Chapter I: Preface

Whilst reading the proof-sheets of these articles I have been oppressed by the thought that they give a gloomy idea about the state of our Stage. Yet I am naturally sanguine. Indeed, no one taking a deep interest in our drama could have written for a score or so of years about it unless of a naturally sanguine temperament. There has been great progress during my time, yet we still are far from possessing a modern national drama creditable to us. Some imagine that the British have no inborn genius for writing drama, or acting it, and look upon those dramatists and players whose greatness cannot be denied as mere exceptions to a rule. Without alleging that at the moment we have a Shakespeare, a Garrick or a Siddons, I assert confidently that we own dramatists and players able, if rightly used, to make our theatre worthy of our country and also that the misuse of them is appalling. For very many years the history of the English stage has been chiefly a record of waste, of gross commercialism and of honest efforts ruined by adherence to mischievous traditions: the Scottish and Irish stage have been mere reflections of our own.

At the moment Ireland is making a brave and remarkably successful effort at emancipation, and during the last few years has laid the foundations of a National Theatre and built a good deal upon them. Scotland lags a little, yet the energy and enthusiasm of Mr Alfred Wareing and the citizens of Glasgow have enabled them to create an institution not unlikely to serve as the home of a real Scots drama. They offer to the native playwright an opportunity of showing that a national drama--not a drama merely echoing the drama of other lands--lies inherent in the race. Who knows that they may not induce that wayward man of genius, J.M. Barrie, to become the parent of Scots drama by honestly and sincerely using his rare gifts as dramatist in an effort to express the pathos and the humour, the courage and the shyness, the shrewdness and the imagination, and also the less agreeable qualities and characteristics of our brothers across the border.

And England? I have little first-hand knowledge of the provinces, but with such as I possess, and the aid of the _Era Annual_ and the _Stage Year Book_, can state unhesitatingly that the position is very unsatisfactory. Admirable, valuable work is being done bravely by Miss Horniman at Manchester; Mr F.R. Benson and his company devotedly carry the banner of Shakespeare through the land; but in the main the playhouses of the provinces and great cities of England offer little more than echoes of the London theatres, and such original works as are produced in them generally are mere experiments made on the dog before a piece is presented in London. In this respect, the suburbs resemble the provinces, although Mr J.B. Mulholland courageously makes efforts to give Hammersmith something new and good. The Coronet has seen some valuable ventures--perhaps Notting Hill is not a suburb--and at the moment is devoted to the production of real novelties.

In the West End theatres of London the position at first sight seems desperate. During the last twenty years, in consequence of the intervention of middlemen, rents have risen 100 per cent.; owing to the folly of managers the salaries of the company have increased to a similar extent; whilst the cost of scenery, costumes and the like also has grown enormously. Indeed, it is probably an under-statement to allege that the money spent in running a theatre on the customary commercial lines is twice as great as it was in 1890. Yet the price of seats has not been raised. Consequently theatre management has become a huge gamble, in which there are few prizes, and the amount of money lost annually is great. Naturally, under such circumstances the principal, almost the only, aim of the ordinary manager is to please the masses. Many concessions are made to the wishes of the crowd, and by way of excuse the phrase "the drama's laws the drama's patrons give" is quoted. It is painful to think that people can quote Johnson's line without a feeling of scorn, yet it necessarily contains an awful amount of truth when theatres are managed under the present mad conditions. What art has ever made progress under laws dictated by the great half-washed?

Half-a-dozen of the West End theatres are devoted to musico-dramatic works which, whatever their merits in other respects, have none as drama, and certainly have done little for the development of English music. As a rule several houses are under the management of American managers and they, putting Mr Frohman aside, rarely prove anything but the sterility of America drama or their contempt for the taste of our playgoers who, however, as a rule prefer native to imported rubbish--hence grumbles in the United States about prejudice and unfair play. Mr Frohman, as part of his repertory scheme, and otherwise as well, has done something to help the modern English dramatist. Putting Shakespeare out of the question, for of course he has nothing to do with English modern drama, we have little in the ordinary London theatre that is not the natural result of bad traditions, and the only progress made is in the direction of increased dexterity in playwriting--unfortunately increased dexterity as a rule in handling old subjects according to the old traditions, which leave the stage curiously outside the world of literature and also of ordinary human life.

On the other hand, thanks to the efforts of many enthusiasts working by means of societies and clubs, such as the Independent Theatre--the first of all--the Century Theatre, the (Incorporated) Stage Society, the Pioneers, the Play Actors and others, and the Play-goers' Club, the O.P. Club and the Gallery First Nighters, and also thanks to the efforts of Messrs Vedrenne and Barker, at the Court Theatre, real progress has been made in London towards the creation of an English modern theatre, and we now possess a valuable body of dramatists, some to a great extent, others altogether, neglected by the ordinary theatre. Speaking of these dramatists collectively, it may fairly be said that their gifts are greater, their ambitions higher and their theories of drama sounder than those of their rivals who work for the ordinary theatre; and I should add that the ordinary theatre is far richer in dramatists of quality than it was twenty years ago. So we have the playwrights.

Also we have the plays. The publication in book form of the best native pieces presented by the enthusiasts of whom I have spoken, but not offered to the general public for a run, would satisfy any critic that the English modern drama exists although we are still waiting for the English modern theatre.

Moreover, we have the players. Some, though not many, of the fashionable stars would serve, whilst there are numbers of really able actresses and actors who have proved their ability to represent modern comedy, but owing to the strange policy of managers are rarely employed by the ordinary theatre--in London. In several cases the policy may be sound, since the regular fare of the fashionable houses as a rule demands a showy, but insincere, style out of the range, or at least the demonstrated range, of the neglected players.

Does the public for such a theatre exist? I think so. The number of playgoers is very large, and although only a comparatively small proportion goes out of its way to patronise the non-commercial drama a very large proportion has grown weary of the ordinary drama--a fact shown by the recent failure of plays which not many years ago would have been successful.

Do the critics exist? They are an important element in the matter. The question is a delicate one for me to answer. Certainly some of our dramatic critics are men of culture and courage, able to appreciate new ideas. The difficulty is more with the newspapers than their representatives. For a sad aspect of the present state of affairs lies in the fact that the desire to obtain tittle-tattle and gossip concerning the players often outweighs the desire to obtain sincere, intelligent criticism, and the result is obvious. There is ten times more "copy" published about the persons and personal affairs of the author of a play and of its players than concerning its merits and faults.

However, after taking all the elements into account, it may confidently be asserted that within the lifetime of the present generation of playgoers radical changes will have taken place, and even if we may not possess tragedy of the highest quality we shall have a theatre of modern English drama--serious comedy and also light comedy and farce--really expressive of current life and thought and fine enough in style to render the most critical Englishman proud of his country's drama.

E.F.S.

_October 1910_

The thanks of the author are due to the Proprietors and the Editor of _The Westminster Gazette_ for kindly consenting to the republication of articles which have already appeared in that journal.

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER I

THE DRAMATIC CRITIC

His Qualifications--His Knowledge of Fashionable Society--His Duties and Difficulties--His Stock Phrases--The Circumstances under which he writes--His Fear of Libel Actions 1

CHAPTER II

THE DRAMATIC CRITIC

His Duty to be tolerant--His Sympathies when young--The Jaded Critic--His Unpaid Labours and his Letter Bag 28

CHAPTER III

THE DRAMATIC CRITIC

An Attack upon him--Why he is disliked--His Honesty--His Abolition--The Threatened Theatrical Trust 49

CHAPTER IV

PLAYS OF PARTICULAR TYPES

The Pseudo-Historical--The Horrible in Drama--The Immorality Play--Scripture Plays--Anecdotal Plays--The Supernatural 72

CHAPTER V

PLAYS OF PARTICULAR TYPES

Unsentimental Drama--The Second-hand Drama--Plays with a Purpose--Drama and Social Reform 99

CHAPTER VI

THE PHENOMENA OF THE STAGE

The Optics--Make-up--Gesture--Scenery at the French Plays--Stage Costumes--Colour--Stage Meals 118

CHAPTER VII

THE MORALITY OF OUR DRAMA

Mr Harry Lauder on the Morals of Our Drama--Double Entente--Moral Effect on Audience--An Advantage of French Dramatists 149

CHAPTER VIII

CASUAL NOTES ON ACTING

Mr H.B. Irving on his Art--Mr Bourchier and "Max" on English Acting--The Sicilian Players--Alleged Dearth of Great Actresses--Character Actresses--Stage Misfits--Stars 167

CHAPTER IX

STAGE DANCING

The Skirts of the Drama--Isadora Duncan 195

CHAPTER X

THINGS IN THE THEATRE

A Defence of the Matinée Hat--A Justification of certain Deadheads--Theatrical Advertisements--Music 205

CHAPTER XI

IN THE PLAYHOUSE

Laughter--Smoking in the Auditorium--Conduct of the Audience--Concerning the Pit--Why do we go to the Theatre? 229

CHAPTER XII

MISCELLANEOUS

Signor Borsa on the English Theatre--G.B.S. and the Amateurs--Cant about Shakespeare--Yvette Guilbert on Dramatists 252

CHAPTER XIII

MISCELLANEOUS

Finance in Plays--Some Unsuccessful Dramatists--The Ending of the Play--Preposterous Stage Types--The Professions of the Dramatis Personae 271