iWBpS'' '' li"ic;
V
AMUSEMENT SECTION
1
PHOTOPLAY
THEATRES
DANCIWG
MUSIC
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PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 22, 1910
William Shakespeare, Three Hundred Years Alive Tomorrow, Honored in America While Europe Figflxt
New York's Monatcr
MaSque ty Percy Mac
Kaye the National
Climax
War-Girt EnfjW PlulU,
a Modest Fentayai or .
Praise and Com
memoration "'"
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mllREE HUNDP.ED years alive on
JL the 23d of April, 1016, tlio memory of
Shakespeare culls creatively upon a self
destroying world to do him honor by hon
oring that world-constructive art of which
he Is a master archjtect."
Thus writes Percy MacKayo In the
preface to the printed version of the
Shakespeare Tercentenary Masque, "Call
ban by the Yellow Sands," which will bo
America's national commemoration of the
poet's death. And since Shakespeare's
native land with all Europe has other
matters to think of, this monster masque
of a. hundred thousand will also bo the
world's chief trlbuto to Its greatest dra
matist. New York plans exercises, readings, lec
tures, In schools, colleges, clubs, settle
ments, much In the fashion of Philadel
phia, But the masquo is ttio crdwn, of It
all. Enlisting national artists like Percy
MacKaye, Joseph Urban, Hobert Edmond
Jones, and Arthur rnrwell, It Is n national
memorial.
It Is certainly on a national scaled The
great half-clrclo of the concrete stadium
of the college of the City of New York
has been duplicated In wood so as to form
an oval seating 20,000. On the ground In
the centre and a huge raised stage at one
end, 30 actors and between 2000 nnd 3000
dancers, singers and mimes wU enact
"Caliban" for Ave nights, at n cost of
$100,000.
Joseph Urban, whose genius conceived
the Idea of adding a wooden stadium to
the concrete says of his stupendous Bhare
of the work.
This Is the biggest piece of theatrical
construction I hae undertaken Blnco 1
camo to this country It Is more than
theatrical work. It Is theatre plus archi
tecture. "The problem vvai to transform an
nthletio field and stadium Into a fairy
theatro for n, single week on a scale bo
huge ns to hold tho attention of 20,000
pairs of cjes through two and a half
hours of performance. The Inner stage,
on which tho more IntenBO actlonof the
drama will take place. Is 35 feet broad,
20 feet long, and 15 feet high. Hut this Is
only a small part of the whole stage; It
Is Intended for the 'Inner scenes.' which
Hobert Edmond Jones Is designing nnd
which will be. as It were, miniatures set
within an elaborate frame. In front of
the Inner etago Is n broad platform, af
fording an acting space nbout CO feet
broad, and In front of this again another
projecting stage, or 'apron.' surrounded by
Irregular and rocky steps, which lead
down to tho main level of tho ground
ctrclo.
"The main stage Is flanked by elabo
rate architectural structures. These are
put In, first, to afford a striking back
ground. Impressive enough to bo worthy
of tho magnificent conceptions which Mr.
MacKaye has embodied In his Masquo of
Shakespeare. They will bo pierced by
entrances, and behind them will bo tho
dressing rooms and the 'props' to bo used
on tho inner stage. This structuro will
also conceal tho orchestra of 100 nnd the
mass chorus of 1000, for which Arthur
Farwcll Is writing the music.
"Tin great towers, 46 feet high, which
are at the sides, have a still more Im
portant use. They will hold the hugo
lamps which we are devising for the IP
lumlnatlon of the performance.
, "This part of the problem Interested
me almost more than any other. Tho
lighting for the hundreds of people, who
will deploy upon the ground circle, must
tie extremely power'ul. A dozen arc
lamps would hardly make a pln-prlck of
light In this huge distance. So wo are
perfecting a scheme for the use of u newly
What Browning Wrote
SH AKPSPEARE ! to such name's sounding what succeeds
Fitly as a silence? Falter forth the spell,
Act follows word, the 'speaker knows full well,
Nor tamper" with its magic more than needs.
Two names there are: That which the Hebrew reads
With his soul only: if from lips it fell,
Echo, back thundered by earth, heaven and hell,
Would own, "Thou didst create usl" Nought impedes.
We voice the other name, man's most of might,
Awesomely, lovingly: let awe and love
Mutely await .their working, leave to sight
All of tho issue as below above
Shakespeare's creation rises: one remove
Though dread this finite from that infinite.
patented lamp at unprecedented candle
power, which will provide a brilliant Il
lumination, even to the further end of the
ground circle, 150 feet away. These light
towers will also serve for the Illumination
of the stage. Footlights are out or the
question; they would be too puny and In
significant on this scale of production. A
Jarge part of the effectiveness of my
scenery depends upon the lighting.
"Working for a night performance out
of doors, I can, for the first time since 1
came to America, produce the full brll
liancy. of effect of which I dreamed whin
I flrst'entered theatrical work In the Ttoyal
Opera House of Vienna,
The proportions of Mr, Urban's stage
are massive. The light towers are 150
feet apart and tho whole of the rnain
stage la about 35 feet deep. From end to
end the amphitheatre Is 820 feet long.
Mr, JIacKayo's masque, Judged by
managerial announcements and the text
Issued this week by Doubleday, Page &
Co., is an ingenious and fascinating essay
In a form of dramatic art now rapidly de
veloping under Mr, MaoKaye'a hand. So
far as the technique of It goes, It depends
on the pantomime of principals and dancers
and upon lighting effects to express the
dramatic emotions of each stage o the
atory, while the poetry and lyrics Bpoken
by the actors and sung by the chorus re
inforce the action for that majority of
Continued on Fax Two
f
116 1916
SHAKESPEARE died on April
23, 1616, either on or soon after
his 52d birthday and that date in
1D16. is to mark the climax of an
observance, which has already be
gun, of pnq of the great events of
history. It will then be 300 years
since there ended a life which has
had an effect altogether incalcu
lable not only upon the literature
of the whole world, but upon the
subsequent life and history of the
world, His existence on this earth
was one of the profound influences
iy-n hurran doelonvnt; and it is
as oue i, not soldy as a gn at pt t,
iuat th- t rcentenary of ibat tsist
erict bong conuneraoraUd cvery-
The mammoth setting of tho masque
Hackett's Tercentenary Mite,
as Witnessed by W. P. Eaton
"The Merry Wives of Windsor" Acted, Set and
Stage Managed With Real Revivi
fying Distinction
By WALTER PRICHARD EATON
tt)E WENT the other afternoon, on a
VV Saturday, to seo "The Merry Wives
of Windsor," produced by James K. Hnck
ett, but. owing to Mr. Hackett's Hlness,
with Tom Wlso as FnlstnnT Wo didn't
antlclpato any trouble In getting In There
had been no trouble when "Macbeth" was
plnvlng. and "The Merry Wives of Wind
sor" has never been ono of tho more pop
plar plays of the Bard. But, to our sur
prise, there wasn't a seat to bo had any
where In tho thentre, high or low, and a
Bcore ojnoro of people were standing
So we stood, too.
And wo hadn't been standing long be
fore wo had tho answer. This produc
tion of 'Tho Merry Wives of Windsor,
with scenery by Joseph Urban, with Hen
rietta Crosman as Mistress .Page and Ful
ler Melllsh as Mr. Pago and Orrln John
son nnd Viola Allen a3 Mr and Mistress
Ford. In addition to Tom Wise as the old
knight, has been Btaged by Itlchaid vOr
dynakl. a young Polo who camo to this
country as an assistant to Max Relnhardt
to stage "Sumurun." and who hns re
mained hcra, learned English, and appar
ently settled down to make a namo In tho
American theatre. Ho staged recently the
Delta Upsllon production at Harvard of
"Henry IV," part two Nominally, he was
Mr. Hackett's stage manager for "Mac
beth." but only nominally, for Mr. Hack
ctt himself only too evidently dlctnted
William Shakespean
"Made in
Germany"
Without doubt, Germany made Shakes
peare her own. Consequently It was no
wonder that, after dropping the English
pieces for a time from his repertory
Relnhardt was forced to restore them by
popular demand.
The German Chancellor von Bethmann
Hollweg said for many more;
"He Is a lunatic who squanders his
property when hostile forces all around
him are fighting against him. That Is
what Germany would be doing did she
give up Shakespeare, who even today is
her dramatist. What has England done
for Shakespeare? Since Charles Kean
led the theatrical world In London, she
has dressed his works In glittering cos
tumes, but has not been able to penetrate
again with her emotions Into the essence.)
of his soul, for Shakespeare's happy Eng
land Is no more. We play Shakespeare,
Max Belnhardt, and as we recently had
'Henry IV, let us have 'Henry V" on the
Btage, vvlth the battle of Aglncourt and
the capture of Harfleurl, The warmest
desire of German manhuod rings In the
dear hero's cry, 'On to Calais!' and from
there quickly across to England."''
When "Twelfth Night" was revived at
one of the municipal theatres in "Lelpilg,
the clown put all this Into verse by means
of a prologue, which the New York
Tribune has thus translated:
My maUr, tho treat poet, who behind
Tbl curtain built his world, atyl therewith,
Coo
Innumeroua other worlds as marvelous
Yo know him well for near a nun can climb
Tq godhead, ho won aodhead by hU, work
Now tale iinu poet batu (.ommanded me
In solemn earnest to declare you tola:
Ye unto him bat been until today
1IU second home hie first and .native home
Was Knsland but this England of the present
s so contranouf in ner acta ana reelings.
Wa
so abhorred of bis pun majesty
And too proud spirit of Bis free-born beimr
tiac ne aoiii nna. rumeeu quit aoiueies were
V. fuxltlva at .' hi amend home.
Tuts Uertnany that love bin) moel of all
To whom before all sUui b fives r thank
Aiid k Thou wonderful and. nobis land
Remain thou j3bakejpsr one and only
So thai he wander not, uncoaurelwtitd.
WUhoat a. shelter to Um Varr vjfi4.
of a hundred thousand "Caliban by
space of the masque, yet
the p.tco nnd rhjthm of Hint ptoductlon
But here In "Tho Merry Wives of Wind
sor" SJr Ordynskl has had a free rein
He hns been working with stage sets by
Urban which ho fully comprehends, which
arc, In fact, the kind of seta ho was trained
to work In by his muster, Reinhardt, nnd
ho hns had, besides, n good cist of ex
peilenccd nctnrs, led, of course, by Miss
Crosman, whose Rosalind Is still a fra
grant memory, who h.is the stylo nnd the
amplitude for poetic drama Tho result
Is n revitalized production of af5lay that,
when mounted at the Now Theatro a few
years ago. seemed about as dead as a play
well could be.
Moreover, being In perfect sympathy
vvlth the Urban Bettings, Mr Ordynskl
has been ablo really to stylotlze the pro
duction. Neither scenlcally nor In tho cos
fumes nnd stage management Is this nto-
kluctlon nearly so bizarre In utile ns
Barker's "Midsummer Night's Dream "
Nobody would call It freakish But nono
the less It Is unmistakably different from
the Shnkespcarenu productions of tho last
generation. You have only to witness It
Just after seeing Tree's production of
"Henry VIII" to rcnllze the gulf It Isn't
necessary to ihold a brief Just now cither
for tho new method or tho old Both
chnnce to be doing business Tho point Is,
that If you do Shakespeare well by the old
method, or If you rev Itallze him by a now
method. In either case you inako his playst
live and when you make them live, far
from spelling ruin, Shnkcspcare spell3
delight to thousands of people.
The set which Is most used In this pro
duction of tho "Merry Wives" Is the street
scene On one sldo of tho stago Is the
Garter Inn, on the other sldo Mistress
Page's house. Between them Is a ground
cloth representing water, as the Japanese
represent It, by sand In their gardens, with
stones and rushes on the banks. This
stream Is spanned at tho back of the
stage by a half moon bridge, which goes
up gracefully against the back drop, on
which are painted in broad patches of
rich color roofs and spires of tho town
Every character who crosses from one side
of the stage to tho other has to use this
bridge. Much of the action takes place
upon It, as, for Instance, the duel between
Doctor Cams and his terrified opponent.
All the costumes, designed by Willy Pog
any, arej-lch and gay and picturesque,
and the constant procession of them over
this bridge, the constantly shifty picture
of figures lifted up above the stage level
against the back drop of deep reds and
blues, makes a feast for the eye totally
unlike the stiff, old fashioned posing of
crowds In the Tree production, under nrtl
dynski together have worked out this
continuous pictorial pattern, which is
never forgotten, is one of the things we
flclal spotlights. That Urban and Or
mean by a styletlzed production.
Another feature of the production whlcn
Intensities Its style, but which to us seems
too German, too fussy. Is the Incessant
pace of the farcical scenes between the
minor personages, so that the thing has
all of the speed and bustle and a good deal
of the noise of a Cohan farce at its worst.
We remember an undergraduate of an
American college who camo home from a
trip to Germany, where he saw Rein
hardt's production oh a revolving stage of
"Twelfth Night," wherein the iharacterd
walked around on the moving stage from
one scene right Into the next. "It was
mostly a long procession of souses." was
our undergraduate's description. We feel
Urban's conception of the spot
wnere tne onaicespeare masque
centres tne spectator's in
terest in the glowing
sanas of time. The
chorus circles
about this im
pressi ve
spot.
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the Yellow Sands." Joseph Urban'g titantic conception of the stage. It forms
the light towers at tho ends nro 45 feet high nnd 1G0 feet opart.
What Philadelphia
Will Do
Apil 20 to May 13:
Shakespearean exhibition at
the Academy of the Fine Arts.
Early editions, playbills and
curious relics of many sorts,
with especial reference to
Philadelphia's Shakcepearo
tradition. Admission free.
May 12, 2 p. m.:
Shakespearean Festival nt
the Academy of Music. Sir ;
, Herbert Tree on "Shakes--'
pcarc's Art." A commemo
lative ode, written especially
for the occasion by Alfred
Noycs and read by tho poet.
Music by David Bispham, or
chestra, of 50 nnd chorus of
200 from the Mahler Symphony
singers. Ben Jonson's Ode
read by Mrs. Otis Skinner.
Short address by Prof. Felix
Shelling.
May 15 to 20:
"The Comedy of Errors,"
given by the Philomathenn
Society, of the University of
Pennsylvania in an exact re
production, seating 1000, of
Shakespeare's famous Globe
Theatre, now being erected in
the Botanical Gardens.
May 22:
Elizabethan revel by tho
Plays and Players in tho
Globe Thentre. Scenes from
Shakespeare on the stage;
Elizabethan notables in the
audience.
In Mr Ordynskl's staging of "The Slerry
Wives" something moro than a hint of
tho samo sort of thing Of course, the
paco is hit up for a definite purpose, nnd
the torn-foolery of the duel and nil tho
rest is rattled off to fit Into a pattern
It Is all a part of tho bright costumes, tho
hilarious good Bplrlts. the swirl of flgurs
over tho crescent bridge. Nevertheless, It
strikes us as a bit fussy, not unctuous, like
tho Ullznbethaus, but a little mannered
and unreal Hut, unquestionably, It does
have a fitness In the whole scheme of the
production, and It does avoid the fault of
toa many productions of this play deadly
dullness Moreover, thanks In part to tho
speed and In part to the arrangement of
scenes and cutting, a very liberal allow
ance' of the text Is used, and the story Is
coherent.
William Winter, In the introduction to
his "Shakespeare on the Stage." say that
the only novelty Shakespeare needs Is the
novelty erf good acting. That Is probably
nulte true We have seen his plays on a
bare stage, we have seen them played be
tween two apple trees on tho Eras, we have
seen them mounted in the old fashioned
manner by Irving nnd Tree, nnd In the
new manner by Miss Anglln and Mr.
Ilackett. Miss Anglln's "Shrew" was a
great success, her "Antony and Cleopatra"
a failure, for all Its imaginative magnifi
cence of setting Shakespeare on the ba-e
Btage Is sometimes a bore; at the New
Theatre, "The Winter's Tale" was a pure
delight. And so It goes. Craig's tower-,
Ing screens for "Hamlet" may be wonder
ful, but without a fine actor as the Prince
they cannot carry the day. Nor does tho
fine actor need them to make the drama
live, however much they may add to the
pleasure of this curious and experimental
age.
So, while we welcome the Urban set
tings and the attempt at a styletlzed
production of "The Merry Wives of Wind
bor," after all, what we should most
welcome, probably, la Tom Wise as Fal
btaff and Miss Crosman as Mistress Page.
Continued oq fare Three
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If William Shakespeare v
Had Known tne Pkotoplay
Would He Choose Now, as He Chose Then, the
Popular and Ill-Respected Art Rather
Than the Sacrosanct?
IN AN amusing editorial article the other
day, tho New Tork Evening Post fell to
speculating upon Shakespeare's disposition
toward motion pictures had his lot been
cast In tho dajs of the movies and not In
those of tho Elizabethan theatre Con
sider. It says, that In his own llfetlmo he
was faced with very much tho same situa
tion that confionts tho present-day dra
matist. On the ono hand, there was re
spectable literature, represented by Ed
mund Spenser, Lily and Sidney On the
other wns the playhouse, annex of the
bear garden and the brothel, abomination
of the I'urltat outlawed by statute, con
demned by Sidney most Influential
esthete of his time but popular beyond
nil measure with the people, from the
horseboy who loafed at the Globe The
atre's entrance to tho high-born lady who
stole Into the pla house, heavily masked,
to witness a performance which sho pre
tended. In fashionable society, to desplso.
So, today, nn nnvbltlous writer is pulled
between the legitimate but moribund
drama and tho immensely live, though
undeveloped, moving plcturo theatre. We
know, of courso, what Shakespeare's choice
long ago was. After n short flirtation
with recognized literature In "Venus nnd
Adonis," he chose tho people's drama nnd
created a new art out of the scorned
amusement of the masses. And nowadajs,
faced with a similar choice, there can be
little doubt that he would elect tho mo
tion plcturo without moro than a mo
ment's hesitation.
Imagine him nrrlvlng In New Tork, a
outh fresh from nn up-Stato town.
Rather athletic (the deer-stealing episode
prove- that), he would naturally. If he
wished to Join the profession, drift Into
moving-picture acting. Never n flrst-rate
actor, ho would undertake only minor
parts, such as the old banker In "A Mil
lionaire's Ilevenge," or the stricken father
In "She Is Not So Bad As All That " Soon,
however, ho would be almost exclusively
occupied with scenario writing, and beforo
many moons his creative ability would
win general recognition. Think of him
turning his versatile genius to the ex
ploitation of the vas( possibilities of motion-drama
! How eagerly he would grasp
at them with a desire to exhaust the end
less variety of Images and the Innumera
ble fancies that peopled his fertile brain I
He would no longer be handicapped by
lack of adeauate stage machinery or the
sad Impotence of words. With the mod
ern camera's aid he could forever fix his
conceptions of beauty, the Forest of Ar
den, Cawdor's gloomy battlement. Pros
pero'a enchanted Isle. Backed by a gen
erous producer, he could make Ariel, that
very wobbly fairy of our own stage, flit
on wings of flame across the screen, "ere
yet your pulse beat twice" and conjure
up all Midsummer Night's elf land In
flesh and blood. And, above all, what a
thriller he could make of Blrnam Wood
advancing. In serried ranks, upon a bril
liantly -visualized Dunslnanel
In fact, the only deprivation posterity
would suffer If Shakespeare, reincarnated,
were to enter upon the scenario-writer's
career Instead of the dramatlo author's
might be In the matter of the text, which,
on account of the cinema's form, would
naturally be restricted within very nar
row lmlts. No doubt, much of his poetic
imagery, his wealth of philosophy and
his trenchant dialogue would remain un
written. But those who attend contem
porary performances know that the dia
logue plays only a very Bmall part, even
now, and that famous actor-managers are
accustomed to smother the text with Bcen-
This pnormous hourglass of gold,
nlaycd upon by gleaming lights,
occupies tne miamo ox we
rnico outer staee. With
the elaborate grounu
cloth, it repre
sents this
world of
ours.
only a small part of tho whole acting
ery, mannerism nnd Incoherent elocution.
But even so, his genius for poetlo ex
pression would not necessarily be com
pletely stifled by tho limitations of his film
medium. It must always bo remembered
that the explanatory "Insert" Is an esscn
t ml clement of tho moving plcturo. nnd
that in these "Inserts" tho poet might And
nn outlet for his lyric Impulse. In "Henry
the Fifth" Shakespeare had already recog
nized tho validity of this expedient The
chorus of that play Is a perfect example
or the use of tho explanatory "Insert."
DAnnunzIo, among tho moderns, has led
tho way lnf"Cal)lrla." Him, one may rest
assured, tho great bard would speedily
surpass, and, breaking through the cramp
ing fetters of his medium, emerge tri
umphant on the fair-weather side of Im
mortality, This editorial pronounqement comes,
cui ously enough, on top of many similar
declarations from photoplay people.
John Emerson, tho Fine Arts director. Is
quoted ns saying:
"If Shakespearo were alive today he
would bo our most nctlve scenario writer.
J" '"nny vvays " akespeare's plays are
Indeed splendid moving-picture scenarios.
Very little has been done in the way of
filming them, but I believe when pro
ducers turn to them they will And wonder
ful series of pictures, nnd the most striking
and remarkable thing nbout them from
tn s point of view Is that they can be
followed In regular sequence."
WJnat trie Puritan Milton Said
tVHAT needs my SnBkesPeare for his honour'd bones,
The labor of an age in piled stones?
Or that his hallow'd reliques should be hid
Under a star-y pointing pyramid? '
Dear son of memory, great heir of fame,
What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name?
Thou in our wonder and astonishment
Has built thyself a live-long monument. v
For whilst to th' shame of slow-endevorlng art "f
Thy easy numbers flow, Jtnd that each heart
Hath from tho .leaves of thy unvalued book '
Those Delphic lines with deep impression took, -
Then thou our fancy of Itself bereaving,
Dost make us marble with too much conceiving;
And so sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie,
That Kings for such a tomb would wish to die.
When Shaw and Shakes
peare Asked for a
National Theatre
Before the war came all England was
looking forward to a permanent Shake
speare memorial in the form of a
National Theatre. Funds were rapidly
accumulating, and even the site had been
selected when the great struggle arrived.
The whole plan Js, of course, now at a
standstill, but some six years ago Q.
Bernard Shaw wrote a plea for this
playhouse in Ills play, 'The Dark Lady
of the Sonnets." It tells of an encounter
between Shakespeare and Elizabeth, which
ends with the following dialogue;
Bhakeapeare nut the boon I
craw la that you do endow a treat playbouae.
or. If I may maks bold to coin a eeholarly
name (or It. a national theatre, (or the bet
ter Instruction and tracln ot your Maleaty'a
aubjecta.
Elisabeth Why, air; are there not theatrea
enow on the Ulankalda and In Blacxtrtara?
Hhakvepeare -Madam, thee are the adven
ture o( needy and dcaperate men that muat,
to aave themeelvea from perleblnx of want,
nlve the allller aort of people what they beet
llko, and what they best like, God knowa, la
not their own betterment and Instruction, as
we well aee by th eiample of the churches,
which must needs compel men to frequent
them, (housh they be open to all without
charxe. Only when there la a matter of mur
der, or a plot, or a pretty youth la petticoats
or some naufbty tale ot wantonness, will your
subjects pay the sreat cost of aood player
and their finery, with a little profit to boot.
To prove this I irlll tell you that I have
written two noble and excellent plays eettlni
forth the advancement of women e( hlfb. Da
tura and fruitful Industry, even aa your Mai
eaty Is. the one a akUful physician, tb other
a alster devoted to (ood works I have also
atol from a book of, Idle, wanton talea two
of the moat damnable (oollshncaaea In the.
world. In the one of which a wamao sroeth In a
man'a attire and.maketh Impudent love to
her swain, who pleaaeth the (ToundHncs by
overtbrowtnc a itreetter, whilst, In th other,
one of the same kidney eheweth her wit by
saylsa endless nauaatueaa to a tenUemaa
as lewd aa berseLf I have writ tbea to save
my friends (rem penury, yet ahowlna; my acorn
(or such (olUea and (or them that prataa them.
by caUlna th on '"As Tou Uke It." mean
Ins thatlt is not as I like It, and tea other
"Much, Ado About NotbtnaY" a It truly Is.
And soar these two 01 thy pieces drive tbelr
nobler allows from tb stase. whet Indeed
I cannot have my lady physician preaentad
at alt, ah betas' toe honest a woman (or the
taste of lb town. Where (ore. I bumblr bus
your MaJeaty to slv order that theatre
It endowed out at the publis menu (or tho
l4it of tons piece of ata which iw ms.
Ltuml will touch, aeehut that hi gsia U w
UiUtb steatar with th kMh thaa. villi ts
U5r- Itereby you thai alao aawanw
IT IS one of the terrible Jronles of the
great war that the land of Shake
Bpeare's birth cannot give the tercentenary
of his death tho full honor It deserves er
that the nation planned. Tet there Will be
widespread celebration, though of a
humbler Sort.
The National Tercentenary Committee,
under the patronage of the King and
Queen, has arranged for Bhikespttvf
services In virtually all tho churchsa e
the kingdom on April 30, with the prlnet
pal service tn Westminster Abbey. Oft
Monday, May 1, a meeting will be held In
tho Mansion House, with an address, it
Is hoped, by the Prime Minister, nnd 6ther
speeches by wcll-kn6wn persops celebrat
ing tho national memory of the poet.
On May 2 there will be a gala per
formance of "Julius Caesar" under royal
patronage at the Drury Lane Theatre,
with all the great English Shakespearean
stars as actors.
May 3 will be celebrated In the schools
as "Shakespeare Day." On the game
day Prof. John W. Mackftll, of OxfortU
will deliver the nnmlal Shakespeare) lao
turo at the British Academy-, and a, na
tional committee will meet to nrra.nfca'
for a permanent memorial of the occa.
slon In behalf of the school children of
tho nation. On Friday, May 6, a pllgrlm
ago takes placo to Stratford-on-Avon,
where the chief 'actorB of the day Will
give a performance of scenes from Shake
spearean dramas at the Memorial Theatre.
In London a, Berles of memorial lectures
will be given by Sidney Leo nt Lond6n
University, while a similar cotirae Wilt be
given at Qresham College by Prof. Foster
Watson.
Tho London Shakespeare League has
arranged for the unveiling of a memorial
In Curtain road to mark the site of Shake-
speare's theatre In Shoredltch, Under the
same auspices thero Will be lectures qa
Shakespeare and a reading of 'VHamlet"
by Ben Greet. Mr. Greet also will be In
charge of the presentation of 20 Shake
speare plays at popular prices In. the old
Victoria Hall.
Tho British Empire Shakespeare Society t
will strike a commemorative medallion
likeness, which will go to all parts ot
the world.
Several at the London boroughs vrlit
havo celebrations of their own. Hamp
stead, for example, will have a series of
lectures and readings, under the chair
manship of the Mayor. .
Tho National Committee Is preparing
"A Book of Homage," which will con
tain tributes to the poet from different
parts orf the globe.
At Stratford-on-Avon there will be i,
fortnight of Shakespearean performances
and a long series of special celebrations,
Including a procession to Shapespearo"
church and a floral decoration of the tomb
in the chancel.
Oxford is to have a tercentenary ex
hibition at, BodIey"s Library, opening on
April 2(. Manchester has a committee of
Its own, which has arranged an elaborate
series of lectures, recitals, performances
of songs... prize competitions and exhibi
tions. A permanent memorial will be pro
vlded at Manchester in the form of
Shapespearo garden, laid out or, lines
parallel to that at Stratford-on-Avon.
Therei will be less Important tercen
tenary rjer'-rmances and observances in
virtually e.ery city of importance la
Great Britain and Ireland. The feature
at Dublin will be a gala performance of
Henry V.
The little group at enthusiasts who
maintain that Bacon really wrote mot
of the works attributed to Shaketpeara
Is reported to be preparing a "certmony
of derision," of which, however, no details
have been announced.
other men to undertake trm wrttlns of play
who do now desplse.lt and leave It wholly t
inoss wnose counsels win wora little rood
to your realm. For this wrltlnv of bla ufl
a great matter, formlne as it dnea th mtnriai
and affections of men in auch sort that what-i
vwver iney see aone in snow on tne stas.
they will preaentlr b doing In earnest In th
world
a. which la but a larger state.
rsiizabetn Master snakesneara. mu
.ri
sooth, yet fannat I In anv w1sa manil
daro not offend nur unruly Puritans hr mak.
Ins- ao lewd a place) aa th playhouse a 'publlo
charse. and there by a, thousand thtnia (a
b don In thla London of mine Defer your
poetry can hava it penny (ram the seneral
puree. I tell thee. Master Wilt, it wlli be
300 year pr more before my subjects latin
that man cannot live by bread alone, but by
every word Uat comet h. from the mouth el
those whom uod Inspires. Uy that tim tou
and I will be duet beneath tbe.feet of tb
boraes. If Indeed there be any horaea then,
and men be still rldio Instead of djlas. Now,
It may be that by than your work wlU be
duet also.
Bhakeapean Tbey wtll eland, madam: (ear
net (or that, '
Elizabeth It miv TirAv ma Ytnf nff thl V
am certain (for I know my countrymen), that
until
very other country
world.
even to harharlan Hfttu-nw inri lb
in in vnrisuau
hamlets of the boorish Germane, have Ita
playhouse at th publlo coarsa, Boiland will
never adventur. Xnd she will adventure then
oatjr becauaa It Is bar desire, la b over la
th fashion, and to da humbly and dutifully
waaiso spa .aceia evenrpoay
ha
Uftth Averyhntlar & dainr.
&
the ueantlm
, foil, muat e-nni..! VbUsTatakli1 La.
Dec you can xtr lu pUyinx or ii.om two
Slcta . wbicn rou clv out U. luott
amoftbta evtr writ but which your country-
men, r warn you, will awean ere the beat yo'
hava
ever none, out inu i'm
ear, Uuvt
descendants, I ahoutd heartily recommend tbeaa
to fulfil your. wish, (or the ScottUh minstrel
hath welt said that h that makelh tho aoiiu
of a nation Is mUhiier thas a. that inkft
It lawa. and the saw mar well b true el
play and Interlude. .
ita
-p-
The All-Discerning
Shakesp?ar
... j
HOW do you like your chrctr
dpicte4 by ShakwT
Oh, yesj you are tkre, ti'yf
art) an Wtherto undUcaveriiyp)
of man, for the Bard at Avwt,
whose terceatesary cjlJbrUo ia
under way, left out of kt writiaM
none, but held up tack wbar). U
could bf examined and Wetiawttad at
its true value. You mvr Bat have
discovered your j own taf, Uit
doubtless your ntUtUaw aa, ad
.you rfht t im It tww-Jm,
irviHg m. Yiyajr.
Ml
,