GLADSTONE AS HERO OE NEW PLAY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 137, 26 June 1937, Page 16

GLADSTONE AS HERO OE NEW PLAY

Mr. H-ugh Ross Williamson and I are sitting over lunch diseuosing his nev| play, "Mr. Gladstone," which is to be put on at the Gate Theatre some time in the autumn, writes a London theatre correspondent. This is the fourth of the five plays on aspects of political power that he is writing. The- other three are "The Adventurer, ' ' which deals with the pretender Perkia Warbeck; "Rose'and Glove" about Piers Gaveston; and "Monsdeur Moi," concerning Mirabeau. "And what made you chooee Mr Gladstone as the subjefet I'or the new play?" Mr. Ross Williamson considers the potatoes on his plate, his work poised"Well," he says at Iast, "a variety oi reasons.". "Such as?" "For one thing, I've alwaye wanted to write a political play — I mean a play in which oue can try to condense real politics so that one needn't have a vdllain, but at the same time is sure. of plenty of conflict.'' No " Villains." "Then there'a 110 villain in'youi play?" "No. But there are Disraeli and Parnell and Hartington and joe Chamberlain; and I suppose, from Gladstone 'a pount of view^ they might' all be cousidered villains of greater or lesser degree. -But I've tried to represent thei: attitudee quite fairly — Disraeli 's 1mperialism, Hartington 's Whiggery, Parnell 's f anatical lrushism, and Chambex lain's Radicalism, all coming into collision, sooner or later, .with Gladstone *s Liberalism." J "Is the play what one might call proGladstone?" "I suppose you could say so, yee. Frankly, I'm rather tired of all this nonsense about the G.O.M. as a sort of senile hypocnte. In fact, what I coneidered as an unfair and unhistorical earicature of him in a recent American play on 'Parnell' was another of niy reasons for. writing 'Mr. Gladstone.' 1 don 't mean, of course, that I agree with all that Gladstone did or that I am, partieulariy, a Glads'tonian, -But I've assumed that he - was perfectly; sincere in his politics, that he did not seek for oower after his resignation as leador in 1875 (when the plays begins) but undertook it as a burden which he felt. called on to carry, and that he had a parhicular objective — the undoing of Disraeli 's foreign policy — which lie failed to achieve." "Then it's a play of failure?" "It depends on the way you. look at it. After all, I've followed history and, on the short viewt Gladstone certainly failed. He resigned finally, you remember, over the question of rearmament in time of peace." Ross William' son smdles. Then he says: "The play, r may say. has, in many |-espects, a curious topicality." G.O.M. and the Queen. Again the i'ork swoops. Tou say to him; . . "Does -Queen Victoria appear iu thc play?" . " "indeed she does. That's my thiiu reason for writing it — if you like. There 's been 110 popular presentat'.on of the Queen 's attitude as it really wai* in those last year." "But, sureiy, there 's a- fairly weliknown book by Lytton Btrachey?" "I speak under correction," Eo» WiUiamson repiies,® "but I believe that all the papers were not availabio to Strachey, which means that his closing chapters were much less eriti cal of the Queen than. otherwuse they would have been. tfuedalla's 'The Queen and Mr. Gladstone' and Hardie's f Political Influence of Queen Victoria,' for instance, are based, 1 believe, on documents • that Strachey- did not know. In my play, for instance^ I'vo used the Queen 's effort to force Gladstone 's hand by ' threatening to nbdicate rather than become' u democratie monarch." "But that's quite well known." "To historians) yes. 'To members of the general publcc, especially the playgoing public which likes to be lnaccurately sentimental about "the Queen — no." "Do you mean that your play is hostile to the Queen?" "Certainly not. It's not hostile ti' anyone. But I think there 's no doubl that the Queen quite sincerely believed that Gladstone 's policy #was contrarv to her anterests; and obviously in a play on the subject, I couldn't neglect that. And as. the play is 'Mr. Gladstone' and not 'Queen Victoria,' the situation is seen rather through his eyes than through hers." "FAREWELL AGAIN" The new Rrich Pommcr production, "Farewell Again," which will be pre3ented by London Films, is oue of the nibst -unusual films ever produced.' It is based on a real news paragraph rtslating to an English troopship bringing back' to Soulnampfcon a regiment refcurning from years of foreign service. A.S the ship neared England it was learned that' an emergepcy made it nejessary for the regimept to re-embark immediately for furtlxer service abroad. For six hours only they were allowed [cave at Southampton and. the film deals with the roactions to this news ind the behaviour during the six hours leave of the various men and their relations. Not only is the picture exciting, but it shows a cross-section of English lifo in a remarkably convineing manner. The characters of the various men from the colonel to the ranlts are filmly establishod in the" early sequences af the picture. Naturally, everyone is longing to get from the coolnel to the ranks are firrawives and relattons, and kow these men tens;lio than that of meeting their solved their problems in the short spaco of time allowed them makes an absorbing film. Leslie Banks, Flora Robson and Sebastifcft Shaw play tiie leading roles. > • • -