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Next Religion," which suffered a similar fate, was twice privately performed by the 

 New Players at the London Pavilion. On the whole, however, it would be true to say 

 that a wider toleration has sprung up, or, perhaps, a greater amount of tact has been 

 exhibited in the Lord Chamberlain's office. One important change that has been made 

 seems likely to work well. In order to put music halls and theatres on the same footing, 

 so far as dramatic representation was concerned, the Lord Chamberlain decided to issue 

 Stage Play licences to the music halls under his jurisdiction, a much needed reform which 

 has given a great opportunity for the production of short and telling dramatic episodes 

 at all the leading " variety " houses. 



Recent Plays in London. As we survey the various productions in the London 

 theatres for the last two years we are struck with their prodigal variety. It may be 

 very difficult to say precisely what kind of play an English audience instinctively pre- 

 fers, but it seems on the whole likely, if we judge by much past experience in English 

 dramatic history, that the English people like a touch of melodrama, that they are wed- 

 ded to the old idea that virtue must be shown f o prosper and vice to fail, and that in 

 consequence new forms of realism have not as good a chance with them as the varieties 

 of sentimental idealism. Confronted, however, as we are by a vast mass of material, our 

 only plan will be to divide it, so far as it is possible, into groups, marking, at the same 

 time, the relative success or failure of the various ventures. 



Let us take the Shakespearian drama first. The great home of Shakespearian drama 

 in London is, of course, His Majesty's Theatre, and it has been the good fortune of 

 Sir Herbert Tree to prove that Shakespeare, so far from spelling bankruptcy, brings 

 material gains to the booking office. " Henry VIII " was brought out with no little 

 success, the part of the burly monarch being sustained by Mr. Arthur Bourchier, whilst 

 Sir Herbert Tree, following the example of Sir Henry Irving, kept for himself the role 

 of Cardinal Wolsey. " Macbeth " was another venture, which did not, however, enjoy 

 the same prosperity. In the case of " Othello," which had a run for some time at His 

 Majesty's, it was generally recognised that the young actress, Miss Phyllis Terry, as 

 Desdemona, earned well-deserved laurels, while Mr. Laurence Irving as lago gave, at 

 all events, an interesting and a refreshingly youthful rendering of the part. Sir Herbert 

 Tree's Othello had, undoubtedly, good moments. In the autumn of 1911 Mr. Fred 

 Terry produced " Romeo and Juliet " at the New Theatre. He was himself to have 

 appeared in the part of Mercutio, but was, unfortunately, incapacitated by illness, and 

 principal honours were won by his daughter Miss Phyllis Terry in an extremely able and 

 promising performance of Juliet. The only other item in our Shakespearian list to 

 which we need refer is the recent production of " The Winter's Tale " at the Savoy Thea- 

 tre, "by Mr. Granville Barker. Probably no piece of modern times has given rise to a 

 greater amount of controversy, for Mr. Barker boldly challenged traditional methods 

 and produced a spirited version of the play which had a kind of pre-Raphaelite, or per- 

 haps, Post-Impressionist effect, both in design and in execution. Its chief features 

 were, first the performance of the whole play as Shakespeare wrote it, with the exception 

 of some eight lines; second, a great rapidity of utterance in the delivery of the speeches, 

 which for many theatregoers afforded a welcome change from the stately and dilatory 

 phrasing of the conventional method; and v thirdly, the rearrangement of the stage, 

 which brought it back nearer to the conditions of the Elizabethan playhouse. Thus, for 

 instance, there was what is technically known as an " apron " in front of the regular 

 stage, enabling a number of scenes to be enacted before a curtain hiding the main stage. 

 In the general effect produced, it was possible to discern several contributory 'influences. 

 Mr. Granville Barker very cleverly made use of a good deal of modern experience. Some 

 debt was incurred to Professor Max Reinhardt, something was due also to the exertions 

 of Mr. William Poel and his Elizabethan enterprises. But, perhaps, the main influence 

 came from the Russian ballet and M. Leon Bakst. Mr. Granville Barker carried his 

 policy a step further in the production of " Twelfth Night," a very beautiful and note- 

 worthy spectacle, admirably acted by Miss Lillah McCarthy, Mr. Henry Ainley, 

 Mr. Leo Quartermaine and others. 



