Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-24

Straford's fourth set of first
nights this week was the ques-
ton: Was its festival, which
brought the city world renown.
a Guthrie festival or a Shakes
pearean one? Thanks to Mr..
Langham and the spirited re-
Spouse of the larger all
Canadian acting company,
the Bard and Stratford won.
The triumph of the latter
is the greater for the fact that
the plays chosen for 1856 are
two of the stoutest tests
Shakespeare devised for direc-
tor and players. The one,
Henry "" is a loosely written
chronicle sculptured into the
most dazzling of all Shake
spearean films by Sir Lau-
renee Olivier. The other,
Merry Wives" is a piece of
slapstick trivia dashed of by
the author in a fortnight, at
the obviously tasteful request
of Queen Elizabeth 1.
Eloquent Costumes
Thanks to four standout
talents-Director Langham's,
Christopher Plummer as Henry
v. Douglas Campbell as Fall
staff in Merry Wives" and
Tania Moiseiwitch. who is the
genius designer of Stratford's
project-all is we'll, if not al
together beyond a few bubbles.
AS a reflection OF her genius.
Miss Moiseiwitch's Henry v"
costumes are as eloquent as
any aspect of it in expressing
the plays major point. This,
how so few dauntless English
could conquer 10 times as
many dandif1ed French. De-
signers rarely figure so daz-
zingly in playmaking as does
the woman who gave Stratford
its so fluid stage and has been
so valuable a handmaiden to
Shakespeare at this Stratford.
OF the two plays which will
be played on alternate nights
for the eight weeks season
here, Henry v" is the domi-
nant attraction. One may de-
muir that Stratford refuses to
cut any Of Shakespeare's works.
even one so reckleSSly orna-
mented as this. One may argue
logically that tedium colors
the first long act of Mr.. Lang
hams two, and that some
thing unhappy creeps into the
Wanted heretofore pure die
ton Of Stratford productions.
Nevertheless, a brilliant
second half redresses the bal
ance and serves a variety Of
impressively entertaining pur-
poses.
Characters Humanized
One Of these is to reveal
dramatically the emergence of
a playboy into a King, another
to bring shiningly to the fore
ground the political point of
the play, and a third to make
humans of characters so
widely regarded as figures in
a spectacle.
A Canadian actor. young
Christopher Plummer, who
could not even make the Strait
ford team before. comes back
from a Broadway triumph in
1.-THE Lark" to approach star
dom in the Henry v" title
role. Mr.. Plummer is no Olivier,
whom he resembles in face,
figure, and mannerisms. Never
thelesS he is a natural and,
given time and exacting ex-
perience, he well may be.
He is brilliantly used by
Director Langham to make
every inch a King out of the
inspired delinquent who was
Prince Hal in Henry w." As
poets of this hayward juvenile
are apparent in Plummer's
Henry v portrait. The man
who is so loftily courageous
and so full of faith and
touched by modesty and diff
dence can, and does, show
doubt that his boyhood fitted
him for his present response
bilities.
AS the center Of Langham's
! play in successful flight from
pure pageant, Plummer is one
Of Canada's brighter new re-
sources.
More than in any other YER
! Continued on Pig. Ed. Col. 3