PEOPLE'S THEATRES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1927, 9 December 1913, Page 5

PEOPLE'S THEATRES.

MOVEMENT IN RUSSIA. BEST PLAYS FOR A FEW PENCE. Backward Russia, in most things of culture, Europe's byword, leads tho world in People's Theatres, says a St. Petersburg correspondent of the "Press." That is, in theatres with good art and low-priced seats, where tho tired working man, to whom two shillings is ail exorbitant charge, can seo things worth seeing for much less. In most European countries people's theatres aro few; civilised England, dcspito the experiment of Walter Besaut with the People's Palace, has not got one at all; and the hard-up workman resorts to tho moving picture or tho .cheap variety show-. Yet barbarous Russia lias 407 theatres existing wholly and entirely for tho - working class. They range from splendid stono playhouses and opera houses, ono of which is tho biggest theatre in the world, down to modest wooden buildings in romoto "uyezd" towns. And in addition to 40G of such people's theatres, there aro many others, which arc too modest for statistics, and consist chiefly of ah enterprising schoolmaster, a barn, and a few artistic muzhiks.

People's theatre existed in Russia at times when there wero 110110 at all elsewhere. They existed under serfdom; and, in fact, originated with serfdom. Wealthy owners of thousands of "souls" used to send the most promising "souls" to Moscow and St. Petersburg that they might learn to dance, play, and sing; and these histrionic inuzihiks, though remaining slaves, wero kept for my lord's entertainment, just as tho mediaeval barons kept jesters and buffous. Soon after tho emancipation, an ex-serf named Miehailowsky, who had been trained as an opera singer, at tho cost of Princo Dcmidoff, started, in the town of Tver, a small, cheap theatre for tho working classcs. Tho need for doing something to entertain tho now frco muzhik led to small theatres being started by kind-hearted people in towns, and even in villages, chiefly 111 Tainboy and Kursk governments; and several towns later started musical people's theatres with popular prices; or alloted the use of the ordinary theatres for several days 111 tho week to audiences of working men. Much of the success of tho movement is duo to Prince Alexander of Oldenburg. The" Prince of Oldenburg is a relative of the Romanoffs; his son, Prince Peter, is marrio dto tho Czar's sister Olga, an dliis wife, who was bom a Duchess of Lcuchtenberg, is also a kinswoman of Nicholas 11. Prince Alexander is a man of marked artistic talent and administrative capacity; 110 leads in every good work'; and 'ho is almost tho only man about tho court wlio enjoys popular respect. His wife, Princess Eugenie Maximiliauovna, backs him. Princo Alexander managed to get as a giftho disused iron building .of the Niji-Novgorod Exhibition, and 110 had this adapted, given a facade, and set up 011 tho "Petersburg side" to the north of tho Nova, which is tho historic ceutro of the capital. Hiis is tho building now officially known as "Tho People's Houso of Nicholas II." The People's Houso consists of a theatre, library, and restaurants; and last year it had a triumph in the addition 011 its left wing of a vast People's Opera House which holds 3500 spectators. Tho Opera Houso has thus no rival in tho world. It is built of reinforced concrete (seven women engineers helping to put it together), and it has a more scientific lighting and ventilation system than any other Russian theatre. Sinco its addition, tho ' People's House as a- whole, counting the two theatres,- restaurants, libraries, and grounds, can hold 30,000 person's; an devery Sunday and holiday it is full. Tho one trouble is that, as in all Russian People's Theatres, tho show is so good that the dearer seats tcntl to he filled by tho well-to-do middle class, and even by aristocrats. Princo Alexander and Princess Eugenic worked so hard at managing this Opera llouso that it has now a spk-iidid chorus and some first-rate solo singers, and it can tackle a varied repertory. It has staged all tho best Russian, Italian, French, and German composers; and can claim with tho MetroOpera House, Now York, to liavo been the only theatre other than Bayreuth to play Wagner's "Parsifal." So well was Wagner dono that 0110 of tho Bayreuth managers went to St. Petersburg to see if he could pick up notions. In this way, at priccs as low as threepence, a musical feast is given to the Petersburg workman which is not enjoyed by tho richest citizen anywhere else.

The essence of a People's Theatro is that prices shall he low. In big. towns like St. Petersburg tlio maximum is relatively high, sometimes two shillings; more often tho highest price is a shilling ; and tho cheapest seats may cost only a penny. There aro somo theatres which have only one prico for seats. In the "uyezd" towns, where wages aro low and other entertainments non-exis-tent, thcro aro people's theatres, consisting of a barn, a schoolmaster, and a dozen ambitious peasants, which give winter performances once a week and charge a penny for entry. It is hard to make such theatres pay. , But tho reports show that as the result of gratis help from artists and musicians and support from the rich public, 47 out of every 100 people's theatres pay their way; while the other 53 per cent, aro helped along by usually small subsidies.

By their variety of representation, oven in towns of 50,000 or so inhabitants, the people's theatres show the large amount of latent artistic talent in tho Russian nation. Tho small town of Kostroma, without any help from without, in one year, gave representations of plays and oneras by Shakespeare, Moliorc, Schiller, Ha'untmann, Ostrovsky, Tcliekhoff, Mobarfc, "Wagner, Donizetti, Bizet, Mascagui, and it further gave a dozen concerts. Of course, the performances were not first rate. In London or Paris they could be called very bad. But no French or English town of enual size could produce such works, well or ill. And, naturally, for grimy working men and muzhik carters they seem an •inacccssiblo peak of art and civilisation.

A Bishop's Storlforrt fnrmei lui9 liar, vested a crop of oats in which the straw was 7ft. high, and each head contained over 2(10 oats. Tho crop is estimated to yield thirteen quarters, or 101 bushels, to the acre. According'to tho statistics of alpine accidents during the latest year available, l.lie number ot' English who have lust their lives by foo'ihardincss on the Alps is surpassed by several other nations. Tlio total number of accidents in tlio past year was 165, of which jio fewer than G5 woro fatal, and of these the greater number of accidents happened to Swiss and German climbers. Some interesting experiments havo been mado to ascertain which woods last tho longest. It was fonud that birch and a-:pen decayed in three years, willow and chestnut in four, year?, and elm and «sh in seven years. Oak, Scottish fir, and Weymouth pine decayed to tho depth of half an inch in seven years; larch and juniper wero uninjured at the end of seven years. A woman (named Nellio Lambert), who is appearing in Loudon just now, claims not only to be "the heaviest and stoutest lady on earth," but also to be the greaturauddaughter of the famous Daniel Uinihert, who is generally conceded to have licon the heaviest man of whom there in any authentic record. Nellie Lambert is now in her twentieth year, claims to weigh Hist'. Hlb.. and, like Daniel, is a native of Leicester. For (.'.iildren'6 Hacking Cough at Night, Woods' Great Pewiennlnt Cure, lj, (jd,"