Theatre: ‘Frank’ Trend Deplored

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30962, 19 January 1966, Page 9

Theatre: ‘Frank’ Trend Deplored

The visiting American actor, producer, and director, Mr Romney Brent who spent last week-end instructing young Christchurch actors in a two-day “workshop,” has very definite ideas about some of the “more frank” of the mod-

ern plays he has seen. Many of them, he says, are just childish experiments in the use of dirty words. “During my last visit to Europe, I sat and watched one play which made me wonder just where modern theatre was heading,” he said. “I sat ther'e for almost two hours listening to a couple of actors shouting obscenities at each other. That was all there was to the play—a lot of dirty words. "Our values have changed so rapidly in the last few years, that the old barriers are not just down, they have gone altogether. Sex and obscenity are new fields to be explored. For some modern playwrights they seem to have a morbid fascination—they are rather like young children learning their first dirty words and being delighted with the shocked response they produce.

“What was even more amazing, was the audience’s reaction. There was not a single snigger as they sat in rapt attention. They all had fixed stares, and were hanging on to every word as if it were a revelation. I think they were looking for a hidden meaning.

"I don’t mind that sort of stuff if you can laugh at the childishness of it, but if there was a hidden meaning then I’d like to know what it was.” Mr Brent impressed those at the workshop with his quiet efficiency, and attention to detail. He has only a trace of an accent, and could easily be taken for an Englishman. His quiet approach concealed an intense zeal for his art, and his knowledge of plays and the theatre was vast NEXT DIRECTION Mr Brent was not prepared to predict the next direction drama would take. “I don’t think there is anyone who would answer that one," he said. "One thing I am sure of is that many of these sensationai modern plays will not last Theptaps

of the great dramatists will last tong after this other stuff has been thrown out.” Mir Brent considers that “Hamlet” is not only the finest of Shakespeare’s plays, but the greatest play ever written.

“In this play we have really deep psychological insights into the workings of the human mind. This is the essence of good drama —the deeper and more accurately the playwright probes human behaviour, the more successful the play.” SINCERITY

Impressed by the talent he had already seen i'n New Zealand, Mr Brent had this advice for young actors. “Be sincere,” he said. “What more is there to say? If you understand your part and interpret it as sincerely as possible, then that is all it is possible to do. “The young actors I have already seen here have this sincerity in their work. They tove acting, and because of this, they do it well.” To develop a strong national theatre, Mr Brent considers there are two essentials—a professional theatre, and the production of more local plays.

“No matter how keen an actor is, as long as he is an amateur he has only limited time to devote to his craft. As a professional he has a greater opportunity to perfect his technique. “Every country must develop its own plays before it can build a strong national theatre. This has always been my advice —play your own playwrights. “For every country there are problems with dramatic potential which can be best interpreted on the stage by those who are intrinsically involved in similar situations in their daily lives.”