TRADE UNION THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 207, 27 May 1919, Page 5

TRADE UNION THEATRE

MR. NOB3I AN M'KINNEL'S SCHEME,

A repertory theatre, ready to present "rf r'' 1 " Public wants, from Oedipus Bes' to "East , ,Lynne," and with a company of more than -1000 members from which to cast the plays, is a ■project now being laid before the theatrical profession in England. denominator of the idea ,is Mr. Not. man Mlunnek who combines with the iS t> "Unnous Him in "The House ?if , 0 P osl tion of. vice-chairman ot _ the Actors' Association, the . trado 1,111011 e tlleatre . which alroady has over 4000 members.

Mr. M'Kinnel would go a sten further than merely remedy the admitted grievances under which some of the humbler players suffer; ho see 3 also in tlio association a great "weapon for moulding the taste of the public and for really giving it m the theatre what it wishes to see. Only three classes of people, it is urged, are necessary, to conduct a repertory theatre—the actor, the author, and the audience. I ,T rom the ranks of .the association every kind of. play could be nrovid' -an, excellent cast; the authors, it is beheved, are willing to work in Inendly co-operation; whether the on ,mence t will be attracted depends upon the eftorts of the other two olasses. > Previous attempts to establish a repertory theatre .in London havo failed, in the opinion of the actors themselves; be« cause the drama it provided has appealed to too few.. A theatre which hna to be subsidised by enthusiasts has no hope of lasting success, and it is from this point that the new repertory movement would start, operations. Enough money could be Taised at a special performance to provido tlio initial capital at the outset, would not be spent on bricks and mortar.

"Give the public what it wants," say 3 Mr. M'Kinnel, "and it will go to a toilt to see it." The repertory theatre would have to be a matter of efficient organisation rather than of elaborate building. If one begins to think of a West-end theatre, with its nrohibitive rental, a huge company, and an expensive staff, then the difficulty may appear to bo in superable, but this is ndt what is aimed at. There will, it is folt, bo little trouble with regard to tho initial capital, if thp new movement can fulfil its promise of presenting every kind of entertainmant for whioh the public may call with an adequate cast.

A theatre established by actors, urges Mr. M'Kinnel, should be founded on Shakespeare, whose work should bo their first asset. The play difficulty arises not so much from any lack of material, but in the selection of tho suitable from the enormous raa'ss tof the merely possible. Probably the great bulk of the plava of tho last 20 .years. ho ( wever successful at the_ time of production, aro not worth reviving now. But there 'are some, of course which nre worth fieeing nirnin. and the new play by the new nuthor should open up a wido field of activity. The movement being essentially a trade union one, a wide democratic basis would be necessary, but there should bo room for all nlays from melodrama to I)wen. This, briefly, is the scheme which has laid before the theatrical profession for if? consideration and it remains to be seen whether it has enough initiative to cary the project out. What its orid"ator would like eventually to see would be a repertory theatre established on trade union lines in every large centre of population throughout, the country. But L.ondon offers a big enough field for the present.