
mainly in the movements of the entire
body.
Yeats's "Noh" play was given twice
in England-in friends drawing room
IN April, 1916, and a few days later in
the town house of Lord Islington be-
fore the Dowager Queen Alexandra. OF
course there was no scenery. and
Yeats, averring his blunder had been
that he did not discover in his yontb
'hao MS theatre must be the ancient
theatre that can be made by unrolline
carpet or marking q place with
SUCK or setting screen against the
wall, himself chased away reporters and
photographers, telling them that on,v
people who cared for poetry were to be
present. He said he had found his
model at last-and only a paryenu has
no model--in the "Noh" stage of ar;s.
tocratic Japan.
preceding "At the Hawks Well" last
wednesday there was a short pro.
gramme Of songs by Koscak 'Yamada
legendary dances and native music that
'hose In the audience who had not been
TO Japan might have an opportunity 70
see something of the art of that conn.
Try. 1t Is painful to record that a rep
resentatlve American audience laughed
loudly and continuously during the
playing OF Japanese Instruments. Man.
ners went flying at the sound of an un-
familiar scale.
Michio Itow, whose minute intensity
OF movement and extraordinary talent
tor conveying emotion through charac-