THE BEST ONE-ACT PLAYS OF 1931 Collected by J. W.
Marriot
In the foreword to his new collection—The Best One-Act Plays of 1931 (Harrap, 5s.) Mr. J. W. Marriot says, " The task of collecting a dozen one-act plays of real merit has been pleasant but not easy." Unfortunately this difficulty is made apparent in the volume which contains only three really first- class plays. These are, • Mr. W. -Stucke's Shanghai, a crisp, bitter little drama of revenge ; Vindication, by Mr. Leonard J. Hines and Mr. Frank King, a horrible, but very effective thriller ; and Mr. Neil M. Gunn's Back Home, a subtle study of the Scottish character. Most of the other plays are mediocre, and it is a pity that the only cheerful ones should be the poorest in the collection. Mr. J. Darmady has made a hold experiment in writing The Annual Jumble Sale in free verse which is occasionally effective but more often ludicrous. Mr. Marriot -has so often proved himself a competent selector of plays that we hope he will have better material to choose from next year.
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