10 OCTOBER 1925, Page 37

LITERATURE IN THE THEATRE. By W. A. Darlington. (Chapman and

Hall. 12s. 6d. net.) MR. DARLINGTON'S honest mediocrity makes pleasant reading for theatre-goers. The author of Alf's Button helps nobody

to enjoy a play or to understand what has occurred, but reminds the theatre enthusiast that Miss Foote-Lights was good as Lady Tweezle, that acting is an art, that the brothers Capek, Mr. Granville Barker and the Ober-Ammergau Passion- play all exist. In the Thursday columns of the Daily Telegraph these essays seem profound, but when tested by the ordeal of reprinting prove a little threadbare.. The shades of Lamb and Hazlitt would perhaps suggest that before the publication of a new book of theatrical essays it is wise to reread Mr. C. E. Montague's Dramatic Values. Mr. Darlington shows his never- failing good sense in paying handsome tribute to Mr. Montague in the title essay of his volume.