Our Stage and Its Critics | Page 2

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