Current Literature
THE THEATRE
By Malcolm Morley
This book (Pitman, 5s.) is one of a series designed to enable " the general reader to acquire a knowledge and under- standing of the subjects discussed." This function the present volume may possibly fulfil adequately, though it is less useful than it might have been since Mr. Morley does not appear to have made up his mind whether the subject he is discussing is the theatre considered as an art or the theatre as an industry, and his writing not infrequently reproduces this confusion of aim. For the reader not in need of such an intro- duction the book will be found valueless : Mr. Morley has not -a specialist's familiarity with all the subjects which he dis- cusses, no new theory of drama or of acting is put forward, no perceptible contribution to criticism is made even incidentally, and the book has certainly no distinction of writing to recom- mend it. Mr. Morley's credentials are those of a practical man of the theatre, with some experience behind him as producer, as actor, and as dramatic critic—his attitude in this last capacity, on the evidence of this book, being generally founded on, and occasionally biassed by, his experience in the other two roles. He has three introductory chapters on the history of drama, the history of the theatre, and "The Dramatist," each of them so compressed as inevitably to involve a con- siderable amount of over-simplification, but all of them in the main sound and unexceptionable—the rarity of occasions for surprise or disagreement as the book proceeds enforces rather than corrects the reader's first impression that Mr. Morley has very little new to say. The two succeeding chapters, headed Fashions in Plays " and " Plays of Near Today," neither of which is much more than a catalogue, contain, it is true, certain points for disagreement when Mr. Morley makes some highly questionable attempts at a critical judgement, but they are never of a kind to persuade the reader to modify an existing opinion, and in general Mr. Morley manages to guard against objection by merely reporting facts without venturing a personal comment. Other chapters follow on Touring, Repertory, " The Long Run," The Actor, The Manager, and The Producer. .Mr. Morley is kind to repertory theatres, and critical of the speculative venturers in the London theatre, and if he rarely produces anything on these subjects that is not already a commonplace of criticism, no doubt the obvious truths concerning them cannot be too fre- quently stated. Further chapters move discursively round various points of theatrical interest, in which there are many incidental comments of interest, though few general points of any significance are made. Mr. Morley's book, in brief; pro- vides the least stimulating reading imaginable, but serves its advertised purpose in providing an adequate introduction for those who have no knowledge of its subject.
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