{"numero_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1918-10-02", "volume": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02", "ocr_sha256": "b4c1e60ee20c96774a7413ac9a21bf80083895e94ca1cda84d4c18b892c91fd6", "source_tei": "https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/bluemountain-transcriptions/blob/main/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1918/10_02/bmtnaau_1918-10_02.tei.xml", "source_mets": "https://github.com/pulibrary/BlueMountain/blob/main/metadata/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1918/10_02/bmtnaau_1918-10_02.mets.xml", "url_numero": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02", "articles": [{"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1918-10-02-c001", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02#c001", "volume": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "29", "page_fin": "29", "image_debut": 1, "image_fin": 1, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.2.1", "titre_corps": "SPEED", "titre_sommaire": "SPEED", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 1, "page_imprimee": "29", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.1", "debut_caractere": 124, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1112, "texte": "SPEED.\nTHERE is still an erroneous idea fluttering around that the\nquickest things are the motor car, the areoplane, the\ntelegraph, trains, and so forth.\nI will tell you something quicker. It is the Imagination\nof Man. And because Imagination outstrips all else it gets\nthere the sooner.... Do you see?\nImagination even can beat the lie, and the lie always\nhas about 3000 miles start according to the laws which\nhandicap the swiftest in the race and allow points to the\ndawdle feet.\nThe Imagination is not only swiftest.... it sees further\nthan all else.... it detects the liar and the liaress prowling\nafar off in deserts.\nThe Imagination shoots truest. Having seen the prow-\nlers it fires afar off; be it on the other side of earth it hits\nits mark.\nThe Imagination is strongest.... it can hold a hundred\nliars in its hand and look at them without anger.\nThe Imagination has another trick.... It can by closing\nan ear blow with the other ear so strongly that....\n(Concluded on page 30)."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1918-10-02-c003", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02#c003", "volume": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "29", "page_fin": "31", "image_debut": 1, "image_fin": 3, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.2.2", "titre_corps": "A PLEA FOR TWO THEATRES", "titre_sommaire": "A PLEA FOR TWO THEATRES", "signature_source": "EDWARD GORDON CRAIG", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 1, "page_imprimee": "29", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.1", "debut_caractere": 1114, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3091, "texte": "A PLEA FOR\nTWO THEATRES.\nby EDWARD GORDON CRAIG\n1915 Florence,\nIV.\nTHE PRESENT\nTHEATRE.\nDedicated to the Tired Business Man.\nINTEND here only to consider the\npresent theatre in relation to the\ntwo other theatres under discussion,\nthe Durable and the Perishable.\nIt is a negative affair at best, the\npresent theatre. It has not durable qua-\nlities, neither will it perish sufficiently\nquickly. It costs as much as would a\nDurable Theatre, yet endures only a\nfew years. The public of the present\ntheatre is in love with the latest thing,\nand spends millions of money in order to\nhave one glance at it; then tosses its\nhead and asks for a still later thing. In\nfact the present theatre is the product\nof an effete public.\nWhat remains over of the extraor-\ndinary productions given to the public\nby the late Sir Henry Irving, who\nspent lavish sums on the present Thea-\ntre ? For instance, (not to speak of\nany great sum), what remains over\nof his season at the Lyceum ending\non the 31 si July 1880 ? The money\ntaken was £ 59,000, and Irving always\nspent all his money on his work.\nWhat remains over of the gross receipts\nof \" King Arthur \", — £ 39,361.1. 0.?\nWhat remains over from fifty three per-\nformances of 11 The Merchant of Ve-\nnice n, which realized £ 29,056.1 1.2?\nOr from the gross receipts from two\nhundred and forty performances given\nin America in 1886, bringing in the\nsum of £ 1 16,516. 16. 9: or, in dol-\nlars, $ 563,941. 50?\nOr take Irving's expenses on his\neight American and Canadian tours.\nI hey amounted to the following sum\n— £591,347. 5. 11. A great sum of\ncourse would go to the actors,... and\nwhat is there to show for the rest ? In\ndollars it amounts to $2,862,120.90....\nover half a million pounds sterling, or\nnearly three million dollars.\nThe name of Irving is very great,\nand none respects his memory more\nthan I do ; but except for his name,\nwhat is there remaining over ?\nThese are Henry Irving's gross re-\nceipts and his expenses from 1876\nto 1905."}, {"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "30", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.2", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6998, "texte": "But in short, the Imagination is iike the seven compan-\nions of Moscione in the Fairy-tale:.... it serves a booby,....\nthe Artist.\nWonders will never cease.... but sometimes it takes a\nfool to perceive the wonder of wonders which even today\nis denied by the whole intelligence of the western world.\nReceipts. £ 2,261,687; 10; 1.\nTotal expenses. £ 2,168,290.6. 1.\nNet Profit. £ 93,397. 4. 0.0)\nI am not quoting these figures in\norder to suggest that they were more\nthan Henry Irving should have recei-\nved. For my part I wish he had re-\nceived five millions and the National\nTheatre into the bargain. It is what\nshould have been done for the sake\nof the swagger of the British nation,\nmore than for the sake of Irving. Nor\ndo I quote the figures in order to sug-\ngest that the money was badly handled\nin comparison with other modern thea-\ntres. It was used lavishly, for the\nstinginess which has come upon the\nEnglish Theatre of late years was then\nnot dreamed of.\nI would only draw attention to the\nexpenditure which, as you see, exceeded\ntwo million, and remark that there is\nnothing to show for that two million.\nThere is no Theatre of beautiful pro-\nportions containing a stage equipped\nfor succeeding generations; there is no\nmuseum, no library, nothing. As it is\nnot to be supposed that an ounce of\nthe great Irving personality would have\nbeen lost had these things been built,\ncollected and preserved, why was some-\nthing not done ? I will tell you why.\nIt was not possible because the Pub-\nlic prefers to be made to pay. Had\nIrving asked England and America, in\nthe course of twenty years, to supply\nhim with one million pounds sterling\nin order that he, as the best actor of\nhis age, might erect for them a thea-\ntre which should be even as durable\nas the Frangaise, (Moli&re's\ntheatre), the queer thing is that he\nwould have been refused that sum.\nBut see what Irving does. He de-\ntermines to get that sum and more,....\nand he gets it. But he gets it under\nconditions which make it less easy to\nestablish such a theatre. He makes\nthe people pay him over two million,\nyou see, and he does it.... if we omit\nhis own great personality and genius,...\nby carrying round train-loads and boat-\nloads of scenery and costumes, armour\nand appliances which, if still in exi-\nstence, must cost more o store than\ntheir actual value.\nIt is likely that there are some\nhandsome swords, jewels, and other\nthings in existence, probably more hand-\nsome than those left by any other\nactor; but have any of them a value\nas works of fine art ? Whereas there\nis hardly a little church in all Europe\nand Asia that does not contain some\npriceless piece of silver work or gold\nwork or ivory work, some piece of\nsculpture, or some robe ; in short, some\nfine work of art.\nDo you see what I mean ?\nIf you hold that some theatrical\nproperties are fine works of art, then\nI have nothing to say. I refer you\nto the experts of the auction room.\nThey are things of sentimental interest\nand in some cases are of good qua-\nlity ; but nothing more.\nI have in my possession one or two\nmasks carved in Japan and one or two\ncarved in Africa. These have a great\nvalue as works of fine art, and an ever\nincreasing value commercially.\nI have on the other hand a pair of\ngloves worn by Henry Irving in one\nof his Shakespearean productions. They\nare nicely made gloves lined with nice\nsilk, and on the back of the hand and on\nthe cuff is good theatrical gilt tinsel with\nsome cheap imitation stones. They have\na sentimental value and are what is called\nR interesting n, even as a glove of Na-\npoleon would be interesting. But com-\npare this pair with a glove worn by\nQueen Elizabeth, and they are bits of\ntrash. Queen Elizabeth's glove is a\nwork of art.\nAgain, I have one of the belts worn\nby Henry Irving in \" Hamlet \", with\nlarge jewelled plaques on it and the\nwhole covered with a black net. It is\na thing I am very fond of ; but compare\nit with some belt preserved in the\ncrypts at Notre Dame or in the\nBargello at Florence, and the value of\nthe theatrical one hardly amounts to\nthat of a row of pins. The others are\nprecious things, durable, valuable, works\nof art, and are also good investments.\nThe fact that Irving's n Hamlet n\nbelt is more effective on the stage than\nwould be the belts in the Bargello only\nproves one thing.... that the present\ntheatre aims at \" effectiveness \" at all\ncosts, and does not care whether what\nis seen on its stages are works of fine\nart or not. In fact, as you see, it\nprefers what is called the n fake n to\nthe genuine. The fake n tells ; the\ngenuine falls short of theatrical effect.\nAnd here we come to the t%vo\nwords which best sum up the theatre\nas it is, and the Theatre as it should be.\nInstead of the fake we should have\nthe genuine.\nIf every stage thing cannot be\nprecious,... though I see no reason why\nbefore long it should not be.... let it\nat any rate be unpretentious. Is there\nanything more annoying to us all who\nare working in this New Movement\nthan to see these gilded plaster theatre\ninteriors ? If the gilt plaster had\nsomething inspiring in its form, then\nwe would perhaps set aside the question\nof the gilt and the plaster and accept\nit for its expressive form. But it has\nnot one quality that is good about it.\nThe theatre at present is just a\npretentious place and is likely to foster\npretention in those who frequent it.\nThere has been a movement for\nseveral years among architects to give\nus theatres of a different form, using\ndifferent material, with an attempt at\nwhat some call simplicity, and so forth.\nIt began with Wagner, and it seems to\nbe developing well. But their tendency\nis to become what is called ,! artistic n\nand to create a new pretention. These\ntheatres get built somehow without\ninspiration and without a reason and\nare expressionless. Some system, some\nhappy or unhappy idea is followed,\nand it all ends in being no better than\nthe gilt and plaster palaces of old.\nBut lest you should imagine that I\nobject to the elaborate or to the\nartificial, because these are generally\nmost pretentious, let me cite one\ninstance where both exist in the same\ntheatre and seem to me splendid. In\nParma there is the theatre built by\nG. B. Aleotti and completed in 1619,\ncalled the n Teatro Farnese \". Perfect\nin splendour, without being a Perishable\nTheatre, without being a Durable\nTheatre, it is typical of all the best\nthat should have survived in the present\ntheatre but is rapidly disappearing. It\nhas received the touch of genius from\nthe man who built it. But genius is\nabsent from the modern theatre — is\nnot allowed to touch it into life — so\nwho cares whether it endure or perish?\nPractical people should consider the\nenormous waste which goes on year\nafter year, and should ask themselves\nwhether, instead of it, they cannot\nsee their way to have the Durable\nTheatre and the Perishable Theatre,\nwithout spending a penny more. Thus\nthey would have their cake and eat\nit. I believe this is possible.\n\n(i) (See Life of Henry Irving by\nAustin Brereton)."}, {"page_pdf": 3, "page_imprimee": "31", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.3", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2868, "texte": "One last word on the Present\nTheatre.\nAlthough it is but the lees of the\nwine of our old Theatre, still in that\nold Theatre I was cradled — and I\nam helping to nurse a New Theatre.\nIf the New Movement does not regard\naffectionately ....very affectionately....\nthat old theatre, I shall be sorry that\nI ever nursed the new one. What\nwas good in the old Theatre must be\npreserved, and those of the New\nMovement must try to learn what those\ndear remains signify. There is some-\nthing good in every Theatre —\nsomething, not everything. By accep-\nting as gospel all the old Theatre\nsaid and did, (and all it omitted to\nsay and do), we have reached the\npresent unfortunate situation.\nIf the n Motion Picture V as it is\ncalled, is closing our theatres and taking\naway performers from the theatres,...\nand you have only to study the\nAmerican theatrical journals to note\nthis slow but steady leakage.... it is\ndue to some weakness in the theatre.\nGood then that our old stage should\npass away. Our new stage is alive\neven if very young.\nI pray that we shall not sit down\nlike those previous to this war and\npooh-pooh the idea that anything is\nwrong in the theatre. Let us realize\nwhat is wrong and that we have not\nanother minute to lose in putting it\nright.\nn And why don't you propose\nsomething practical ? H someone will\nask. Let me answer with jean Jacques\nRousseau where he says, 5? All people\nare always telling me to make practical\nsuggestions n ; and he goes on to say,\n55 You might as well tell me to suggest\nonce more what people are already\ndoing, or at least to suggest improve-\nments which may be incorporated with\nthe wrong methods at present in use....\nin that way the good becomes corrupted\nand the bad is none the better for it !!.\nAnd he adds still further, n I would\nrather follow exactly the established\nmethods than adopt a better method\nby halves H.\nR ght I and we must have two new\nTheatres — we cannot patch up the\nold one. My proposal, then, is that\nwe plan for the ages to come two\nTheatres — a Durable Theatre and a\nPerishable Theatre.\nAnd remembering Leonardo's war-\nning to n shun those studies in which\nthe work that results dies with the\nworker H, let us make up our minds to\nshow courage and reply, 11 Not so.\nProceed with any study which you\nlove and determine to make the work\nthat results endure and outlive aeons\nof decay\n1915 Florence.\nI wish to call the attention of the\nfinanciers who like to spend their money\nlavishly on modern Theatricals, to the\npassage referring to the wasted two\nmillion pounds, (ten million*dollars) and\nto beg them to consider whether they\nwould not prefer .to have their names\npreserved in more durable material.\nAnd I wish to call the attention of\nall legislators to the whole question....\n\" Shall there be waste or economy? \"\nLastly.... Forget what I have said....\nmay be \" it was nothing but a dream\nTHE END ."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1918-10-02-c005", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02#c005", "volume": "bmtnaau_1918-10_02", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "31", "page_fin": "32", "image_debut": 3, "image_fin": 4, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.2.3", "titre_corps": "ASIA AMERICA EUROPE", "titre_sommaire": "ASIA AMERICA EUROPE", "signature_source": "GORDON CRAIG", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 3, "page_imprimee": "31", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.3", "debut_caractere": 2870, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6685, "texte": "ASIA\nAMERICA\nEUROPE.\nIN the preface to a companion vo-\nlume to this \" Dance of Siva \" Dr.\nCoomaraswamy spoke of me as one\nn who understands so well the noble\nartificiality of Indian dramatic techni-\nque \", and mentioned, quoting part of\na letter that I had written to him, that\nI had n frequently asked for more de-\ntailed information R on the subject.\nThis must not be misunderstood by\nthose few good workers along my path.\nAnd so that their attention shall be in\nno way attracted away from the work\nwe have in hand I have thought it\ntime to turn to India and say a thing\nI have for long wanted to say. You\nmust not be too critical with me, for\nI admit that for me, and I will add\nfor you, the subject is strange.\nFull fathom five my father lies,\nOf his bones are coral made ;\nThose are pearls that were his eyes,\nNothing of him that doth fade,\nBut doth suffer a sea-change\nInto something rich and strange :\nSea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.\nDing-dong bell.... n\nA strange life to live in a new ele-\nment, long and strange before the sen-\nses can bear to say again \" I hear....\nI see.... I feel. n Even Shakespeare\ndoes not enter the water and write of\nthe silent life beneath all the tempests\nand the derelicts drifting.\nBut the life which stirs to conscious-\nness again under the deepest waters is\nnot stranger than that unknown life\nabout which we are so curious.... life\nin the East.\nTo feel in it we must be of it...,\nno other way. I know no separation\nsuch as \" East is East and West is\nWest and never the twain shall meet n,\nfor on the day that I choose to wan-\nder far afield, be it to the moon or\ninto the beds of Ocean, I may do so...\nand so also, I may go to the East\nand become of it any day 1 wish.\nYou too. But even as there is no\nreturning for a true lover, be the pains the\npains of Hell itself, so is there no returning\nfrom India.... that life strange and rich\nwhich, to experience well, we must\nsuffer. And it is for this reason I\nwould have you all pause before you\nare attracted from the work you have\njoined me in, to listen to the exquisite\nfluting of the great and lovely Krishna....\nfor his sweet sad notes are but the\nprelude of the mighty coils of music\nwhich will be flung around all those\nwho listen too long.\nThere is nothing for us to listen to...\nnothing for us yet. We Europeans and\nAmericans are in the utmost need for\nwe know very little.... we are like\nfools beside wise men, we Europeans\nand Americans standing by Asiatics....\nand we of the theatre hammering away\nlike slaves, we are the most ignorant\nof all ; remember this, my good old\nfriends, and we shall be making head-\nway before very long.\nIt is not that we are not above\nlistening.... but only that we are not\nyet in a position to listen.... we dare\nnot turn an ear or an eye away from\nour task• We have yet to learn that\none and one make two before we can\npass to larger sums.\nAs it is, our pupils can barely be-\nlieve us when we say, \" Come, wrestle\nwith this simple difficulty of one and\none,... Do not echo what we have\nsaid.... that it makes two. See it for\nyourselves. And express what you\nhave seen in your own way, not our\nway. Express with freedom, do not\necho.... limiting yourselves to this sim-\nple problem. And above all, n Seek\nto know no more n.\nWhy cannot you believe us ? I ad-\ndress the eager — Be eager, but don!t\nbe taking a tiger for a pussy-cat, or a\nGod for a ' hullo old chap\nWhy be infatuated by your own\npowers to the extent of dreaming fool-\nish dreams ? Why delude yourself\ninto fancying you are capable of un-\nderstanding without first feeling.... of\nfeeling v/ithout experiencing.... of ex-\nperiencing without being? For I tell\nyou it is impossible.\nAnd do you dare to dream you\ncan be in a moment all that India is\nand not be burnt to a cinder in the\ntick of a clock?... broken and burnt"}, {"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "32", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.4", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6630, "texte": "and your progress hindered.... thrown\nback another ten thousand years ?\nWill you waste the few good centuries\nin which your forefathers built up for\nyou a beginning ? A beginning is\nsomething; we are at that promising\npoint now. Must you prefer Nothing\nto it ? Do you prefer Annihilation to\nthe chance that is before you ? If so,\nthen annihilate yourself and the toil of\nyour forefathers in your gratified desire\nto see the marvel for an instant and die.\nBut if you are wise you will do no\nsuch thing. You will live, labour, suf-\nfer... if you find it part of the game....\nand pass on to those who come a\nlittle life.... instead of your own corpse.\nBriefly, India is dangerous to the\npowerless and the ignorant.... to us.\nI am a Westerner, and you too.\nOur tradition of life is one which our\ninstinct teaches us to continue. If so\nit is not by looking round over our\nshoulder or being curious about strange\nsights and sounds over there in the\nEast that we shall become more en-\nlightened. Enlightenment will come\nfrom the stones we are breaking as\nwe sit hammering in our own jolly or\ndusty path. Only this.... we must\nbreak on and on and not pause.... we\nmust labour and sweat.... and I promise\nyou all India.... but here, in Europe,\nin America. And for Heaven's sake\ntip us a song as you work ! It s that\nsong which won't break out.,., why not,\nin Heaven's name ?\nCan't you be jolly — can't you\nsing? Then whistle! Can't you whistle?\nThen make funny sounds.... can't you?\nThen make a face — that s Art ! and\nthat's where Art comes in in Life....\nwhat it's all for. To cheer and refresh.\nDo you suppose India and its brown\nchildren will laugh...? no, but they\nwill laugh if you follow after the pipe\nof Krishna and pose as feeling what\nyou don't feel because you can t see,\nand have not lived, the life of India.\nSo that I understand Dr. Cooma-\nraswamy a little.... enough to know\nthat he knows 1 understand nothing of\nthat noble artificiality of Indian Dra-\nmatic Technique.... and have enough\nof grace to appreciate a compliment.\n1 want you all to see that it is all\nsheer compliment, even as we should\ndo if we saw queer things on living\nthe life of India; for if you don't do\nthis you'll fancy that I am half way\nto India and you'll drop your ham-\nmers and be racing after a spectre.\nStay where you are.... be as steady\nas you can.... and go on with your\nwork.\nWhenever you see an Indian work\nof art, tighten the strings of your hel-\nmet. Admire it.... venerate it.... but\nfor your own sake don't absorb it.\nIt won't do you any harm to admire\nit quietly.... the good it should do\nyou is this, to drive you into utter\ndespair for quite a long while; but\nhands off.... don't wish to capture a\nsingle trick of its technique.... don't\nape it.\nDr. Coomaraswamy's translation of\nthe Mirror of Gesture is nothing at all\nfor you. It is dedicated n to all ac-\ntors and actresses f!. We must dis-\nclaim any right to deserving that de-\ndication. We must leave it to our\nfar-off brothers and sisters in India.\nIt is all theirs. Any Irishman will un-\nderstand what I mean.\nAnd this new book, \" The Dance\nof Siva 11.\nFor my part I shall open it now\nand again as I would peep into a si-\nlent uninhabited house whose front door\nis open.... I will peep in from this\nside of the garden gate.... out of cu-\nriosity may be.... yet not so curious\nneither. It is full of strange and beau-\ntiful furnitures, carpets, flowers..., I see\nthem from here. No — Curiosity it\nis not or I should open the gate...,\nknock?... get no reply and creep in,\none's only thought, 3 How pleasant\nfor those who live in there I R\nNo, no, not that way, if you please.\nDie naturally in due time, don't ask\nfor Siva to strike you down.... for it\nis his house. He lurks invisibly within\nand harms none but strangers. We\nare just.... strangers. Strangers, but\npretty determined at home to awaken\nand brace up our powers and get rid\nof the idea that materialism is all, by\nrealizing what materialism is.\nWe have for some time been bat-\ntering at the sandbags behind which\nCommercialism and every other self-\nseeking growth has ramparted itself,\ntaking us liberators for foes. For years\nmen and women in our Theatre (to\nspeak of the thing dearest to the Mask)\nhave battled against these dull ogres.\nOur great actors and actresses.... our\nplaywrights.,., all have prepared the\nway. But the path is English and is\nAmerican, and it's not on the road to\nMandalay that we are moving.... or\nare expected to move. Europe and\nAmerica look to us, remember, to\nremain ourselves.\nI want my followers then to love\nall things of the East.... but to really\nlove them.... remembering Goethe's\nwise saying, 11 Against the superiority\nof another there is no defence but\nlove \". So then now you get at what\nI had to say.\nYou and I are.... feel we are....\nnothing. They over there are wonder-\nful, and we can know it, admit it,\nadmire it, and goodnight. We love\nthem and all their works, and just be-\ncause we do so sincerely we go on\nalong our own way.\nGORDON CRAIG.\nI was almost forgetting something.\nYou'll wonder why it is that Asiatic\nthings and ideas are so prominent if\nthere is no value in them. We are\nsane nations as a whole, you say ; how\nis it these things are here ? Plunderers\nand art-experts.... or, to be more cor-\nrect amateur dealers in the priceless brie\na brae of the East. Why, they send\nagents there all the time.... they grow\nrich and build villas, and become ill\ndealing in Buddhas and Sivas. That's\nhow it is we hear so much about\nChina, India and Persia.\nNow we have our own real dealers in\nBond Street and Fifth Avenue, who\nsell us the work of modern artists....\ndon't they ? What more could we\nwant ?\nI know several real genuine dealers....\nmost modest men.... never deal in\nthings which are not European or\nAmerican. That keeps up the old-\nfashioned ideas of dealing. I know\none dealer,... I shall never forget him...\nwhy ? Because he admires Henry Ir-\nving more fervently than most of you\ntheatre-folk do.... because he is quite\nan ordinary man of the world, and is\nfaithful to Europe.... doesn't gad about\npretending to understand Chinese. Be-\nsides, he adores Irving. A man like\nthat does more good to our Move-\nment in the European Theatre than\nall the intellectuals nin London.\nIn fact, we artists of the west will\nget nearer India by cultivating the so-\nciety and influence of such men as\nthis than by running after the learned\nin Asiaticism.\n■ npHE MASK HAS BEEN RE-\n\" 1 DUCED TO A FOUR PAGE\n■ LEAFLET BUT NEVERTHE-\n■ LESS IT STILL REMAINS THE\n■ MOST ARTISTIC AND FASCI-\n■ NATING THEATRICAL PUBLI-\n« CATION IN THE WORLD.\nCurrent Opinion. U. S. A.\nSept. 1918."}]}], "pages_ocr_originales": [{"page_pdf": 1, "page_imprimee": "29", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.1", "texte": "THE MASK\nA MONTHLY LEAFLET OF\nTHE ART OF THE THEATRE\nPRICE ONE PENNY\nVOLUME EIGHT: NUMBER EIGHT\nADDRESS: BOX 444. FLORENCE\n\nSPEED.\nTHERE is still an erroneous idea fluttering around that the\nquickest things are the motor car, the areoplane, the\ntelegraph, trains, and so forth.\nI will tell you something quicker. It is the Imagination\nof Man. And because Imagination outstrips all else it gets\nthere the sooner.... Do you see?\nImagination even can beat the lie, and the lie always\nhas about 3000 miles start according to the laws which\nhandicap the swiftest in the race and allow points to the\ndawdle feet.\nThe Imagination is not only swiftest.... it sees further\nthan all else.... it detects the liar and the liaress prowling\nafar off in deserts.\nThe Imagination shoots truest. Having seen the prow-\nlers it fires afar off; be it on the other side of earth it hits\nits mark.\nThe Imagination is strongest.... it can hold a hundred\nliars in its hand and look at them without anger.\nThe Imagination has another trick.... It can by closing\nan ear blow with the other ear so strongly that....\n(Concluded on page 30).\n\nA PLEA FOR\nTWO THEATRES.\nby EDWARD GORDON CRAIG\n1915 Florence,\nIV.\nTHE PRESENT\nTHEATRE.\nDedicated to the Tired Business Man.\nINTEND here only to consider the\npresent theatre in relation to the\ntwo other theatres under discussion,\nthe Durable and the Perishable.\nIt is a negative affair at best, the\npresent theatre. It has not durable qua-\nlities, neither will it perish sufficiently\nquickly. It costs as much as would a\nDurable Theatre, yet endures only a\nfew years. The public of the present\ntheatre is in love with the latest thing,\nand spends millions of money in order to\nhave one glance at it; then tosses its\nhead and asks for a still later thing. In\nfact the present theatre is the product\nof an effete public.\nWhat remains over of the extraor-\ndinary productions given to the public\nby the late Sir Henry Irving, who\nspent lavish sums on the present Thea-\ntre ? For instance, (not to speak of\nany great sum), what remains over\nof his season at the Lyceum ending\non the 31 si July 1880 ? The money\ntaken was £ 59,000, and Irving always\nspent all his money on his work.\nWhat remains over of the gross receipts\nof \" King Arthur \", — £ 39,361.1. 0.?\nWhat remains over from fifty three per-\nformances of 11 The Merchant of Ve-\nnice n, which realized £ 29,056.1 1.2?\nOr from the gross receipts from two\nhundred and forty performances given\nin America in 1886, bringing in the\nsum of £ 1 16,516. 16. 9: or, in dol-\nlars, $ 563,941. 50?\nOr take Irving's expenses on his\neight American and Canadian tours.\nI hey amounted to the following sum\n— £591,347. 5. 11. A great sum of\ncourse would go to the actors,... and\nwhat is there to show for the rest ? In\ndollars it amounts to $2,862,120.90....\nover half a million pounds sterling, or\nnearly three million dollars.\nThe name of Irving is very great,\nand none respects his memory more\nthan I do ; but except for his name,\nwhat is there remaining over ?\nThese are Henry Irving's gross re-\nceipts and his expenses from 1876\nto 1905."}, {"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "30", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.2", "texte": "But in short, the Imagination is iike the seven compan-\nions of Moscione in the Fairy-tale:.... it serves a booby,....\nthe Artist.\nWonders will never cease.... but sometimes it takes a\nfool to perceive the wonder of wonders which even today\nis denied by the whole intelligence of the western world.\nReceipts. £ 2,261,687; 10; 1.\nTotal expenses. £ 2,168,290.6. 1.\nNet Profit. £ 93,397. 4. 0.0)\nI am not quoting these figures in\norder to suggest that they were more\nthan Henry Irving should have recei-\nved. For my part I wish he had re-\nceived five millions and the National\nTheatre into the bargain. It is what\nshould have been done for the sake\nof the swagger of the British nation,\nmore than for the sake of Irving. Nor\ndo I quote the figures in order to sug-\ngest that the money was badly handled\nin comparison with other modern thea-\ntres. It was used lavishly, for the\nstinginess which has come upon the\nEnglish Theatre of late years was then\nnot dreamed of.\nI would only draw attention to the\nexpenditure which, as you see, exceeded\ntwo million, and remark that there is\nnothing to show for that two million.\nThere is no Theatre of beautiful pro-\nportions containing a stage equipped\nfor succeeding generations; there is no\nmuseum, no library, nothing. As it is\nnot to be supposed that an ounce of\nthe great Irving personality would have\nbeen lost had these things been built,\ncollected and preserved, why was some-\nthing not done ? I will tell you why.\nIt was not possible because the Pub-\nlic prefers to be made to pay. Had\nIrving asked England and America, in\nthe course of twenty years, to supply\nhim with one million pounds sterling\nin order that he, as the best actor of\nhis age, might erect for them a thea-\ntre which should be even as durable\nas the Frangaise, (Moli&re's\ntheatre), the queer thing is that he\nwould have been refused that sum.\nBut see what Irving does. He de-\ntermines to get that sum and more,....\nand he gets it. But he gets it under\nconditions which make it less easy to\nestablish such a theatre. He makes\nthe people pay him over two million,\nyou see, and he does it.... if we omit\nhis own great personality and genius,...\nby carrying round train-loads and boat-\nloads of scenery and costumes, armour\nand appliances which, if still in exi-\nstence, must cost more o store than\ntheir actual value.\nIt is likely that there are some\nhandsome swords, jewels, and other\nthings in existence, probably more hand-\nsome than those left by any other\nactor; but have any of them a value\nas works of fine art ? Whereas there\nis hardly a little church in all Europe\nand Asia that does not contain some\npriceless piece of silver work or gold\nwork or ivory work, some piece of\nsculpture, or some robe ; in short, some\nfine work of art.\nDo you see what I mean ?\nIf you hold that some theatrical\nproperties are fine works of art, then\nI have nothing to say. I refer you\nto the experts of the auction room.\nThey are things of sentimental interest\nand in some cases are of good qua-\nlity ; but nothing more.\nI have in my possession one or two\nmasks carved in Japan and one or two\ncarved in Africa. These have a great\nvalue as works of fine art, and an ever\nincreasing value commercially.\nI have on the other hand a pair of\ngloves worn by Henry Irving in one\nof his Shakespearean productions. They\nare nicely made gloves lined with nice\nsilk, and on the back of the hand and on\nthe cuff is good theatrical gilt tinsel with\nsome cheap imitation stones. They have\na sentimental value and are what is called\nR interesting n, even as a glove of Na-\npoleon would be interesting. But com-\npare this pair with a glove worn by\nQueen Elizabeth, and they are bits of\ntrash. Queen Elizabeth's glove is a\nwork of art.\nAgain, I have one of the belts worn\nby Henry Irving in \" Hamlet \", with\nlarge jewelled plaques on it and the\nwhole covered with a black net. It is\na thing I am very fond of ; but compare\nit with some belt preserved in the\ncrypts at Notre Dame or in the\nBargello at Florence, and the value of\nthe theatrical one hardly amounts to\nthat of a row of pins. The others are\nprecious things, durable, valuable, works\nof art, and are also good investments.\nThe fact that Irving's n Hamlet n\nbelt is more effective on the stage than\nwould be the belts in the Bargello only\nproves one thing.... that the present\ntheatre aims at \" effectiveness \" at all\ncosts, and does not care whether what\nis seen on its stages are works of fine\nart or not. In fact, as you see, it\nprefers what is called the n fake n to\nthe genuine. The fake n tells ; the\ngenuine falls short of theatrical effect.\nAnd here we come to the t%vo\nwords which best sum up the theatre\nas it is, and the Theatre as it should be.\nInstead of the fake we should have\nthe genuine.\nIf every stage thing cannot be\nprecious,... though I see no reason why\nbefore long it should not be.... let it\nat any rate be unpretentious. Is there\nanything more annoying to us all who\nare working in this New Movement\nthan to see these gilded plaster theatre\ninteriors ? If the gilt plaster had\nsomething inspiring in its form, then\nwe would perhaps set aside the question\nof the gilt and the plaster and accept\nit for its expressive form. But it has\nnot one quality that is good about it.\nThe theatre at present is just a\npretentious place and is likely to foster\npretention in those who frequent it.\nThere has been a movement for\nseveral years among architects to give\nus theatres of a different form, using\ndifferent material, with an attempt at\nwhat some call simplicity, and so forth.\nIt began with Wagner, and it seems to\nbe developing well. But their tendency\nis to become what is called ,! artistic n\nand to create a new pretention. These\ntheatres get built somehow without\ninspiration and without a reason and\nare expressionless. Some system, some\nhappy or unhappy idea is followed,\nand it all ends in being no better than\nthe gilt and plaster palaces of old.\nBut lest you should imagine that I\nobject to the elaborate or to the\nartificial, because these are generally\nmost pretentious, let me cite one\ninstance where both exist in the same\ntheatre and seem to me splendid. In\nParma there is the theatre built by\nG. B. Aleotti and completed in 1619,\ncalled the n Teatro Farnese \". Perfect\nin splendour, without being a Perishable\nTheatre, without being a Durable\nTheatre, it is typical of all the best\nthat should have survived in the present\ntheatre but is rapidly disappearing. It\nhas received the touch of genius from\nthe man who built it. But genius is\nabsent from the modern theatre — is\nnot allowed to touch it into life — so\nwho cares whether it endure or perish?\nPractical people should consider the\nenormous waste which goes on year\nafter year, and should ask themselves\nwhether, instead of it, they cannot\nsee their way to have the Durable\nTheatre and the Perishable Theatre,\nwithout spending a penny more. Thus\nthey would have their cake and eat\nit. I believe this is possible.\n\n(i) (See Life of Henry Irving by\nAustin Brereton)."}, {"page_pdf": 3, "page_imprimee": "31", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.3", "texte": "One last word on the Present\nTheatre.\nAlthough it is but the lees of the\nwine of our old Theatre, still in that\nold Theatre I was cradled — and I\nam helping to nurse a New Theatre.\nIf the New Movement does not regard\naffectionately ....very affectionately....\nthat old theatre, I shall be sorry that\nI ever nursed the new one. What\nwas good in the old Theatre must be\npreserved, and those of the New\nMovement must try to learn what those\ndear remains signify. There is some-\nthing good in every Theatre —\nsomething, not everything. By accep-\nting as gospel all the old Theatre\nsaid and did, (and all it omitted to\nsay and do), we have reached the\npresent unfortunate situation.\nIf the n Motion Picture V as it is\ncalled, is closing our theatres and taking\naway performers from the theatres,...\nand you have only to study the\nAmerican theatrical journals to note\nthis slow but steady leakage.... it is\ndue to some weakness in the theatre.\nGood then that our old stage should\npass away. Our new stage is alive\neven if very young.\nI pray that we shall not sit down\nlike those previous to this war and\npooh-pooh the idea that anything is\nwrong in the theatre. Let us realize\nwhat is wrong and that we have not\nanother minute to lose in putting it\nright.\nn And why don't you propose\nsomething practical ? H someone will\nask. Let me answer with jean Jacques\nRousseau where he says, 5? All people\nare always telling me to make practical\nsuggestions n ; and he goes on to say,\n55 You might as well tell me to suggest\nonce more what people are already\ndoing, or at least to suggest improve-\nments which may be incorporated with\nthe wrong methods at present in use....\nin that way the good becomes corrupted\nand the bad is none the better for it !!.\nAnd he adds still further, n I would\nrather follow exactly the established\nmethods than adopt a better method\nby halves H.\nR ght I and we must have two new\nTheatres — we cannot patch up the\nold one. My proposal, then, is that\nwe plan for the ages to come two\nTheatres — a Durable Theatre and a\nPerishable Theatre.\nAnd remembering Leonardo's war-\nning to n shun those studies in which\nthe work that results dies with the\nworker H, let us make up our minds to\nshow courage and reply, 11 Not so.\nProceed with any study which you\nlove and determine to make the work\nthat results endure and outlive aeons\nof decay\n1915 Florence.\nI wish to call the attention of the\nfinanciers who like to spend their money\nlavishly on modern Theatricals, to the\npassage referring to the wasted two\nmillion pounds, (ten million*dollars) and\nto beg them to consider whether they\nwould not prefer .to have their names\npreserved in more durable material.\nAnd I wish to call the attention of\nall legislators to the whole question....\n\" Shall there be waste or economy? \"\nLastly.... Forget what I have said....\nmay be \" it was nothing but a dream\nTHE END .\n\nASIA\nAMERICA\nEUROPE.\nIN the preface to a companion vo-\nlume to this \" Dance of Siva \" Dr.\nCoomaraswamy spoke of me as one\nn who understands so well the noble\nartificiality of Indian dramatic techni-\nque \", and mentioned, quoting part of\na letter that I had written to him, that\nI had n frequently asked for more de-\ntailed information R on the subject.\nThis must not be misunderstood by\nthose few good workers along my path.\nAnd so that their attention shall be in\nno way attracted away from the work\nwe have in hand I have thought it\ntime to turn to India and say a thing\nI have for long wanted to say. You\nmust not be too critical with me, for\nI admit that for me, and I will add\nfor you, the subject is strange.\nFull fathom five my father lies,\nOf his bones are coral made ;\nThose are pearls that were his eyes,\nNothing of him that doth fade,\nBut doth suffer a sea-change\nInto something rich and strange :\nSea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.\nDing-dong bell.... n\nA strange life to live in a new ele-\nment, long and strange before the sen-\nses can bear to say again \" I hear....\nI see.... I feel. n Even Shakespeare\ndoes not enter the water and write of\nthe silent life beneath all the tempests\nand the derelicts drifting.\nBut the life which stirs to conscious-\nness again under the deepest waters is\nnot stranger than that unknown life\nabout which we are so curious.... life\nin the East.\nTo feel in it we must be of it...,\nno other way. I know no separation\nsuch as \" East is East and West is\nWest and never the twain shall meet n,\nfor on the day that I choose to wan-\nder far afield, be it to the moon or\ninto the beds of Ocean, I may do so...\nand so also, I may go to the East\nand become of it any day 1 wish.\nYou too. But even as there is no\nreturning for a true lover, be the pains the\npains of Hell itself, so is there no returning\nfrom India.... that life strange and rich\nwhich, to experience well, we must\nsuffer. And it is for this reason I\nwould have you all pause before you\nare attracted from the work you have\njoined me in, to listen to the exquisite\nfluting of the great and lovely Krishna....\nfor his sweet sad notes are but the\nprelude of the mighty coils of music\nwhich will be flung around all those\nwho listen too long.\nThere is nothing for us to listen to...\nnothing for us yet. We Europeans and\nAmericans are in the utmost need for\nwe know very little.... we are like\nfools beside wise men, we Europeans\nand Americans standing by Asiatics....\nand we of the theatre hammering away\nlike slaves, we are the most ignorant\nof all ; remember this, my good old\nfriends, and we shall be making head-\nway before very long.\nIt is not that we are not above\nlistening.... but only that we are not\nyet in a position to listen.... we dare\nnot turn an ear or an eye away from\nour task• We have yet to learn that\none and one make two before we can\npass to larger sums.\nAs it is, our pupils can barely be-\nlieve us when we say, \" Come, wrestle\nwith this simple difficulty of one and\none,... Do not echo what we have\nsaid.... that it makes two. See it for\nyourselves. And express what you\nhave seen in your own way, not our\nway. Express with freedom, do not\necho.... limiting yourselves to this sim-\nple problem. And above all, n Seek\nto know no more n.\nWhy cannot you believe us ? I ad-\ndress the eager — Be eager, but don!t\nbe taking a tiger for a pussy-cat, or a\nGod for a ' hullo old chap\nWhy be infatuated by your own\npowers to the extent of dreaming fool-\nish dreams ? Why delude yourself\ninto fancying you are capable of un-\nderstanding without first feeling.... of\nfeeling v/ithout experiencing.... of ex-\nperiencing without being? For I tell\nyou it is impossible.\nAnd do you dare to dream you\ncan be in a moment all that India is\nand not be burnt to a cinder in the\ntick of a clock?... broken and burnt"}, {"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "32", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau191810-02.1.4", "texte": "and your progress hindered.... thrown\nback another ten thousand years ?\nWill you waste the few good centuries\nin which your forefathers built up for\nyou a beginning ? A beginning is\nsomething; we are at that promising\npoint now. Must you prefer Nothing\nto it ? Do you prefer Annihilation to\nthe chance that is before you ? If so,\nthen annihilate yourself and the toil of\nyour forefathers in your gratified desire\nto see the marvel for an instant and die.\nBut if you are wise you will do no\nsuch thing. You will live, labour, suf-\nfer... if you find it part of the game....\nand pass on to those who come a\nlittle life.... instead of your own corpse.\nBriefly, India is dangerous to the\npowerless and the ignorant.... to us.\nI am a Westerner, and you too.\nOur tradition of life is one which our\ninstinct teaches us to continue. If so\nit is not by looking round over our\nshoulder or being curious about strange\nsights and sounds over there in the\nEast that we shall become more en-\nlightened. Enlightenment will come\nfrom the stones we are breaking as\nwe sit hammering in our own jolly or\ndusty path. Only this.... we must\nbreak on and on and not pause.... we\nmust labour and sweat.... and I promise\nyou all India.... but here, in Europe,\nin America. And for Heaven's sake\ntip us a song as you work ! It s that\nsong which won't break out.,., why not,\nin Heaven's name ?\nCan't you be jolly — can't you\nsing? Then whistle! Can't you whistle?\nThen make funny sounds.... can't you?\nThen make a face — that s Art ! and\nthat's where Art comes in in Life....\nwhat it's all for. To cheer and refresh.\nDo you suppose India and its brown\nchildren will laugh...? no, but they\nwill laugh if you follow after the pipe\nof Krishna and pose as feeling what\nyou don't feel because you can t see,\nand have not lived, the life of India.\nSo that I understand Dr. Cooma-\nraswamy a little.... enough to know\nthat he knows 1 understand nothing of\nthat noble artificiality of Indian Dra-\nmatic Technique.... and have enough\nof grace to appreciate a compliment.\n1 want you all to see that it is all\nsheer compliment, even as we should\ndo if we saw queer things on living\nthe life of India; for if you don't do\nthis you'll fancy that I am half way\nto India and you'll drop your ham-\nmers and be racing after a spectre.\nStay where you are.... be as steady\nas you can.... and go on with your\nwork.\nWhenever you see an Indian work\nof art, tighten the strings of your hel-\nmet. Admire it.... venerate it.... but\nfor your own sake don't absorb it.\nIt won't do you any harm to admire\nit quietly.... the good it should do\nyou is this, to drive you into utter\ndespair for quite a long while; but\nhands off.... don't wish to capture a\nsingle trick of its technique.... don't\nape it.\nDr. Coomaraswamy's translation of\nthe Mirror of Gesture is nothing at all\nfor you. It is dedicated n to all ac-\ntors and actresses f!. We must dis-\nclaim any right to deserving that de-\ndication. We must leave it to our\nfar-off brothers and sisters in India.\nIt is all theirs. Any Irishman will un-\nderstand what I mean.\nAnd this new book, \" The Dance\nof Siva 11.\nFor my part I shall open it now\nand again as I would peep into a si-\nlent uninhabited house whose front door\nis open.... I will peep in from this\nside of the garden gate.... out of cu-\nriosity may be.... yet not so curious\nneither. It is full of strange and beau-\ntiful furnitures, carpets, flowers..., I see\nthem from here. No — Curiosity it\nis not or I should open the gate...,\nknock?... get no reply and creep in,\none's only thought, 3 How pleasant\nfor those who live in there I R\nNo, no, not that way, if you please.\nDie naturally in due time, don't ask\nfor Siva to strike you down.... for it\nis his house. He lurks invisibly within\nand harms none but strangers. We\nare just.... strangers. Strangers, but\npretty determined at home to awaken\nand brace up our powers and get rid\nof the idea that materialism is all, by\nrealizing what materialism is.\nWe have for some time been bat-\ntering at the sandbags behind which\nCommercialism and every other self-\nseeking growth has ramparted itself,\ntaking us liberators for foes. For years\nmen and women in our Theatre (to\nspeak of the thing dearest to the Mask)\nhave battled against these dull ogres.\nOur great actors and actresses.... our\nplaywrights.,., all have prepared the\nway. But the path is English and is\nAmerican, and it's not on the road to\nMandalay that we are moving.... or\nare expected to move. Europe and\nAmerica look to us, remember, to\nremain ourselves.\nI want my followers then to love\nall things of the East.... but to really\nlove them.... remembering Goethe's\nwise saying, 11 Against the superiority\nof another there is no defence but\nlove \". So then now you get at what\nI had to say.\nYou and I are.... feel we are....\nnothing. They over there are wonder-\nful, and we can know it, admit it,\nadmire it, and goodnight. We love\nthem and all their works, and just be-\ncause we do so sincerely we go on\nalong our own way.\nGORDON CRAIG.\nI was almost forgetting something.\nYou'll wonder why it is that Asiatic\nthings and ideas are so prominent if\nthere is no value in them. We are\nsane nations as a whole, you say ; how\nis it these things are here ? Plunderers\nand art-experts.... or, to be more cor-\nrect amateur dealers in the priceless brie\na brae of the East. Why, they send\nagents there all the time.... they grow\nrich and build villas, and become ill\ndealing in Buddhas and Sivas. That's\nhow it is we hear so much about\nChina, India and Persia.\nNow we have our own real dealers in\nBond Street and Fifth Avenue, who\nsell us the work of modern artists....\ndon't they ? What more could we\nwant ?\nI know several real genuine dealers....\nmost modest men.... never deal in\nthings which are not European or\nAmerican. That keeps up the old-\nfashioned ideas of dealing. I know\none dealer,... I shall never forget him...\nwhy ? Because he admires Henry Ir-\nving more fervently than most of you\ntheatre-folk do.... because he is quite\nan ordinary man of the world, and is\nfaithful to Europe.... doesn't gad about\npretending to understand Chinese. Be-\nsides, he adores Irving. A man like\nthat does more good to our Move-\nment in the European Theatre than\nall the intellectuals nin London.\nIn fact, we artists of the west will\nget nearer India by cultivating the so-\nciety and influence of such men as\nthis than by running after the learned\nin Asiaticism.\n■ npHE MASK HAS BEEN RE-\n\" 1 DUCED TO A FOUR PAGE\n■ LEAFLET BUT NEVERTHE-\n■ LESS IT STILL REMAINS THE\n■ MOST ARTISTIC AND FASCI-\n■ NATING THEATRICAL PUBLI-\n« CATION IN THE WORLD.\nCurrent Opinion. U. S. A.\nSept. 1918.\n\nAll rights reserved October 1918.\nGerente responsabile : Giulio Vanzi.\nTipografia Giuntina. Firenze.\nPRICE ONE PENNY"}]}