In the case of great plays, the dramatic
representation is most successful from the genuinely artistic point of
view--which is the only point of view worthy of discussion--when the
just dramatic illusion is produced by simple and unpretending scenic
appliances, in which the inevitable "imperfections" are frankly left
to be supplied by the "thoughts" or imagination of the spectators.
Lovers of Shakespeare should lose no opportunity of urging the cause
of simplicity in the production of the plays of Shakespeare. Practical
common-sense, practical considerations of a pecuniary kind, teach us
that it is only by the adoption of simple methods of production that
we can hope to have Shakespeare represented in our theatres constantly
and in all his variety. Until Shakespeare is represented thus, the
spiritual and intellectual enlightenment, which his achievement offers
English-speaking people, will remain wholly inaccessible to the
majority who do not read him, and will be only in part at the command
of the few who do. Nay, more: until Shakespeare is represented on the
stage constantly and in his variety, English-speaking men and women
are liable to the imputation, not merely of failing in the homage due
to the greatest of their countrymen, but of falling short of their
neighbours in Germany and Austria in the capacity of appreciating
supremely great imaginative literature.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53