THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW 
681 
toward the time oi strife, a strife between romanticism on one side and 
Ibsen s and Bjornson s realism on the other, while the declamatory 
beauty of the words was sacrificed to a realistic interpretation of life. 
At this time (18/4) the old building, erected in 1748, was torn 
down and replaced by the present structure, the third Danish national 
stage, where Holberg’s comedies are still honored, but where at the 
same time consideration is given to the dramatic literature of the day 
at home as well as abroad. A generation ago artists like Emil and 
Olaf Poulsen and Fru Hennings were the leading talents; to-day 
Johannes Poulsen, Poul Reumert, and Bodil Ipsen of the younger 
artists have succeeded them. From an artistic point of view the great¬ 
est success is at present scored in plays like Gustav Wied’s charming 
comedy Two Times Two Is Five and Gustav Esmann’s idyl The Old 
Home . In these trifles the actors give a touching expression to the 
most lovable qualities of the national character: geniality and humor. 
At such performances the Danish national theatre maintains the best 
traditions of its history. 
Interested Spectators in the Old Royal Theatre. From a Drawing by 
Klaestrup 
