Evening star., 1922-03-07
BY FORREST DAVIS.


Special Correspondence of The Star and chicago
| Daily News.
DUBLIN, Ireland. February g.
| What will the Irish nation do with
| the Abbey, its nationalist theater and
the most significant cultural institu-
| tfon In Ireland?
"The free state should subsidize
the Abbey. house it In modern. ade-
quate structure and lend every pat
ronage," say Lady Gregory and
| Lennox Robinson, the former one OF
| the founders and directors, and the
! latter its manager.
Every civilized nation should nave
| state theater in which TO devetop
its native DRAMA" continues hob-
| inson.
| "The free state should leave the
! Abbey alone" says George w. Hus-
sell. the celebrated "A. E." also
with the playhouse. Il am suspicious
of government meddling with art IN
4 any form. Art Is not like caboages
and hams and motor cars 70 oe
| created through application OF SET
principles. Politicians seldom nave
| Abbey's success has been due 10 lts
poverty and its independence.
| Subject for Debate.
And there is the foundation for an
| interesting series of debates among
Dublin's intelligentsia.
The Abbey is one of the cradles OF
the so-called Irish literary renais-
sance. which began in 1899. 1t Is
| connected with the Gaelic League
laterally. At about the time the irish
| literary theater was being formed
Arthur Grifith started to preach the
gospel of Sim Fein in his weekly.
The three forces. the Gaelic League,
Il Sim Fein and the Abbey Theater'
1 were the chief instruments In uniting
Irishmen in the desire for national
self-expression which led to nome
rule.
It was in the Abbey that those
sensitive, earnest artists. Lady Greg
Il ory. w. b. Yeats-"A. E." calls him
"Willie"-John M. Synge. Lord Dun
sany, st. John Ervine and others gave
voice to Irish-ism. They wrote Irish
plays because the Abbey was pro-
fibited by its patent from producing
any other kind. and in searching the
ancient culture Of their country they
found hidden springs that nave en-,
riched their product. 1t Is douotfui
II any other nation has SO brilliant a
circle Of native dramatists as the
| one which surrounds the Abbey.
Whatever befalls the Abbey under
home rule will be of large Importance
to Ireland. If it is given state alo
and taken from its unimpos1ng quar-
ters. or whether its development as
an Independent movement continues
matters little so long as 1t still ar
ticulates Irish culture to the world.
Playhouse Ii Cheerless.
The playhouse is tiny and drab as
to externals and inside it is quite as
cheerless The building once served
Dublin for a morgue and some OF
the gloomy characteristics still are IN
evidence. A youth took my caro-
surveyed the several oil paintings OF
| Abbey notables on the walls ana
examined the paraphernalia OF the
tearoom In the lobby.
Robinson, it appears. was rehears,
Ing his newest st py,,..,dn play, dne to RoanS WatcS
| the rehearsal, and the lad. who said
he was Robinson's secretary. led me
! into the darkened stalls. as they call
| their first floor forward section:
| The manager was occupying
chair at the piano, his manuscript
on the music rack before him. He
had no difficulty occupying the char:
He could have occupied 1t had II
! been twice the size, for he Is an
| extraordinarily lengthy person and
| almost lnCOnCelVdOly lHiu. ~ eo0A>
two strides and was at my side for
a greeting. and I observed that his
hair was reached back In the manner
of an undergraduate pompadour. tnat
his collar seemed to be stunning his
lank pillar of a neck. that he was was
that he was taller than l had
thought him to be- ,, When sn,fs he ta,,nsa talRsd
ad as though he were too tired for
words. He has no accent; cult,
vated Irishmen do not as q rule roll
their RS.
Stage Filled With People.
| The stage was full Of people go
ing through the lines of the first act
Occasionally the manager prompted
one. twice piping out a humorous
comment. The fable being enacted
had to do with a managing d Dublin 6in
nose of her helpless family, two
brothers, q sister. a mother and
permanent visitor. so she could pe