New-York tribune., 1919-11-16
AS We We're Saying
By Rebecca Drucker

EwHERE IS no a single moment
~ in The Let Leader" 10 COM
~ mand the historians respect.
Vsz| Its conten of fact is nil. 1t
is the wildst fantasy. 1t is
handful of air ltis the immemorial
legend with which all subject peoples
have comforted thmselves-that their
lost leader will yet-eturn to lead them
in winning fight. 1t is an old wives
tale whispered acres the fire on windy
nights-that Parrll still lives on
somewhere matching treacherv with
guile, waiting his time to strike an
other blow. Whs is it, then. that
compe.s belief in t as reduction to
Inc stage OF fortyyears of Irish his
tory What is itthat establishes its
historical perspective as true? What
5 1t that seems eloquent,y and lu-
I'D to explicate 1e present-day Irish
political struggle?
With great widom Lennox Robin
son, the young PLAYWRIGHT of the Abbey
almost in the form Of myth. He has
supernatural chane by which he brings
political scene, tn mystical power by
iIS laws OclO4C HiIu al tAS
warning impulses Of Ireland, the very
battling manner ( his death. leaving
the rigma of hi identity unsolved-
all this is made the stuff of fireside
superstition, of pre- Imagination. But
II Is an extraordinarily clear medium
through which o see the moving
forces, the .-opes the aspirations, the
very character ofrrish history.
There seems al extraordinary illus
tration here Of the selfsustaining
quality OF the theter, its orchidaceous
quality. II IS aworld that has ro
support in fact .ather, the further it
gets away from fct, the higher the al
titude in which it builds, the more
likely is IL to re.rea&e the whole and
essential outliresof q figure, q move
ment or an epocl After all. the his
torical play Is effort to bring i'm
agination TO bea on history. Regal
vanzing the deabody Of facts as they
have been knownis to repeat them in
their dullness an incoherence. The
freer the quality of imagination. the
more play haswrcno he'd free from
the limitations Z historical details,
the more likely to catch some
thing intrinsic. 20 build it with the
bricks of fact isnore often than not
70 obscure the trth.
There is an exsdiency, too. in build
ing with imagin;ion instead of facts
that too many historical dramatists
have overlooked. Only imagination is
really inviolable n the theatre. Build
0 carefully as yu will for historical
accuracy and yo, only challenge some
one to find thiiplace through which
10 poke the fing of scorn. After
kti fnara ch raxpHneao in fhA
Prosecuting atteney whom Anatole
france describesin penguin Island"
ne refused to p,sent any evidence in
MS prosecution the miscreant Pyrot.
II you observation-disclosures you ran the
grave risk of hsing some one arise
disprove 1t. e preferred to prose-
cute without evience.
There was 8 hn Of conversation ris-
ing from the auence filing out Of the
Irovlncetown PHers' Little Theater
" Macdougai Sect. A woman COM
Rialned: This the sixth season Of
.neir existence, nd l cannot see that
isney have arrive at anything. They
get"
n, The day In wlch the Provincetown
f'syers will kno their own minds Is,
oope, far of. t will be the end Of
s snst oucyant exrimenting that is the
Unique lussificatn of their existence.
~sc 1t will Gu of from tho sight
" New York pkgoers much that is
.Sfth seeing, e which our regular
Sssneme Of thears does not provide
aoase room.
me hrst bill the present season
"v.us At least tree provocative and
ts.smeiy 'ntereing plays which prove
a' the Prowcetown Players have
Sss arrived at az finished results they
xI a. least lot the edge Of theii
Snsss s and sls.priss keen.