ruene Kakadu
Der
g. 3 eeee en ene
box 15/3
offacemnent Wieht eie Pne
kept her out of The Green Cockatoo“
altogether, and in the title röle of
Hannele the spectacle of seeing her
playing a 12-year-old child was al¬
most too severe a strain upon the
imagination. In the dim half light of
tho beggar’s den, lying on the cot bed,
carefully draped with her rags and the
blanket, Mrs. Fiske’s voice carriedthe röle
for a single scene, but even here vocally
her performance was by no mears
childish. Later, when in the course of her
dreams she assumes the white celestial
robes of Hannele and prepares to enter
her golden coffin, and later, when with the
calciums blazing full upon her she pre¬
pares to mount the golden Stairs, she
reminded you only of a partionlarly
buxom and precccions little Eva, who
was not by any means so little at that.
After all,it is only a stop from
the sublime to the Uncle Tom’s Cabin
point of view and last night tHo light
effects were in nearly every instance
pointed so high that all illusion was lest.
Never from an electrical and mechahical
point of view bas Hannele“ been so
elaborately mounted, but never before
have we seen a performance of it whic’
carried so little conviction. Forthis, it is
true, the overlighting was partly toblame,
but at the same time Mrs. Fiske's own
portrayal was mest seriously at fäult.
Throughout thero was an overelaboration
which seriously hurt the play.
As a matter öf fact,Hanhele“ is a
play to be read rather than acted. It
deals with such sacred and celestial things
that no stage management in the world
can present it fittingly; besides, the pres¬
ence of the figure of the Saviour on the
stage in the full glare of the lime¬
light is just as objectionable to many
thousands of theatregoers as it was
when first shown here sixteen years ago.
It’s all very well to say that this figure is
w.erely Hannele’s friend, Dr. Gottwald,
glorified by thechild’s fervid imagination,
but the intent and the result is to present
an actual figure of the Christ, Gottwald
is, of course, the most important röle
in Hannele, and here again there was a
interpretation of it. That wonderful
speech in the second scene he rendered
in a monotonous way, which had no real
trace of tenderness. Miss Alice John
played the nun beautifully, and Wilfred
Buckland’s makeup as the Tall Dirk
Angel was singularly impressive. But
for äll that there was not one moment
when the play really caught and held
yon. Great as it may be as a poetio
fantasy, it does not belong by righis in
Mrs. Fiske’s splendid répertoire.
Before Hannele“ began the house was
plunged into darkness, and for what
seemed like at least ten minutes the audi¬
ence had to listen to a dirge-like over¬
ture. The effect was maddening. For
a few minutes, “the people that in dark¬
iness sat' behaved becomingly. Then
ffrom all parts of the house came bursts
of impatient applause. But still the agony
piled on. If that curtain had remained
down another half minute there would
have been bursts öf hysterical laughter,
which would have ruined the play. Even
in a Hauptmann drama there is such a
thing as exceeding the agony limits.
Mrs. Fiske, for subsequent performances.
will be wise to cut that overture.
The curtain raiser, The Green. Cocka¬
too,“ seemed a great deal of fuss aböut
othing. Its costumes were elaborate
and its cast was as long as your arm, but
ithere was not a single character which
stood out from the others to any romark¬
able extent, and for half an hour the play
proved a powerful bore. Thete was
action in the last three minutes of it but
not enough to make it in any way success.
Mr. Blinn, Mr. Mackay and Miss John
stand out as individuals. Unless it has
a remarkably powerful story, there is
nothing on earth can prove more boring
than one of these elaborately costumed
Revolutioriary plays. The Green Cock¬
atoo,’we take it, is no relation to Chan¬
AcroN DAvIEs.
tecler.“
14100
Der
g. 3 eeee en ene
box 15/3
offacemnent Wieht eie Pne
kept her out of The Green Cockatoo“
altogether, and in the title röle of
Hannele the spectacle of seeing her
playing a 12-year-old child was al¬
most too severe a strain upon the
imagination. In the dim half light of
tho beggar’s den, lying on the cot bed,
carefully draped with her rags and the
blanket, Mrs. Fiske’s voice carriedthe röle
for a single scene, but even here vocally
her performance was by no mears
childish. Later, when in the course of her
dreams she assumes the white celestial
robes of Hannele and prepares to enter
her golden coffin, and later, when with the
calciums blazing full upon her she pre¬
pares to mount the golden Stairs, she
reminded you only of a partionlarly
buxom and precccions little Eva, who
was not by any means so little at that.
After all,it is only a stop from
the sublime to the Uncle Tom’s Cabin
point of view and last night tHo light
effects were in nearly every instance
pointed so high that all illusion was lest.
Never from an electrical and mechahical
point of view bas Hannele“ been so
elaborately mounted, but never before
have we seen a performance of it whic’
carried so little conviction. Forthis, it is
true, the overlighting was partly toblame,
but at the same time Mrs. Fiske's own
portrayal was mest seriously at fäult.
Throughout thero was an overelaboration
which seriously hurt the play.
As a matter öf fact,Hanhele“ is a
play to be read rather than acted. It
deals with such sacred and celestial things
that no stage management in the world
can present it fittingly; besides, the pres¬
ence of the figure of the Saviour on the
stage in the full glare of the lime¬
light is just as objectionable to many
thousands of theatregoers as it was
when first shown here sixteen years ago.
It’s all very well to say that this figure is
w.erely Hannele’s friend, Dr. Gottwald,
glorified by thechild’s fervid imagination,
but the intent and the result is to present
an actual figure of the Christ, Gottwald
is, of course, the most important röle
in Hannele, and here again there was a
interpretation of it. That wonderful
speech in the second scene he rendered
in a monotonous way, which had no real
trace of tenderness. Miss Alice John
played the nun beautifully, and Wilfred
Buckland’s makeup as the Tall Dirk
Angel was singularly impressive. But
for äll that there was not one moment
when the play really caught and held
yon. Great as it may be as a poetio
fantasy, it does not belong by righis in
Mrs. Fiske’s splendid répertoire.
Before Hannele“ began the house was
plunged into darkness, and for what
seemed like at least ten minutes the audi¬
ence had to listen to a dirge-like over¬
ture. The effect was maddening. For
a few minutes, “the people that in dark¬
iness sat' behaved becomingly. Then
ffrom all parts of the house came bursts
of impatient applause. But still the agony
piled on. If that curtain had remained
down another half minute there would
have been bursts öf hysterical laughter,
which would have ruined the play. Even
in a Hauptmann drama there is such a
thing as exceeding the agony limits.
Mrs. Fiske, for subsequent performances.
will be wise to cut that overture.
The curtain raiser, The Green. Cocka¬
too,“ seemed a great deal of fuss aböut
othing. Its costumes were elaborate
and its cast was as long as your arm, but
ithere was not a single character which
stood out from the others to any romark¬
able extent, and for half an hour the play
proved a powerful bore. Thete was
action in the last three minutes of it but
not enough to make it in any way success.
Mr. Blinn, Mr. Mackay and Miss John
stand out as individuals. Unless it has
a remarkably powerful story, there is
nothing on earth can prove more boring
than one of these elaborately costumed
Revolutioriary plays. The Green Cock¬
atoo,’we take it, is no relation to Chan¬
AcroN DAvIEs.
tecler.“
14100