SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsea 'set rev iew.1
Drama. No. 1. Edited by G. Whitworth. (Chatto and Windus. 2s. net.)—The unofficial monthly organ of the new British Drama League has made a good start. We are par- ticularly attracted by the account, by Mr. Montrose J. Moses, of the " Little Theatre " movement in America, which has spread across the country ; its promoters scorn the regular theatre and the professional actor, but they have made great numbers of thoughtful people take an interest in modern plays. Mr. H. W. Leggett's article on " The Crayford Experiment " relates how a number of munition workers last year gave play-readings- acting their parts in a simple way without trying to memorize them ; their fellow-workers were delighted, and began to buy and read similar plays for themselves. Mr. Eric J. Patterson records the popularity of the repertory company which Miss Lena Ashwell organized for the benefit of the troops in France, producing plays such as we cannot see in London because they are supposed to be too " literary." Some day, perhaps even in the near future, the theatrical managers may awaken to the fact that there is a public for plays that make some slight demand upon the intelligence. The success of Abraham Lincoln at Hammersmith need not be exceptional or unique.
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