THEY DIDN'T WALK OUT OF SHAKESPEARE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 8, Issue 203, 14 May 1943, Page 6

THEY DIDN'T WALK OUT OF SHAKESPEARE

Final Shots In The Argument

E continue to receive articles and letters in reply to our contributed article about "The Man Who Walked Out of Shakespeare.’ Since we cannot find space for all, or nearly all, of these, we print to-day a condensation of some of the more interesting matter in hand. Although ‘The Pariah’’ may, if he wishes, reply briefly, we have no space for a continuation of the discussion.

A MAN FROM THE NAVY "7 HE BEAR?" has pursued his subject to an exit but not to an end. There is more to be said. "The Pariah" bit a piece out of my leg as he walked out of Twelfth Night, and the wound rankles. For I remember seeing, some 10 years ago, a production of the same play which ran for 80 to 100 consecutive nights in a London West End ‘theatre, drawing crowded houses in competition with non-stop variety, musical comedy, and serious plays by competent modern authors. Although I saw most of them, Tweltth Night is the only one which remains in my memory, and that not on account of the exquisite black-and-silver décor or the excellence of the acting (Jean Forbes-Robertson was a charming and credible Viola; John Gielgud was in the cast), but because of the play itself. Producing Shakespeare to-day is a ticklish business, for the modern stage, compared with the Elizabethan stage, is a one-dimensional affair-a lighted window to be gaped at out of the darkness,

much like a modern aquarium-while the modern audience, satiated with sophisticated Hollywood drama, and accustomed to having its thinking done for it, comes to Shakespeare in a far more captious spirit than the Elizabethan audience, which was eager to lend its own rich imagination to the creation of illusions. But these difficulties should not be allowed to obscure the fact that "the play’s the thing." Twelfth Night was meant to be played, not read; only a flesh-and-blood interpretation can bring out its finer shades of meaning. And that it has a meaning no one should doubt. Olivia and the Duke may live in an Illyria of dreamland, but Malvolio, Maria, Sir Toby, and the selfconfessed "foolish knight" are with us still and ever will be. Malvolio is no mere figure of fun-you would find his like in the case-books of any psychologist, intolerant, intolerable, "sick of self-love" and misunderstood, Sir Andrew Aguecheek was capering across Europe to the profit and admiration of all beholders until the war brought him home to become the butt and plague of his local Home Guard. The pert and bird-like Maria, retired from the service of her lady, was serving behind the bar of a London tavern when I saw her last; wile Sir Toby, inadequately disguised as the mate of a tramp steamer and wv Il fortified with the modern equivalents of sack and pickled herring, was seatec at a table in the same bar-par-lour, roaring a quite unprintable catch. No, Twelfth Night is mot dead. Shakespeare compounded it out of that mixture of poetry, slapstick, pathos, coincidence, and improbability which he knew as life. And life has remained the same. A MAN FROM AMSTERDAM HE fact that a man walked out of Shakespeare would not be worth mentioning if the man did not emphasise that he felt quite justified in doing so and even felt proud of his heroism. Does "The Pariah" realise’ that, considering the population of this planet, there are only a handful of people who read and see Shakespeare; that the vast majority do not know him, do not wish to know him, and if by chance they did attend a Shakespearean performance, they certainly would walk out as he did? New Zealand is too young a country to have been able to develop original dramatic art, and is too far away from the old world to be able to take part intensely in the old world’s dramatic productions. However, I think that "The Pariah’s" honest confession regarding his relation to Shakespeare and the dramatic is symptomatic of his "lost generation" in all civilised countries of the world. ~ The new art that is developing, however revolutionary and original in appearance, will have to join hands with

the art of former generations which "The Pariah" to-day despises so haughtily. He will find that the coming generation has much to learn from Shakespeare, but it will learn little from the most glorified cinema produztion, even though they have no improbabilities in them. There may again come a time when nobody will walk out of Shakespeare, not even if the last suburban bus threatens. I also saw that performance of Twelfth Night, and although I have seen a large number of excellent productions of this play, I was amazed to see a performance in the real spirit of Shakespeare by this troupe of amateurs: good, honest theatrical work that showed a high artistic standard and much dramatic understanding. "The Pariah’s"’ complaint about ridiculous improbabilities in Shakespeare shows that he can appreciate only’ realistic drama, and suggests that he spends far more evenings in discovering probabilities in Hellzapoppin’ than in reading Shakespeare by his fireside. His remark condemns not only Shakespeare but also Moliére and Goldoni, whose comedies, although four centuries old, will interest and amuse the public as long as theatres will exist. I agree with him on one point: the maltreatment of Shakespeare in our schools. To many a man and woman Shakespeare would be a wonderful discovery at a ripe age if the horrible recollections of Shakespeare at school did not haunt him. Although I have never walked out of Shakespeare, I still was very much annoyed to hear from my daughter, aged 13, that her first acquaintance with Shakespeare was Macbeth, read at school. She certainly would have enjoyed it more at: the age of 34. FOURTH FORM SHOOLGIRLS T occurred to a teacher in a Wellington girls’ college to read "The Pariah’s" contession to an Upper Fourth torm which at the time was studying "Twelfth Night" in the classroom, The article was not discussed in class, but the teacher suggested that each pupil should reply to "The Pariah," agreeing or disagreeing with him as she wished. Here are some extracts from the replies sent in: MARIA; "I must attack the remarks made about the comparison of films and Shakespeare’s plays. I would very much lik~ to' know the type of film "The Pariah" attended before he went to Twelfth Night. I shouldn't imagine that it would be a very good contrast... . He must remember that when Shakespeare wrote his plays there were no (Continued on next page)

THEY DIDN’T WALK OUT (Continued from previous page) stage directions. The play was not even divided into acts or scenes. Shakespeare wrote the plays and he did not produce them. ROSE: In most points I wish to disagree with him. From what I have ¢.-.ered, as far as enjoying Shakespeare’s works is concerned, there is no age limit. If his plays are fully understood, they can be enjeyed by old and young alike....There certainly are some "tradition-soaked snobs" who feel that it’s up to them to enjoy it, but although I enjoyed it from beginning to end I can safely say I am not one of them. And why shouldn’t Sir Andrew Aguecheek borrow the laugh used by one of Walt Disney’s artists? We all either con- : ‘ously or unconsciously, copy some man..erism of someone else, MARGARET: Why have the Shakespearean plays lasted right down through the centuries? Even now in wartime, \...en there is much cheap jazz going round with the second-rate pictures, and new patriotic songs are being written by the yard, people still resort to Shakespeare for a night’s relaxation and enjoyment. Why do they do it? Because they like it, that’s why people go to see Shakespeare. ANNE: Perhaps "The Pariah’s" friend who suggested that he belongs to a lost generation for Shakespeare is right. Perhaps in New Zealand there are two generations lost to Shakespeare, and the real theatre, for it is just on 20 years since Alan Wilkie and his company staged 20 plays in one season in New Zealand, JUNE: It is not that I object to his ‘disliking Shakespeare’s plays, for I fully understand that many people may dislike his plays, but I do object strongly to the way in which he expressed his thoughts, and I think his sense of humour must have long been dried up. I feel very sorry for a person who cannot enjoy Shakespeare, because it was written for the people of another century, and ask him if he cannot enjoy a book because it was written last century or can’t take pleasure in seeing a film because it deals with people of another age? JANE: He says that it is those from about 13 to 20 who enjoy Shakespeare’s plays most. I have found out that he is entirely wrong, by simply asking many people over that age if they enjoyed it, and they all enjoyed it very much. As to having it stuffed into you in the classroom, I know from experience it is far from that. It is looked forward to each week. Twelfth Night. does not suffer from excess of ridiculous improbabilities any more than the present pictures, where the hero and heroine are always saved from the very jaws of death and the most impossible situations, In the scene where Malvolio reads the letter and the other three crouch behind the box trees commenting on it in voices loud enough to be heard at the back of the hall, yet not loud enough to be heard by Malvolio, I would like to know if the writer would rather have it that way and be alle to hear, or have it in whispers so low that nobody, not even Malvolio, could hear. I would also like to know if the writer has ever heard of 8 stage whisper.