A Good German

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 318, 27 July 1945, Page 8

A Good German

"THE SILENCE OF THE SEA," a play produced by the NBS from a script translated here from the French of the underground writer "Vercors" (who smuggled it out secretly), turned out to be a most remarkable, impressive piece of work. It has one scene (one room, scarcely described at all), no action whatever (save the movement in and out of one man) and three characters, one of whom speaks only seven words. It is the narrative of a Frenchman who lived alone with his niece, and tells of the time when a German officer was billeted with them, and talked to them every evening when he came.in, although {they remained silent for weeks. The German is a musician, with an idealised love of France and her intellectual greatness, and a sincere faith that great things" could come of the war through a cultural union of France and Germany. He opens up his heart on this theme to his non-fraternising listeners in a series of very well-written monologues. The narrator describes the details of the scene, and his reactions in penetrating detail. Then the German gets leave, to go to Paris. He longs for the day. But he returns horrified, finding that his countrymen laugh at his ideals and mean to destroy the soul of France. He will never see the Beast transformed into a handsome Prince by the kiss of yielding Beauty. He gets himself transferred to active service-‘"in those ficlds where the next crop of wheat will be fed on corpses" — and leaves. The Frenchman and his niece give way, and say "Goodbye" but no more. It was odd that the translator of this play got no acknowledgment for what was at times fine writing.