FASCISM ATTACKS ART

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 781, 30 September 1929, Page 11

FASCISM ATTACKS ART

DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST AUTHOR AND ACTRESS SCENES IN THEATRE A Fascist vendetta against tlie most eminent o£ Italian dramatists and the greatest of her actresses is revealed in a message from Nice, says a London exchange. Signor Roberto Bracco, who may be compared with Pinero at the height of his fame, recently completed a play entitled "I Pazzi” ("The Fools”). He showed it to Signora Emma Gramatiea, the Eilen Terry of Italy, and she decided to produce it, taking the Florentina Theatre at Naples for the purpose. On the first night the place was packed to the utmost capacity, and the piece was an almost unparalleled -access. When Bracco, who is GS, appeared before the curtain he had a tremen'ous reception, and when he came oil with Signora Gramatiea it seemed as though the cheering would never end. In fact, after an ovation lasting more than an hour, the crowd gathered outside the theatre to render further homage to Bracco and Gramatica. Eventually the police dispersed the crowd. That a man whom the Fascists so hated should score such a tremendous success was not at all to their liking. They saw in it not merely a tribute of admiration to the dramatist, but — and they were right in this—a popular demonstration of sympathy with one of the greatest defenders of Italian freedom today. Gangs of young Fascists were therefore sent to the theatre on succeeding nights for the express purpose of creating disturbances. They did this with their usual thoroughness, and the result was that the chief of the police forbade the production of "I Pazzi” at a gala performance. Signora Gramatiea then took the at Rome, where the Fascists were more successful. At the end of the first night at the Elysee Theatre, the Black Shirts protested against the enthusiasm of the rest of the audience. When the curtain went up on the second act, the protests took on a more violent form.

So the police stepped in and ordered the suspension of the representation.