K-v k THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Kenneth Macgowan SCHEME &> ESTIMATES FOR A NATIONAL THEATRE Afc have in England everything to make us dissatisfied with the chaotic and ineffective condition into which our theatre has fallen. We have the remem- brance of better things in the past, and the elements for better things in the future. We have a splendid national drama of the Elizabethan age, and a later drama which has no lack of pieces conspicuous by their stage qualities, their vivacity and their talent, and interesting by their pictures of manners. We have had great actors. We have good actors not a few at the present 7/toment, But we have been unlucky, as we so often are, in the work of organisation. . . . // seems to me that every one of us is concerned to find a remedy for this melan- choly state of things, and that the pleasure we have had in the visit of the French company [the Comidie Franfaisel is barren, unless it leaves us with the impulse to do so, and with the lesson how alone it can be rationally done. "Forget" — can we not hear these fine artists saying in an undertone to us, amidst their graceful compliments of adieu ? — "forget your clap-trap, and believe that tlu State, the nation in its collective and corporate character, does well to concern itself about an influeiue so important to national life and manners as the theatre. . . . The people will have the theatre ; then make it a good one. . . . The theatre is irresistible ; organise the theatre 1 " MATTHEW ARNOLD. SCHEME & ESTIMATES FOR A NATIONAL THEATRE By WILLIAM ARCHER and GRANVILLE BARKER New York DUFFIELD & COMPANY 1908 Copyright, 1908, by DUFFIELD & COMPANY THE PREMIER PRESS NEW YORK HAVING READ AND CAREFULLY CONSIDERED THIS SCHEME FOR A NATIONAL THEATRE, WE DESIRE TO EXPRESS OUR BELIEF THAT SUCH AN INSTITUTION IS URGENTLY NEEDED, AND THAT IT COULD IN ALL PROBA- BILITY BE SUCCESSFULLY ESTAB- LISHED ON THE GENERAL LINES HERE INDICATED. HENRY IRVING. SQUIRE BANCROFT. J. M. BARRIE. HELEN nOYLY CARTE, JOHN HARE. HENRY ARTHUR JONES. A. W. PINERO. 572350 NOTE This book was compiled and privately printed in the year 1904. We need not enter into our reasons for not publishing it at that date : it is suflScient that they have now ceased to operate. In drawing up the following Estimates we had the assistance of many expert advisers. Most of those leaders of the theatrical profession who signed the declaration on the previous page, not only read the book in proof, but favoured us with many criticisms and suggestions which are embodied in the text as it now stands. Among our other advisers, those to whom we owe special acknowledgments are : Mr. Robert Courtneidge, Miss Edith Craig, Mr. Walter Hann, Mr. Ian Robertson, and Mr. Horace Watson. We are deeply indebted to them for information placed at our disposal ; but they are of course in no way responsible for the deduction^ we have drawn from it, or for the general scheme into which it has been woven. It is a source of pleasure and pride to us that the list of those who gave their sanction to our scheme should be headed by the name of Sir Henry Irving. W. A. H. G. B. August, 1907. PREFACE FOR AMERICA When Mr. Granville Barker and I determined to publish this book, which had been printed for private circulation three years ago, we thought for a moment of preparing an American edition of it, wherein our financial estimates should be stated in dollars instead of in pounds. But we very soon abandoned the idea. WTiy translate into American currency fig-ures which do not pretend to apply to American condi- tions ? We might, indeed, have called American experts into council, and tried to adjust our estimates to the American scale. But even if we had had time to face such a task, it would scarcely have been worth while; for it would have required far more than a mere correction of figures to fit our scheme with any precision to American needs and opportunities. We determined, then, to leave the book a purely Eng- lish document, trusting that American readers would make for them- selves the necfissary adaptations, and appropriate to their own case as many of our suggestions as they " had any use for." Nevertheless, it may not be out of place for me to indicate briefly those parts of the book which I would, so to speak, underline for America. I do so without any special reference to the schemes and enterprises in the direction of theatrical progress that are already afoot in the United States. Looking at the problem in its widest aspect, I try to point out those features of our Scheme which are, in my judg- ment, worthy of consideration by all who are interested in the estab- lishment of an artistic theatre in any Anglo-Saxon community. The American reader may possibly find a stumbling-block at the outset in the name " National Theatre." It has really no importance. The British nation is geographically so much more concentrated than the American nation that siich a theatre as is here in view might fairly be called " national " in a sense in which the term could scarcely be applied to any American theatre. If the institution outlined were established in London, its claim to rank as " national " would not i ii PREFACE FOR AMERICA be contested by Manchester, Leeds, or even Edinburgh; whereas New York would scarcely concede " national " pre-eminence to a theatre established in Washington, nor Chicago to a theatre established in New York. In America, perhaps, " City Theatre " might not inaptly designate the type of playhouse indicated. In this term I do not mean necessarily to imply a " Municipal Theatre " in the Continental sense; that is, a theatre owned and directly or indirectly controlled by the Municipality. What I mean is simply a theatre commensurate to the artistic needs of a great city. There are at least half-a-dozen — perhaps a dozen — cities in the United States quite capable of support- ing a theatre on the scale of that which is here outlined. The name matters nothing. Found the institution, and a fitting name will very soon present itself.* Turning now to Section I of our Scheme, I believe that the prin- ciple stated in the first two paragraphs will be found approximately right, no less in America than in England. A City Theatre ought to have a thoroughly dignified and adequate building assigned to it, free of rent and taxes; but, after the first few years of its working, it ought not, if efficiently managed, to require any further subsidy. It seems to us very essential that (as laid down in Sections I and II) the Theatre should be a public institution, owned, and, in the last resort, controlled, by Trustees or Governors representing the com- munity. There is no harm — there may be very great good — in theatres owned and controlled by private art-lovers for the satisfaction of their owm tastes. But these are not such theatres as we have here in view. We suggest that in every great community there should be at least one theatre standing on the same basis as the Public Library, the Museum, or the Art Gallery, among the culture-institutions of the city or State. There are, of course, many ways in which such a theatre might be formally attached to the body politic, without coming too immediately under the control of the party politician. I believe that numerous institutions already exist in the L^nited States, dedicated by private donors to public uses, under conditions that might be applied with very little change to the governance of a City Theatre. Unless I am •The term "State Theatre" has in Europe come to mean a theatre supported by the central government; and it can hardly be divested of that sense. Otherwise, it would be an excellent name for a theatre, not supported by. but dedicated to. the State of New York, or Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania, or Illinois, or California, as the case might be. PREFACE FOR AMERICA Hi greatly mistaken, the Carnegie Institute at Pittsburg is a case in point. For the sake of clearness, however, I will ventiire to suggest in detail (on the lines laid do^v•n in our Section II) what would seem to me a possible Board of Trustees for a City Theatre to be established in New York. Let us assume that the number — fifteen — proposed in that Section is adliered to. In that case one nomination apiece might be allotted to The Governor of IsTew York State, Columbia University, Cornell University, Vassar College,* and two nominations to the Mayor of Xew York. " The remaining nine members" (I quote from Section II) "should, in the first instance, be appointed by the Donor or Donors of the site and building, and as vacancies occurred (by death or resignation) among the Trus- tees thus appointed, the vacancies should be filled up alternately by co-optation (all Members of the Board having power to vote) and by nomination by " — the President of the United States. Need I say that I claim no special virtue for this particular method of constituting the Board ? It may be capable of improvement in a score of ways. Perhaps a larger Board would be preferable — or, it may be, a smaller. Perhaps certain prominent functionaries, such as the President of Columbia University and the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ought to be ex-ofiicio members of the Board. On such details it would be absurd for me to do more than throw out tentative sugges- tions. The point to be emphasized is merely that some such Board could easily be constituted, not only in New York, but in any great American city, and that it would be at least as likely to work satisfac- torily in the United States as in England. All that is said in Section II of the duties of Trustees or Governors, and their relation to the Executive Staff of the Theatre, applies with equal force on both sides of the Atlantic. IMaking a leap now to Section XII, I suggest that the plan here set forth for the constitution and administration of the Guarantee •Perhaps Tale fniversitj'. being definitely within the New York "sphere of influ- ence." should have one nomination. On the other hand, Princeton. I take it, would rather come, with Bryn Mawr and the University of Pennsylvania, within the circum- scription of Philadelphia; just as Harvard and Wellesley would naturally nominate trustees for a Boston theatre. iv PREFACE FOR AMERICA Fund, for automatically determining, as it were, the success or failure of the enterprise, and for its liquidation in the event of failure, is worthy of careful attention in the United States. There is this differ- ence between the Theatre we are considering and such an establish- ment as the Carnegie Institute, that, whereas, the talents required for successfully conducting the latter are definitely understood and exist in abundance, those required for successfully conducting the former are not yet clearly understood, are certainly rare, and may not always be available. There is as yet no recognized tradition in English- speaking countries for the organization and management of National or City Theatres. Until such a tradition establishes itself, each indi- vidual theatre must be an experimental effort. In most cases, no doubt, the enterprise would have sufficient vitality to profit by experi- ence, however dearly bought, and to proceed through temporary failure to enduring success. But it might conceivably prove, in this or that individual instance, that the Theatre was hopelessly at odds with its environment, that no mere reorganization could meet the trouble, and that the only reasonable coiirse was to abandon the experiment. In view of this possibility, it is cleai'ly expedient that the Donor or Donors should retain some hold upon their benefaction, until it has absolutely proved itself to be a benefaction indeed. Their hold upon the enter- prise should on no account consist of any personal share in the manage- ment. A Donor might of course be a member of the Board of Trustees ; but even this would probably be undesirable. For him to claim, simply as Donor, any control over the enterprise, after the statutes or condi- tions of his gift had been determined, would be disastrous. But these statutes or conditions should certainly foresee the possibility of fail- ure, and should define the claim of the Donor or Donors upon the site and building in the event of that possibility occurring. I think, then, that the method of procedure outlined in Section XII and in Appendix A is at any rate worthy of consideration, wherever such an enterprise is being set on foot. The Repertory set forth in Section IV is naturally not in the least like that which we should have sketched had we had an American theatre in view. Indeed it is not the Repertory which we should now forecast, even for an English theatre. Things have moved rapidly since 1904, and several of the authors mentioned on p. 44, whom we then regarded as too " disputable " for inclusion in our somewhat PREFACE FOR AMERICA v pusillanimous list, have now passed quite beyond the disputable stage, and may fairly claim right of entrance to any self-respecting theatre. America, too, has for long been, though in a capricious way, more hospitable to " advanced " drama than England. For this as well as for other reasons, the Repertory would have to be wholly reconstituted before it could be regarded as in any way suitable to American con- ditions. The tendency to be guarded against in America — if I may venture to say so — is a too great hospitality towards foreign works,and a lack of reasonable discrimination in favor of native authors. This tendency seems to be gradually correcting itself ; but it is still sufficiently strong to induce me to draw special attention to Regulations 10, 11 and 12 on p, 1 33, with the remark that some regulations to a like effect ought to be laid down for the conduct of every American theatre of the type we are discussing. They would require, however, to be very consider- ably modified. For one thing, I would not suggest reciprocity in the matter dealt with in Regulation 12. We, in England, can afford to make no discrimination against modern American plays; T do not think that you, in America, can as yet afford to return the compliment. Perhaps a judicious regulation might be that not less than one-third of the performances of any season should be devoted to plays by modern American authors, and not more than one-third to plays by modern English authors. On the other hand. Regulation 11 might be allowed to stand, with the proviso that English plays over one hundred years old should not be regarded as foreign, but as belonging to the common literature of the two peoples. It would, of course, be quite inappropriate to open an American theatre with Shakespeare's four great histories. Every effort should be made, it seems to me, to secure a drama of American history ade- quate to the occasion ; but if no good play of the type were forthcoming (as is quite possible, for inspiration seldom arrives to order) the obvi- ous course would be to fall back upon Hamlet, or Julius Caesar, or A Winter's Tale, and let Shakespeare the world-genius, as distinct from Shakespeare the Briton, consecrate the new Temple of Art. But if the individual plays selected for our specimen Repertory have no special meaning for America, the system of alternation laid down in our Regulations 8 and 9 (p. 133) and exemplified in the order of the Repertory (pp. 49-60) is one to which I beg to direct vi PREFACE FOR AMERICA special attention. This system (in effect, though of course not in detail) obtains in all the Kepertory Theatres of the Continent, and is, indeed, essential to the very idea of a Repertory Theatre. It is of the utmost importance to realize that the type of theatre here outlined has nothing in common with the Stock Company Theatres, so frequent in America, at which a different jjlay is presented each week. The artis- tic disadvantages of this system are certainly as great as those of the long run system, and probably greater. It is manifestly inapplicable, indeed, in a theatre which regards the production of new plays as a main part of its functions ; for what author would consent to have his play produced for a single week, and then indefinitely shelved? Al- most equally unsatisfactory is the " short run " system, under which a play is produced for a month or six weeks, and then taken off, with or without the prospect of revival during the following season. If the play is a failure, a four weeks' run is far too long; if it is a success, a six weeks' run is far too short; and it is quite doubtful whether it will recapture on revival its original popularity. The only practical system at a theatre such as we are here considering is the system of alternation, under which a play may, if the public wants to see it, be acted a hundred times in a season, but must not be acted more than (say) four times in a week. From this point of view, then, we think that the ordering of our Eepertory, and the regulations con- cerning it, are worthy of serious attention. The discussion in Section VIII of the proper seating capacity for such a theatre ought to have no less validity for America than for England. The gi'cat size of most American theatres, outside New York, is, from the artistic point of view, a serious evil. We hope that our suggestions as to the Fee System in the remuneration of actors and actresses, as to the Pension Fund, and as to the Subscription Sys- tem, may be found more or less useful. Amid all differences of detail, the problems to be solved in America are the same as those which we have attempted to solve for England ; and we may fairly hope that our work will not prove quite valueless to anyone who is applying his mind to that most important and pressing problem : the reasonable organiza- tion of dramatic art in the English-speaking countries. WILLIAM ARCHER. PREFACE IN THE FORM OF A LETTER FROM ONE AUTHOR to the other My dear Archer, You want a preface from me — do you ? — to say how- far the three years' experience of theatre management through which I have passed, since this unofficial blue-book was written and printed, has altered, as far as I am concerned, the views expressed in it. It hasn't reaUy altered them at all. The need for a repertory theatre remains the same : no less, and it could not well be greater. But I cannot help think- ing that the public mind, and especially the mind of the theatrical public, has developed a little, and that therefore the possibilities of the project are somewhat differently balanced from what they were when we wrote. Moreover, while experience has not altered my views, it has diversified them ; so that there are one or two amendments to our scheme which I would like to suggest. If you do not agree with them, write another preface stUl to say so. It would only bring the number up to four. I could chip here and there at our piles of figures, but any one is welcome to do that. Except in one or two in- stances, their increase or decrease will ultimately depend upon the personality of the theatre's administration. I am inclined to think, though, that our estimate for actors' salaries may have been invalidated since we made it viii PREFACE by the increasing effect of what is called the American Invasion. The methods of syndicate and trust have, you know, brought about a breakback competition for the limited amount of assured talent which London possesses, of which the actors included in that limitation have not been slow to take advantage. Small blame to them ! At least I can account in no other way for the great forcing-up of salaries that has been going on for some years now. The more a manager speculates, the more his resources of capital enable him to juggle with the fate of companies and plays, the more is the actor forced into speculation, gambling as he does only with his own personality, now more in demand, now less, and with so little assurance of stability. It will need the establishment, not of one permanent repertory theatre, but of many, and the operation of several years, to steady and correct this debauched market. Meanwhile the imaginary promoters of such a scheme as ours should be made to face present conditions. If any one supposes that these conditions are even to the material advantage of the actor who may seem to be making hay while the sun of speculation shines, let us refer such an apostle of the Happy- go-lucky to our argument upon the point in Section III. The difference to prepare for would be found more in the salaries of actresses than of actors ; and not at the head or tail of our list, but in the middle, where the artistic safety of such a company as this would especially lie, where absolute competence could least afford to be jeopardised. I think we should have allowed a definite margin to cover the cost of artistic experiment, which should certainly be demanded of such a theatre. I don't refer so much to the production of experimental plays as to experimental PREFACE ix methods of production. Certainly the artist designer is not called to the service of the theatre in England nearly as much as he should be ; his co-operation in the leading Berlin theatres has had at least the most interesting results. Even when we use him, we are hardly ever content to give him a free hand. He is not necessarily an expensive luxury. Indeed my special plea for him is that at his best he substi- tutes a simple beauty of effect for the aggressive detail which serves, in scenic decoration as in anything, only to cover up poverty of imagination. But he has been kept so long out of this inheritance that time and patience are wanted before he can work freely and at his ease in it ; and in the Theatre time and patience mean money. Before the item " Ladies' Modern Dresses " I pause in some doubt. I think our estimates are sufficient. They ought to be sufficient. But then I am deeply conscious of the shortcomings of my judgment in this matter. I always feel that I like to be as unconscious of the cut and colour of clothes upon the stage as I am in the living-room of a house. I am told by persons of great authority that, while this is quite the right feeling to have, such a result is only obtainable by high-priced skill, care, and material. When I dispute such a necessity I am assured that, while my feelings still do me credit, my powers of observation are simply em- bryonic. I certainly recall a most unhappy afternoon at the Court Theatre, when a certain actress, Bernard Shaw, and I passed in review a perfect kaleidoscope of scenery and clothes. Did blue go well against grey in an amber light, or was purple better upon orange when the lights were blue ? Shaw protested to the bitter end that he had an opinion of his own ; but after two or three hours of this torture I was X PREFACE ready to confess that I neither knew green from pink nor cared. I cannot recast that estimate. As I say, it may be a perfectly sane and sound one. I sometimes think that the only reliable figures about ladies' modern dresses are contained in the bills for them. Certainly that department would have to be under the control of an expert, who could decide as quickly and authoritatively upon the colours of a dress and a scene, as can a competent stage-manager upon the construction of a piece of business. And why should not a chief of ward- robe be found (what a figure of imposing mien the title suggests!) who could also keep his expenditure within what a mere man may consider the bounds of reason ? Still, when I picture him informing the leading lady of a four-perform- ance revival of The Importance of being Earnest that her last year's frock would do perfectly well, and when I hear in imagination that leading lady's reply, I am glad that his post — even with that stirring title to it — wiU never be mine. From one thing this three years' interval between writing and publication has absolved us : the extreme self-denial with which we composed that list of plays to be performed during the opening season. Certainly in those far-off" days you, as Ibsen's sponsor, were under more than suspicion as a dan- gerous theatrical revolutionary. I was known to those who knew me at all as being associated with the shadiest in- terests. I believed that Shakespeare should be played with- out scenery, and I was hand in glove with a crew of impossibilists called the Stage Society. Perhaps we were wise, then, to demand at first only a new and healthy system of existence for our theatre, to prove that it could be brought into being under a management which need have no PREFACE xi distressing gospel to preach, which need not even possess settled artistic convictions. I hope we did not overdo our disinterestedness. I am sure neither of us ever wanted to see a spiritless theatre, be its economic condition never so perfect. Anyhow, even this short lapse of time has been enough on our side — which is, we think, the side of the angels — for us no longer to need to assume such a position. Helping you with this book to-day, I should unhesitatingly, both from motives of good policy and personal taste, advocate the inclusion in our repertory list of every author whom we so carefully excluded four years ago — Ibsen, Hauptmann, d'Annunzio, Shaw, and the rest. I hope I could even find other names to add. But one great difference I would propose to make, were we writing the book to-day. I would draw up a second set of figures, suitable to the foundation of an adequate reper- tory theatre in Manchester, Birmingham, or some such pro- vincial centre. For it is to one of these cities, easier to stir to the expression of civic opinion, rather than to monstrous and inarticulate London, centre of all English thought and action though it may claim to be, that I look for the first practical step in theatrical organisation. That there are local tendencies towards a better understanding of the part which might be played in English life by a vitalised English drama cannot, I think, be denied. To promote this understanding is the avowed object of the Dramatic Revival Society sponsored by Mr. W. T. Stead and Mr. F. R. Benson ; and what other meaning is to be attached to the welcome formation of Playgoers' Societies in Manchester, Leeds, and Stockport, or to the outbreak of a perfect fever of Pageantry? Actors and actresses certainly feel that the touring system by which the provincial Theatre xii PREFACE is almost exclusively fed must at last have reached the nadir of its sweated hopelessness ; at least, if there is a lower depth to be touched, no self-respecting worker is anxious to descend it. And when once the formers of opinion in these very- self-respecting communities, in the ^lidlands and further north, have thoroughly realised that the policy of neglect adopted towards this institution, the Theatre, which exists only in public buildings licensed by the citizens for their recreation, has been both illogical and disastrous, and can be brought to see the potentialities of an opposite course, the change will not be very far off. For a repertory theatre in Manchester or Birmingham the amendments to our figures might be simple, but would need to be drastic enough to allow for the difference in seat- prices customary there. j^iooo might be cut from the estimate for the general staff, as much as £7000 or ;^8ooo from the salaries of actors and actresses, and ;^20oo or £3000 might be docked elsewhere. The labour of the theatre could hardly be cheapened, nor could the machinery, but to its great disadvantage. The price of any economies would be a reduction in repertory and the necessity of engaging managers and actors with reputations more to make than already made. It would be very necessary to guard against the tempta- tion to maintain a large repertory at the expense of an overworked company. Actors of to - day are popularly supposed to enjoy too much leisure. I would undertake to prove that they have not enough, not enough of the right sort any way, to employ it profitably. And with modern drama to interpret, with modem standards to be satisfied, no return to the conditions of the old stock system is possible. PREFACE xiii The experience of the past thirty years condemns them, no less than it condemns itself. The Theatre of the past stood more or less for intellectual and social vagabondage. At present it is being patronised and petted, hardly, many may think, to its greater advantage. But if it is ever to become a part of our civic institutions, its working conditions must be organised as becomes a healthy and stable civil service. And incidentally its servants must be left opportunities to retain that social citizenship which formerly they altogether renounced, and which now the pressure of the prevailing system does not afford them. If they are to depict social life they must be encouraged to enjoy it, not considered and left to become mere emotional acrobats. There are many reasons why the first of the new reper- tory theatres could be more easily started in a provincial centre than in London. If the question of endowment were a difficulty, there are existing buildings fit to be utilised. At the worst, (so to speak of a positively happy eventuality) one of these could be leased by a committee and let again to some manager upon a cahier des charges. And even such a truncated version of our scheme as this would, I think, have a very fair chance of success where otherwise, as now, only the stale scraps from London's not too whole- some theatre - table were sparingly doled out. Playgoers there might be more ready to recognise the virtues of acting, vitalised under simpler methods of production, than would the pampered London public. The present effect upon playgoing habits of the custom of a weekly change of bill at the theatres, would, while it lasted, and until a better custom took hold, tend to increase the size of the average audience under a repertory system, and to make a method xiv PREFACE of subscription more acceptable. And would not the policy of a management so placed be further from the reach of the influence of Fashion ? Of all the vitiating influences upon the Theatre in London, has not this been the worst, with its demand for sentiment, smartness, insincerity, and shallow thought, and its lack of reasonable interest in any art? As a Londoner I regret my prophecy, but I think it will not be until shamed into action by other cities' good fortune, that we shall have our central repertory theatre. Here, then, is my preface, my dear Archer. I wish I could think that, in sending it you, I in any way restored the balance of our collaboration in this book. I remember well (will you allow me to tell you ?) how encouraged and gratified I was, by your asking me to help you in it. Whatever there is in it of mine, I dedicate very whole- heartedly to you. — Yours, H. GRANVILLE BARKER. August, 1907. PREFACE (1904) There has hitherto been one enormous obstacle to the estab- lishment of a National Theatre in England. However will- ing a man or body of men might be to give a new impulse to the art of the theatre, and place England abreast of France and Germany in respect of theatrical organisation, he or they could have no definite idea how to set about it. A pubhc park, a picture-gallery, or a free library is very easily created, and, once created, it practically "runs itself." There are a hundred recognised models for its organisation and manage- ment. But an Endowed Theatre is, in England, a wholly unfamiliar piece of mechanism, and the management of it an unknown art; while there are many reasons why no foreign institution of the kind could be imitated in detail with any hope of success. There is no clear-cut channel, as it were, in which liberality and public spirit can easily flow in the direc- tion of theatrical reform. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that you can buy a free library or a picture-gallery ready- made, and present it as a "going concern" to whatever community you please. But the man who desired to en- dow a Theatre would have first to invent it— a laborious task, for which he would probably have no preparation and no facilities. In the foUowing pages we take this task oflf his hands. We xvi PREFACE present, for the first time in England, a detailed Scheme, with Estimates, for the creation, organisation, and management of a National Theatre. We are far from believing that our plan is perfect in all its details. It might even happen that every crank and lever in our design would have to be somewhat modified before the machine could run smoothly and satisfactorily. But we believe that, in merely outlining the organisation, and sug- gesting the natural interplay of its parts, we have made an essential step in advance. We have substituted clear and definite for vague and formless ideas. It is needless to discuss at any length the abstract desirability of the institution we have outlined. Many of our readers are doubtless already convinced on that point ; others will, we hope, gradually reaUse the uses of the institution as they study its details. We present in our Appendix some extracts from the very considerable literature published during recent years, in which the theatrical situation and the theory of theatrical endowment are discussed. To assert the urgent need for an Endowed Theatre is not necessarily to adopt a wholly pessimistic view of the existing condition of the English drama and stage. On the contrary, the present writers are convinced that dramatic authorship, at any rate, has greatly advanced of recent years, though there is reason to fear that hostile conditions are beginning to check that advance. We also admit that the stage owes much, in many ways, to the actor-manager and the long run. Both of these institutions have their merits ; and a National Theatre, while excluding them from its own economy, would in no sense be hostile to them. What is harmful is their present predominance over the whole field of theatrical enterprise. In the interests both of authorship and of acting, a fair proportion of Repertory PREFACE xvii Theatres ought to co-exist with the actor-managed and long-run theatres ; and in order to set the repertory system firmly afoot, a certain measure of endowment is necessary. It follows from what we have said that we do not regard the National or Central Theatre here outlined as, in itself, a sufficient cure for all that is amiss in our theatrical life. Even if it stood alone, it would do incalculable service ; but the most useful of all its functions, perhaps, will be that of supplying an incentive and model to similar enterprises in provincial cities, in the colonies, and in America. The acted drama ought to be, and indeed is, one of the great bonds of union between all the Anglo-Saxon peoples ; but at present, unfortunately, it may be said to "draw the whole English-speaking world together in the bonds of a racial vulgarity." In the provinces and beyond the seas. Repertory Theatres would no doubt be designed on many different scales, according to the circumstances and resources of each particular locality. A much less ambitious theatre than that which is here outlined would be adequate to the needs of many provincial towns. We do not, however, profess to give any estimates for minor theatres. Our forecasts and figures refer to a Central Theatre, to be situated in London, and organised on such a scale as to justify it in assuming, without incongruity or grandiloquence, the rank of a National Theatre, worthy of the metropolis of the Empire. At the same time, we hope and believe that our Scheme and Esti- mates will prove helpful to the organisers of Repertory Theatres on whatever scale. It is easy to " take in " a garment that is cut too large ; difficult, if not impossible, to "let out" one that is cut too small. An enterprise on a large scale — short of extravagance or ostentation — would have a far gi-eater chance of succeeding and xviii PREFACE establishing itself in a permanent and honourable position than an enterprise on a small scale, however ably conducted. It is essential to break away, completely and unequivocally, from the ideals and traditions of the profit-seeking stage ; and it is essential that the new system should have sufficient re- sources to give it time to establish itself and take hold upon the public. Moreover, the National Theatre must be its oivn advertisement — must impose itself on public notice, not by posters and column advertisements in the newspapers, but by the very fact of its ample, dignified, and liberal existence. It must bulk large in the social and intellectual life of London. There must be no possibility of mistaking it for one of those pioneer theatres which have been so numerous of late years, here and elsewhere, and have in their way done valuable work. It must not even have the air of appealing to a specially literary and cultured class. It must be visibly and unmistakably a popular institution, making a large appeal to the whole community. So manifest does this appear to us that we would strongly deprecate any effort on a small scale, until it shall be absolutely apparent that no eflfort on the scale here indicated is within the range of practical politics. A struggling enterprise, with narrow resources, might prove a mere stumbling-block in the path of theatrical progress at large. Its failure would be disastrous, and its partial success only less so. It will be seen that the Theatre we propose would be a National Theatre in this sense, that it would be from the first conditionally — and, in the event of success, would become absolutely — the property of the nation. It may be asked why, in that case, we do not suggest going direct to the Govern- ment (which would, of course, mean to Parliament) for the PREFACE xix money required. The reason is simply that we believe it would be waste of time. It is not to be expected that, at the present stage of affairs, Parliament should vote money for the estabUshment of a theatre in London or elsewhere. We must look to private liberality to present a Central Theatre to London and to the Empire. That is not only the most probable, but, on the whole, the most desirable event. In the provinces it is otherwise. There one would hope that municipalities would in many cases undertake the urgent duty of bringing wholesome and rational theatrical entertainments within the reach of the people. The successful establishment of a Central Theatre in London would most probably be fol- lowed by legislation, empowering municipalities to do what is required of them in this respect. At present their powers are ill-defined and inadequate ; and the same remark applies to the powers of local bodies within the metropolitan area. A Central Theatre would not by any means supply all the higher theatrical needs even of London alone. But it ought to lead the way in the reform of our theatrical system ; and the establishment of it ought to be, and probably will be, effected by the public spirit of individual citizens. Our estimates, it will be seen, refer exclusively to dramatic, as distinct from operatic, performances. We axe by no means hostile to the idea of a subsidised Opera-House ; but we hold that the drama claims precedence, inasmuch as England pos- sesses a national drama, to be housed in a National Theatre, but does not as yet possess a national opera. Some of our cal- culations may possibly be of use to the promoters of an operatic scheme ; but the conditions of the two arts are so radically different that it is almost impossible to reason from one to the other. There is no doubt, however, that the success of a XX PREFACE National Theatre would greatly simplify the task of those who are agitating for a subsidised Opera-House. We venture to request the reader of the following pages to suspend judgment upon details until he has taken a general view of the whole Scheme. Many points which may at first seem obscure or questionable will, we hope, become clearer and perhaps more convincing as the project develops. We would also beg him, in criticising our proposals, to distin- guish between essential matters — matters of principle — and merely illustrative details. For example, in our list of a season's repertory, the reader will very likely find several plays which he, personally, does not greatly long to see, at a National Theatre or elsewhere. If he holds that the class of play should not be admitted to the Theatre, we wiU give our best consideration to his criticism ; but if his objection is merely to the individual play, we suggest that to urge it would be to waste time. The repertory includes more than one play for which we ourselves cherish no personal enthusiasm. No theatre can live entirely on plays which appeal equally to every one. In any season's repertory of the Th^atre-Frangais or the Burgtheater, the reader would cer- tainly find several plays which to him seemed tedious or otherwise objectionable. If the repertory we have outlined exactly represented either our own personal taste or the reader's, the presumption would be that it was badly chosen. Helpful criticism, then, will confine itself to the discussion of our principles of selection, and will regard the particular plays set down merely as the representatives of their respec- tive classes of dramatic literature. If our scheme were to be PREFACE xxi realised to-morrow, it is more than probable that half the plays of our suggested repertory would be struck out and others substituted for them ; though there is not much pro- bability that the changes would bring the repertory into closer accord with the personal taste of any individual reader. There never was, and there never will be, an ideal theatre. The theatre is too complex and delicate a machine, depending on the harmonious co-operation of too many talents and influ- ences, ever to reach perfection for more than a passing moment. The very greatest theatres at their greatest periods have been severely criticised, not, as a rule, without reason. The reader, we are sure, will not let his craving for what is ideally desir- able render him careless of what is practically desirable as an improvement upon existing conditions. And he will not fail to bear in mind, we trust, that it is no magical recipe we are offering, no instant and miraculous cure for all the shortcom- ings of our theatrical life, but merely a plan for an institution which, being based on sound artistic principles, may develop far beyond immediate probabilities or possibilities, and may give a healthy impulse to theatrical progress throughout the English-speaking world. POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE (1904) The book now in the reader's hands is a second — one might even say a third or fourth — edition. The original draft has been revised and re-revised by many expert critics, and has been modified in numerous particulars, greatly to its advan- tage. There was scarcely a figure in our original estimates which was not, by some authorities, declared to be too high, by others, too low. In this conflict of evidence, we have naturally chosen what seemed to be the better and more strongly supported opinion ; but our rule has always been, "When in doubt, increase rather than diminish." It would be absurd to suppose that, even now, all our estimates are precisely accurate ; but we question whether they can be brought much nearer to accuracy save by the test of practical experiment. One or two critics have thought our figures too low all round,^ and have suggested that the annual outlay would be nearer ;^8o,ooo than ;^7o,ooo, requiring an average receipt of ;^2 20 a performance to cover it. We believe that they had in view a type of theatre very different from that which we have outlined. It is not a combination under one roof of His Majesty's, the St. James's, and the Haymarket that ' We have increased them at several points since this opinion was expressed, but not very materially. POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE xxiii we desire to see achieved — not a theatre which shall apply a subsidy to competing, by their own methods, with the un- subsidised theatres — but one which shall show what artistic results are possible under a wholly different system. What is wanted, in our judgment, is an object-lesson to the English- speaking world of the possibility of a thoroughly dignified and delightful playhouse, worthily presenting the best English (and some foreign) dramatic literature, at the cost of com- paratively small pecuniary sacrifice on the part either of indi- viduals or of the community. The Theatre we wish to see is one that can be imitated (with modifications) in any of the great cities of the provinces or the Empire, not one which defies imitation. We conceive it as a thing to be desired in itself, no doubt, but also as the starting-point of a great move- ment. Therefore we regard economy not merely as a necessity likely to he forced upon the Theatre for lack of lavish endow- ment, hut as the indispensable means to an artistic end. We must plead guilty to a certain inconsistency in the structure of the scheme. While the repertory sketched out in Section IV. is admittedly a first-season repertory, the financial estimates do not apply to the first season of the Theatre, but assume it to be a fully-established " going concern." The inconsistency was inevitable. It is impossible to foresee the repertory of the future, whereas the finances of the future can, and must, be forecast. The reader will bear in mind, then, that the figures here given might in many cases have to be exceeded during the first few seasons. For instance, actors might have to be engaged at an age at which they could scarcely hope, in the nature of things, to reap much benefit from the Pension Fund. In that case their salaries would either be higher than we have forecast, or the xxiv POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE Pension Fund regulation by which an actor does not become "pensionable" till after ten years' service (see pp. 137, 138) would have to be relaxed in their favour. To take another instance, the estimate for historical costumes might have to be exceeded for a few seasons, until a thoroughly complete wardrobe had been built up. Our estimates, in short, repre- sent rather what ought to be aimed at than what can be attained at a single bound. The losses on initial seasons which we anticipate on pp. 116, 117, would be quite as likely to arise from excess of expenditure as from defect of receipts. The labour involved in running a Eepertory Theatre, with constant changes of programme, is no doubt considerable, but must not be over-estimated. Continental experience has amply proved that with complete machinery, good organisa- tion, and a well thought-out routine, all difficulties are easily overcome. Our estimates provide for a staff of about 235 people permanently attached to the Theatre, exclusive of supernumeraries and other persons intermittently employed. As the stage is assumed to be fitted with the most modern labour-saving appliances, this staff can scarcely be regarded as inadequate. At the same time, we not only admit, but emphasise the fact, that the success of the scheme must depend on honest and ungrudging work on the part of all concerned. The work, moreover, must be steady and unre- mitting — not feverish and fitful. It will show some deficiency of method or temper in the management if the employees, as a body, do not ere long come to feel the stimulus of corporate spirit and loyalty to the institution. POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE xxv We append some notes on various Sections, in their order, arising out of criticisms which reached us too late to be dealt with in the text. Section II Page lo. It is suggested that the right to nominate a Trustee should be conferred upon the Actors' Association, as the representative body of the theatrical profession. This proposal should at any rate be earnestly considered when the time comes for constituting the Board. Perhaps the number of the Board might be raised to seventeen, one nomina- tion being accorded to the Actors' Association and one to the Society of Authors. Or one of the nominations assigned to some other body might be transferred to the Actors' Association. Page 1 6. Several critics have thought the salary of ;^iooo allotted to the Business Manager too high, and have suggested ;^700 or ;^8oo. Our reply is to quote the following passage from a theatrical scheme of a somewhat similar nature drawn up several years ago by a man of very wide experience in management, which has been privately communicated to us: "In the administration, one essential feature would be to have a careful checking of the prices of all materials and goods supplied, timber, canvas, &c. &c. ; to see that every- thing was got at the lowest trade price, with all discounts taken off, and that no commissions were offered to, solicited or received by, any official or employee. For this purpose a very smart and reliable official, an expert in such matters, would have to be retained." For such a man, ^looo a year seems no extravagant salary. xxvi POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE Section III It is thought by some critics that we underrate the diffi- culty of permanently attaching to the Theatre actors of talent and individuality. " As soon as a young man makes a little success," we are told, " an American impresario will offer him ;^50 a week, and off he will go." As a matter of fact, such cases are so rare as to be practically negligible. It is only an exceptional combination of circumstances that renders a young English actor particularly desirable to an American impresario. No doubt, however, attempts would be made, by English as well as American managers, to secure the services of young artists of talent at higher salaries than the Theatre could afford ; and in some cases these attempts would be successful. It is not pretended that the management would have no difficulties, no disappointments, to encounter. No man who has to deal with other men (and women) has ever escaped occasional worries and vexations ; and least of all has the Director of a theatre any chance of being exempt from such contrarieties. This Theatre, however, would have special claims upon the loyalty of its actors. For one thing, our proposed furlough system would help the Director to retain desirable talents without calling upon them for superhuman renunciation. But the main point to be noted is that the Theatre — so long, at least, as it remained the only Reper- tory Theatre in London — would offer unrivalled opportunities to a young actor of talent and ambition. When he had made a marked success in one part, he could count on speedily following it up in other advantageous characters ; whereas, under present conditions, an actor who is not his own manager knows that, even after the most striking success, he POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE xxvii may sink into obscurity again for years before he finds another part that offers him the smallest opportunity. There are few actors who would not value the advantages offered by this Theatre, not only in continuity of employment, but in the certainty of achieving distinction proportionate to their talent. The simple fee-system suggested in this Section (pp. 20-26) is not the only one possible. At the Eoyal Theatre, Copenhagen, a much more complicated system is in operation, and is said to answer very well. Seven and a half per cent, of the gross receipts of each performance go to the actors in fees. Moreover, the actors, according to their status, and the parts according to their length, are divided into four classes, and the actual fee paid represents an average, so to speak, between the class of the actor and the class of his part. The highest fee will fall to an actor of the first class playing a part of the first class ; an actor of the first class playing a part of the third class will receive a considerably smaller fee, but considerably larger, again, than will fall to an actor of the third class playing a part of the third class. We are told that, in spite of its apparent complexity, this system works simply in practice. It is quite possible that some adaptation of it might be found advan- tageous at the National Theatre ; but it does not seem worth while, at this stage, to discuss the question at length. Two peculiarities of the system may be noted: (i) It gives the performers a direct interest in the receipts of each evening; (2) it renders a play with few parts much more profitable to the actors than a play with many parts. The former peculiarity might or might not prove an advantage ; the latter is surely a disadvantage. At the Th^atre-Franjais, the feux, regulated by Napoleon, xxviii POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE amount to ten francs a performance for every actor, small or great. For matindes, which were not foreseen by Napoleon, the fee is fifty francs. This rough-and-ready system is felt to be a serious disadvantage, since it leads to constant demands for congas on the part of members of the company who wish to give flying performances at provincial theatres, thus earning far more than they can possibly earn when on duty in Paris. When Repertory Theatres are established in the provincial cities of England, the question will doubt- less arise whether actors of the National Theatre are to be allowed to accept provincial engagements on their "off" nights. Probably such engagements should be altogether prohibited. The service of the Theatre could not but suffer by them ; and if the Director were empowered to make any exception to the rule, he would always be harassed by applications for one or two nights' leave, nine-tenths of which it would be his duty to refuse. Section V It is sometimes asked why such frequent changes of bill are necessary — why one play should not be performed for a week or a fortnight at a time, thus considerably reducing the amount of stage-labour required ? We reply that this system is unworkable in practice ; that, so far as we can learn, it nowhere obtains ; and that it would be certain speedily to degenerate into the long run. It is essential, in order to make the most of a successful pro- duction (whether new or old), that it should be kept con- stantly, though not continuously, in the bills. What author would consent to have his play acted for (say) a fortnight, POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE xxix then taken off while two other pieces were acted for a week apiece, then resumed for a week, then dropped for a wek ; and so on? It is clearly preferable, both from the artistic and the business point of view, that it should be played four or five times a week (as often, in fact, as the regulations of the Theatre will permit) for an indefinite series of weeks, during which its name and its success are constantly before the public eye. If it were possible to work a Repertory Theatre satisfactorily on the plan of changing the bill week by week instead of day by day, it is almost inconceivable that none of the German Repertory Theatres should have adopted it. Section VII The last item under the head of " General Expenses " p. 71) calls for some explanation. It runs as follows : — ••Special Production Expenses, ;^i569." By "Special Pro- duction Expenses" we mean any extra outlay that may be incurred in connection with new plays or revivals which demand unusual elaboration either in costumes or in sceneiy, and perhaps some " overtime " work in rehearsal. When once the Theatre was in full working order, the last-mentioned cause of expense should seldom come into play. [It will be observed that in Section VI., p. 67, ^542, los. is set down for extra payments in connection with dress rehearsals.] On the other hand, a play requiring special costumes, historical or fantastic, might at any time be produced, and in such a case some extra expenditure would have to be sanctioned. During the first four or five years, when some half-dozen Shakespearean plays were each season being added to the repertory, expenses of this nature might be considerable. XXX POSTSCRIPT-PROLOGUE But when once the twenty-five plays on the regular Shake- spearean list (see p. 39) had been added to the stock, there would probably not be more than three or four productions in a season that would demand any extraordinary outlay. We believe then that, taking one season with another, ;i^i5oo is a sufficient allowance under this head. The £(i<^ added to this estimate is not, we admit, due to nicety of calcula- tion, but to our desire to avoid certain troublesome and costly readjustments of accounts. Appendix B Page 137. According to Rule III. of the Pension Fund regulations, the term of service necessary before an actor or actress becomes "pensionable" is ten years. This term might possibly prove to be unnecessarily and inconveniently long. We are disposed to think that a six years' term of service would be sufiicient — that a performer should become pension- able on entering upon his or her third consecutive engage- ment, each engagement being, of course, for three years. In this case an actor's pension-claim would amount to 12 per cent, of his salary after six years, instead of 20 per cent, after ten years ; and the rate of yearly increase would pro- bably remain as set forth in Rule V., p. 138. This re- arrangement might involve somewhat earlier and somewhat larger drafts upon the Pension Fund than we had anticipated ; but there seems to be no doubt that if the Theatre were at all prosperous, the income of the Fund, under the arrange- ment we suggest on p. 135, would be equal to all claims upon it. CONTENTS PREFACE In the Form of a Letter from One Author to the Other . . . vii-xiv Xeed for a National Theatre — Large-scale Effort v. Small-scale Effort — State Aid c. Private Munificence xv-xxi Postscript-Prologue . • xxii-xxx SECTION I Scope of our Enquiry — Limits of desirable Endowment — A Special Building indispensable — Probable Cost of Site and of Building — Site might be provided by a Public Body — The Guarantee Fund — General Forecast of Expenses . . . . . • . . 1-9 SECTION II The Board of Ti-ustees — ^Its Constitution and Functions — The General Staff — The Reading Committee — Salaries of the General Staff . 10-16 SECTION III Actors and Actresses — Methods of Selection — Payment by Salary and Fees — Convenience of Fee System — Conditions of Engagement — Salary List — Material and Artistic Advantages offered by the Theatre to its Company — Summary of Performers' Salaries , . 17-35 SECTION IV Hepertory for a Specimen Season — The Theatre not a Pioneer Theatre — Principles of Selection — Shakespeare — The Elizabethan Drama — Restoration Comedy — Eighteenth-Century Comedy — Early Victorian and Mid- Victorian Plays — Modern Revivals — Xew Plays — Foreign Plays, Classical and Modern — Analysis and Schedule of Repertory 36-60 SECTION V Expenses in Front of the House — Refreshments — Music , , . 61-65 xxxii CONTENTS SECTION VI PAGE Expenses behind the Scenes — System of Producing 66-70 SECTION VII General Expenses : Scenery, Dresses, Lighting, Advertising, ifec. 7 x-7 7 SECTION VIII The Auditorium — Seat Capacity and Money Capacity — Prices — Subscrip- tion (Abonnement) Sj'stem ...,•.. 78-88 SECTION IX Relation of the Theatre to Living Authors — Royalties . . . 89-95 SECTION X The Training-School — Principles and Regulations — A possible Dramatic College 96-102 SECTION XI General Summary of Expenses — Receipts required to meet Expenses — Possibilities and Probabilities — Order of Procedure . . . 103-111 SECTION XII The Guarantee Fund — The Amount required — Provisions for its Ad- ministration — How to Wind up in Case of Failure — How to Apply the Surplus in Case of Success — The Sinking Fund . . , 1 12-124 APPENDICES A. Dkaft of Statutes and Regulations 127-134 B. Pension Fund Suggestions i3S-i39 C Subscription and Booking Ststem 140-148 D. Casts of Plays ......... 149-166 E. The Theory of Theatrical Endowment : Extracts from Speeches and Articles ....... 167-177 NATIONAL THEATRE SECTION I Scope of our Enquiry — Limits of Desirable Endowment — A Special Building indispensable — Probable cost of Site and of Building — Site might be provided by a Public Body — The Guarantee Fund — General Forecast of Expenses. The Theatre to which the following scheme and estimates refer is conceived to be a free gift to the Nation, represented by a Board of Trustees. Assuming that the theatre-building, with an initial stock of scenery, costumes, furniture, and other requisites, is placed, free of rent, taxes, and insurance premium, at the disposal of the management, our purpose is to ascertain as accurately as may be the probable yearly cost of presenting a worthy repertory in a worthy fashion. Dividing, then, the total outlay by the number of performances given in the season,^ we learn the nightly average of receipts required to render the Theatre independent of any endowment beyond that involved in its freedom from the burden of rent, &c. This method we have adopted not only for the sake of simplicity, but because we believe that the measure of endow- • We have calculated for a season of forty-six weeks, from the middle of September to the end of July, thus leaving six weeks for holidays, for repairs and cleaning, and for preparations for the new season. It is questionable whether so long a recess would be found necessary, and whether it might not be advisable to keep the Theatre open during August. It will be observed that in a repertory theatre, actora and actresses can have their necessary holidays without involving the closing of the Theatre. All salaries payable in weekly sums, we have calculated at fifty weeks. A 2 NATIONAL THEATRE ment implied in freedom from rent, taxes, &c., is about the right one. We believe, on the one hand, that it is impossible worthily to present a worthy repertory at a playhouse held on the onerous terms which now prevail. But we believe, on the other hand, that if a theatre, freed from the burden of rent, &c., cannot at least clear its working expenses season by season, the probable deduction is that the management must either be culpably extravagant or conducted on some mistaken principle. A theatre which appeals to no public, or to a very narrow one, cannot be a National Theatre in any true sense of the word. It is well, then, that the management should have to keep steadily before its eyes the necessity of making its rent-and-tax-free theatre otherwise self-supporting. A Guarantee Fund would have to be provided to meet the possibility of losses, and for a few initial seasons it might even have to be drawn upon. But if, when the institution had had time to get into working order, its receipts still fell considerably below its expenses, that fact might be taken as showing that it was either misconceived or mismanaged. The method of dealing with this eventuality would have to be prescribed in its Statutes. Suggestions as to the possible winding-up of the Theatre will be found in Section XII., and in the Draft Statutes on p. 130. One thing it is important to make clear at the outset, namely, that our estimates presuppose a theatre-building wholly different fr-om any now existing in London. We believe that such an enterprise would be almost impossibly handicapped in any building not specially designed for this particular purpose. At all events, our estimates are based on the assumption that the stage is provided with aU the most recent labour-saving machinery ; that there is a rehearsal-room, reproducing the pro- THE BUILDING 3 portions of the stage, and ample wardrobe and property rooms, behind the scenes ; that a scenery store is provided as near the Theatre as County Council regulations -will allow ; that the audi- torium, though not unduly large, is so arranged that every seat has a full view of the stage, no one seat in any given portion of the house being notably preferable to any other seat ; that the heating and ventilating appliances are as perfect as science can make them ; that the space between the rows and the mechanism of the seats make movement practicable without discomfort; and that a spacious vestibule and Saloon,^ with refreshment-rooms, smoking-rooms, and cloak-rooms, are pro- vided for the comfort of the audience. These things we hold indispensable to the success of a National Theatre. It is evident from what we have stated that before the enterprise can be set on foot there are three things to be provided : 1. The Site. 2. The Building. 3. The Guarantee Fund. There is no reason why all three should not be provided by one and the same Donor. We hope to show in the sequel that no fabulous wealth is required to face the whole outlay and the whole risk. Nevertheless, the three constituent parts of the enterprise are quite distinct from one another, and might be furnished by different Donors and on somewhat different terms. The ideal event, perhaps, would be that the whole institution should be due to the munificence of one ' We use the word Saloon, for want of a better, to designate the hall (in French the foyer) where the audience gathers between the acts for fresh air and conversation. In the Theatre here outlined (as will appear in Section V.) it might also be called the Music-Room. 4 NATIONAL THEATRE man. Many difficulties and delays would thus be obviated ; and such a conspicuous example of public spirit could not but have the happiest effect. If no one man, however, can be found to undertake the duty, we suggest that the most probable, and perhaps the most desirable, partition of the enterprise would be as follows : that the Site should be pro- vided by a public body, the Building by an individual Donor, and the Guarantee Fund by a number of private contributors. It is impossible to arrive at a definite estimate of the pro- bable cost of the site and the theatre-building. The price of any given site could be ascertained only after negotiations, which it would be idle to set on foot until there was some immediate prospect of actually acquiring it ; and the cost of the building would in great measure depend on the nature of the site. Therefore, the figures given in the following paragraphs must be taken as rough approximations, formed, however, after consultation with competent authorities. Though the auditorium would be of moderate dimensions (see Section VIII.), the area occupied by the whole building — vestibule, staircases, Saloon, refreshment-rooms, corridors, stage, dressing-rooms, and all appurtenances and offices — would neces- sarily be very considerable. The regulations of the County Council now (very properly) require that half the boundary- line of every theatre shall stand free from other buildings ; and it would be most desirable that the National Theatre should occupy a site still more open and self-contained, so to speak, than the regulations demand. On the other hand, though the Theatre ought not to be placed in a what may be called an out-of-the-way locality, it is not in the least neces- sary that it should occupy a site on one of the great theatrical thoroughfares. It would not be one of the theatres which THE SITE 5 rely for a considerable proportion of their nightly audiences upon the floating hotel population, and the mere chance passer-by. Any reasonably central and accessible situation would suit its purposes. It need not compete with speculators for such sites as would have a special value for commercial managers. It is to be remembered in this connection that facilities for rapid transit are yearly increasing in London, and that tubes, subways, and motor-omnibuses will soon bring within the practicable radius sites which, at the present moment, might seem inconvenient. Taking all these circumstances into consideration, we con- clude that the inside figure for the value of the site would be ^50,000, the outside figure ^100,000. A site which could at a pinch be made available could probably be obtained for the former sum, an almost ideal site for the latter sum. Taking the mean between the two, we may put down the probable value of the site at ^75,000. We say the "value" rather than the "price" of the site, for it does not at all follow that this price would have to be paid. Though we believe it impracticable to go to Parliament for the whole sinews of war, we see no reason why, if the theatre - building and the Guarantee Fund were definitely promised, the Government or the County Council should not make over to the enterprise one of the sites at their disposal, on more favourable terms than could be obtained in the open market. It is probable that in the County Council, at any rate, such a proposition would receive a good deal of support ; and the parliamentary power to grant a site could probabh' be obtained without much difficulty. In granting a site, of course, a public body, no less than a private Donor, would make precise stipulations as to the reversion of its gift in the event of the 6 NATIONAL THEATRE enterprise failing, and the Theatre being applied to ordinary commercial uses. Suggestions as to the nature of the pro- visions to be made in view of such an event will be found in Section XII. As to the theatre-building, the inside estimate of its cost may be placed at ^50,000, the outside estimate at ;if 80,000.* This would include the installation of a perfectly equipped stage, the cost of which would be about ;^ 10,000. We suggest that while architectural dignity without, and safety and comfort within, would of course be essential, little or nothing should, in the first instance, be expended on costly decorative materials. The architect should design the details of the interior with a special view to their being gradually enriched by the gifts of individual Donors who, appreciating the value of the Theatre as an artistic and social institution, might desire to enhance its beauty at this point or at that. One such Donor might put in a marble staircase, another a mosaic floor to the vestibule, a third might present busts to occupy empty niches, a fourth might fill with appropriate paintings the medallions and panels of the auditorium. Not until the institution had proved its value should money be expended on mere ornament, beyond what is essential to seemliness, cheerfulness, and a general sense of comfort. The Theatre should not, at the outset, be a palace of art, but neither should it be a gaunt and depressing barrack. As above indicated, we think that the provision of the • The Donor would also have to provide, roughly speaking, three-fourths of the scenery, costumes, &c., required for the opening season, so that the outlay chargeable to the season's account should be approximately that of an ordinary year, when the Theatre was in its normal working order. This initial equipment, as appears in Section VII., would probably cost something under ;£ 16,000. The cost of armour, weapons, musical instruments, &c., might bring this sum up to ^20,000 ; while another £2000 or ;i{^4ooo might have to be provided for salaries payable before the opening of the Theatre. Thus the whole gift of the Donor of the building might amount, in round numbers, to ;^io5,ooo. GUARANTEE FUND 7 Building, as distinct from the Site and the Guarantee Fund, ought to be undertaken by one individual Donor. Unlike the two other constituent parts of the enterprise, the building is a visible, tangible entity, an organism, a work of art. It is, therefore, fitting that it should be the record and monument of one great effort of public spirit, rather than of many small. An " Ex Done " inscription should of course occupy the place of honour in the vestibule ; and that such an inscription may in itself be a work of art, its centre-point must be one name, not a catalogue of many. The civic pride which impelled the Romans to write their names in letters of bronze on the edifices with which they adorned the city was no ignoble sentiment, nor unworthy of imitation.' The Guarantee Fund, on the other hand, might advantage- ously be provided in comparatively small sums, by a large body of contributors. The reason is simple : the more numerous are the people interested in the success of the Theatre, the more likely is it to succeed. The Donor, under the arrangement we propose, would gain in money by the failure of the enterprise. In the event of success, his gift, conditional at the outset, would become absolute ; whereas, in the event of failure, a certain proportion of his outlay would, on the liquidation of the enter- prise, come back to him. But as the success of the enterprise would mean the complete reimbursement of the Guarantors,* they would have a direct interest in furthering its welfare. ' A box, opposite or adjacent to the Royal Box, should be the property of the Donor and his heirs in perpetuity ; but when once the mechanism of the Theatre had been set in motion, this should be the sole personal privilege claimed or enjoyed by the Donor. * We use the words '' Guarantors " and " Guarantee Fund " for the sake of con- venience, though the money would have to be, not only promised, but fully paid-up. It would, then, be of the nature of a loan, bearing no interest, and repayable in full or in part according to circumstances. 8 NATIONAL THEATRE The Guarantors might have a voice in the appointment of the first Board of Trustees ; but it is more probable that the Board would be appointed before the Guarantee Fund was formed. In any case, when once the Board of Trustees was appointed and had entered on its duties, neither the Donors of the_ Site, the Donor of the Building, nor the Guarantors should have any power of interference with the government of the institution. A set of Statutes should be drawn up and accepted by the Trus- tees, clearly prescribing their duties, and the course to be taken by them in all possible eventualities of success or failure. When once the machinery of government, as provided by the Statutes, was fairly set in motion, the influence of the Donors and Guarantors ^ on the conduct of the Theatre would be neither more nor less than that of any other members of the outside public. The Statutes should at any time be alterable by Act of Parliament, and by Act of Parliament only. It would always be open to any dissatisfied party to agitate for an Act of Recon- stitution. The difficulty of obtaining it would perhaps be no more than a reasonable safeguard against idle and mischievous meddling. For reasons set forth at length in the following pages, we think that the Guarantee Fund ought to amount to ;i^ 150,000. The conditions under which the Guarantors ought to provide it are discussed in Section XII. It will be seen, then, that our estimate of the total sum required to set a National or Central Theatre afoot with every probability of success (as success is above defined) amounts to ;^3 30,000. The Site would represent ;^7 5,000 ; the Building ' The question of inducements to the Guarantors is discussed in Section XII,, p. 1 23, the conclusion arrived at being that it is unnecessary and practically impos- sible to offer them any material advantage as a spur to their public spirit. TOTAL RISK 9 and equipment, ^105,000; and the Guarantee Fund, ;£i50,ooo. We have admitted that the Site and Building estimates (but not the Guarantee Fund estimate) are rough approximations. Sup- posing that we are ^50,000 out in our reckoning, and that a total of ^380,000 proved to be necessary, is that a sum which should have any terrors for the wealth and public spirit of England 1 In the event of success, the artistic, social, and even poli- tical benefits of the institution would be very cheaply bought. It would restore the English drama to that honourable place among the intellectual achievements of the race which it has for so long forfeited, and it would be a radiating centre of the best artistic influences. In the event of utter failure, on the other hand, the whole of the ;^38o,ooo would not be, so to speak, thrown into the sea, as more than twice that amount would be in the loss of a single battleship. As will be seen in Section XII., we calculate that, if the enterprise entirely failed, and had to be liquidated under the conditions set forth in the Statutes, all contributors to it would "stand to lose" from 50 to 60 per cent, (but not more) of their respective contributions. SECTION II The Board of Trustees — Its Constitution and Functions — The General Staff — The Reading Committee — Salaries of the General Staff. As before stated, the ownership and ultimate government (as distinct from the management) of the institution should be vested in a Board of Trustees.' The Board, we suggest, should consist of fifteen members, and should be thus constituted : — The right to nominate one member should be permanently vested in each of the following bodies : — The University of Oxford. The University of Cambridge. The University of London. The Royal Academy. The right to nominate two members should be vested in the London County Council. The remaining nine members should, in the first instance, be appointed by the Donor or Donors of the site and building, and as vacancies occurred (by death or resig- nation) among the Trustees thus appointed, the vacancies should be filled up alternately by co-optation (all members of the Board having power to vote), and by Royal nomination, under the advice of the Prime Minister. The function of the Trustees should be somewhat analogous to that of the Trustees of the British Museum. They should ' Further details concerning the constitution and duties of the Board of Trustees will be found in the Draft Statutes, Appendix A. THE TRUSTEES ii not, as a rule, meet oftener than once a quarter, or even twice a year, though the President should have power to convene extraordinary meetings on the written request of one-third of the Board. The Trustees should appoint a Director and General Staff (to be hereafter specified), but all other appointments and engage- ments should be made by the Director alone. The Trustees should receive and pass (if necessary, with re- servations and censures) the Director's quarterly or half-yearly report, artistic and financial. They should also serve as the sole Court of Appeal from the decisions of the Director. Should the Trustees, on crucial questions, give a decision adverse to the Director, it would probably be held tantamount to asking for his resignation. It cannot be too clearly understood that the Trustees would have no executive power except through the medium of the Director. It would be his duty either to give effect to their views, or to try to bring them over to his ; and, failing in that (on questions of importance), to resign. The Director and other members of the General Staff would have a right to appear in person before the Trustees, and (if necessary) express and defend their views. It would be for the Trustees themselves to decide by what method of representation other persons should, individually or collectively, appear before them. If it be asked whether it would be possible to find in England fifteen men, of such position as to qualify them for the office of Trustee, who should at the same time possess any special knowledge of theatrical matters, we reply that no special knowledge is required. There might probably be one or two men-of-the-theatre on the Board — such men as Sir Henry 12 NATIONAL THEATRE Irving, Sir Squire Bancroft, Mr. John Hare or Mr. W. S. Gilbert — but even such a leavening of the mass would not be indispensable. The function of the Board is merely to serve as a safeguard against abuses, and to ensure that, in a general way, the Theatre shall faithfully serve the pui-poses for which it is designed. Such duties belong rather to men of general culture and knowledge of the world than to theatrical experts. The Trustees of the British Museum are not required to be specialists in archaeology, or bibliography, or numismatics, or palaeontology. The Trustees of the National Theatre would, as we have said, confer upon experts the whole executive control of the institution ; and, this done, their business would simply be to take care that the experts did not abuse their position or otherwise belie the confidence reposed in them. A meddlesome body of Trustees might, indeed, do a great deal of harm ; but there is no reason to anticipate any special difficulty in finding men for the office who would fill it with tact and judgment. Though we purposely refrain from any attempt to draw out a list of probable Trustees, we cannot but suggest that if the Prince of Wales would consent to accept a nomination to the Board, he would naturally be elected its first President. The General Stafi", to be appointed by the Trustees, would consist of five officials : — (i) The Director, who should have absolute control of every- thing in and about the Theatre, engagement of actors, casting of parts, &c., &c., excepting only the selection of plays. For this purpose, he would have one vote in a Reading Committee of THE GENERAL STAFF 13 three, to be hereafter provided for. In all other matters, there would be no appeal from the authority of the Director, except to the Trustees. (2) The Literary Manager, an official answering to the German Dramaturg. His duties should be to weed out new plays before they are submitted to the Reading Committee ; to suggest plays for revival and arrange them for the stage ; to follow the dramatic movement in foreign countries, and to suggest foreign plays suitable for production ; to consult with the scene-painter, producers, &c., on questions of archaeology, costume, and local colour. The Literary Manager would be a member of the Reading Committee, but in all other matters would be subordinate and responsible to the Director. (3) The Business Manager, who would (subject to the Director) control the whole financial working of the Theatre, keep its accounts, sanction all expenditure, and check the estimates of subordinate officials. He should make a quarterly or half-yearly financial report to the Trustees, to be counter- signed by the Director. (4) TJie Solicitor, who should act as Secretary to the Board of Trustees, and advise the Trustees in the investment of the Guarantee Fund, Sinking Fund, &c., and the Director on con- tracts and other legal matters connected with the management of the Theatre. He would not be expected to give more than a portion of his time to these duties. (5) The Reading Committee Man, a third member of the Reading Committee, who ought to have no other function in connection with the Theatre, and to be, so far as possible, out- side its atmosphere. He would not be expected to give more than a portion of his time to the work of the Committee. 14 NATIONAL THEATRE It should be strictly enjoined that no play should be accepted which had not been read or heard by all three Com- mittee-men, and fully discussed in Committee. If at any time two members of the Committee constituted themselves a per- manent majority, and systematically overruled or ignored the views of the third member, it would be the duty of the third member to present a minority report to the Trustees, calling their attention to this abuse. The result might or might not be a reconstitution of the Committee. When once a play was selected for production or revival ^ by a majority of the Committee, it would be the duty of the Director to take measures for placing it on the stage within a reasonable time. For the casting of parts, fixing the date of production, &c., &c., he alone would be responsible. It would also lie with him to determine how often it should be repeated ; though in time, no doubt, a custom would arise by which the amount of the receipts produced by a play, together with their upward or downward tendency, would be taken as almost automatically prescribing its continuance or discontinuance. It is evident that the Director might conceivably wreck the fortunes of a play which he disliked ; but even if loyalty to his colleagues did not check this tendency, care for his own reputa- tion would not permit its frequent indulgence. At the same time it would be only natural and not undesirable, that his colleagues should be chary of forcing a production upon him, very much ' A non-copyright play, once produced, would be considered as forming part of the current repertory {repertoire courant) for that season and the two seasons following, the Director having the right to put it up for performance at any time, without con- sulting the Reading Committee. But after these seasons had elapsed, it would have to be re-considered and re-sanctioned by the Committee before it could be again performed. When re-sanctioned, its lease of life would be renewed for another three years, and so on. The rule as to copyright plays ia discussed in Section IX. READING COMMITTEE 15 against his will. He would, in fact, have a sort of suspensive veto upon any given production, to be overruled only in cases which, to his colleagues, seemed matters of principle. It has been suggested by a critic of high authority that the Director should be accorded a certain amount of independent power with regard to the production of plays — that, for instance, he should have the right to nominate, on his own responsibility, one new play out of every six, or to produce one new play in every season, or in every two seasons, without consulting his colleagues. After earnest consideration, we regard this as inadvisable, for two reasons. In the first place, the right, when exercised, would show the Reading Committee divided against itself; whereas it should be a point of honour that the delibera- tions of the Committee should be entirely secret, that its re- sponsibility should be undivided, and that no one (except, in case of necessity, the Trustees) should ever know who voted for, and who against, a particular play. Towards the out- side public, the Committee should present an appearance of unanimity, which could not be preserved were it known that one of its members had, under any circumstances, the right of disregarding or overruling the other two. In the second place, we believe that the natural preponderance of the Director in the Committee would be quite sufficient to secure all the desirable ends to which the proposed additional power could be applied. To put it briefly, a strong Director would never require to use the power, while a weak Director ought not to be entrusted with it. For these reasons we do not incorporate this proposal in our scheme, but put it on record as a possibility. The Reading Committee would probably in many cases call the Business Manager into consultation ; but, while his views might naturally influence their decision, he should have no vote. i6 NATIONAL THEATRE We suggest that the salaries of the General Staff should be as follows : — Salaries of General Staff. The Director i . . . The Literary Manager ^ The Business Manager ^ The Solicitor The Reading Committee Man Total 1000 looo 3oo2 300 ;^46oo • Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. 2 This sum is a mere guess. The duties of the other members of the General Staff may be clearly foreseen and their value estimated ; but the amount of work that would be required of the Solicitor can only be vaguely conjectured. SECTION III Actors and Actresses — Method of Selection — Payment by Salary and Fees — Convenience of Fee System — Conditions of Engagement — Salary List — Material and Artistic Advantages offered by the Theatre to its Company — Pension Fund — Summary of Performers' Salaries. In estimating the number of actors and actresses required, the method we pursued was this : Having before us as complete a list as possible of artists of known qualifications, we selected from it a provisional company of those whom we thought desir- able and probably available for service in such an enterprise. Then we drew up a provisional repertory of plays, and proceeded to cast the parts in them from our provisional company, filling every part of the slightest importance with an actor whom we conceived to be qualified for it, and leaving only the very small parts to be filled by younger actors whom it was needless for us to individualise/ Where we found an actor utilisable in one or two plays of our repertory, but no more, we struck him out and substituted for him an actor qualified for these parts and for others as well. Where we found it impossible to cast a part adequately from among our provisional company, we added a fresh name to our list, sometimes transferring to the new-comer the parts previously allotted to another actor, who thus had to make way for him ; but in other cases realising that we needed him to fill a gap in our company, and must in so far add to its number. By this process of selection and exclusion we secured, as we trust, the survival of the fittest. It is to be noted that in no 1 They are designated in the casts (Appendix D) as Mr. A., Mr. B., Miss M., Miss N., &c., &c. 17 B i8 NATIONAL THEATRE case did we strike out a play from our repertory because of a diflB- culty in casting it. Feeling that our company ought to be equal to any play which was in itself suited to the Theatre, we regai'ded the difficulty as a reason, not for omitting the play, but for altering or adding to our company.^ Then, again, we had to make sure, by arranging our repertory night by night, that we were not overworking our company, but might rely upon their being, not only artistically, but physically, equal to the tasks we imposed on them. To this end we drew out a table for the first three months of the season, showing at a glance what work each actor was doing, day by day and week by week. Our particular care was to avoid so arranging the dates of new productions that the actors engaged in them should not have adequate time for rehearsal — to avoid, for instance, placing two new productions in consecutive weeks, in both of which heavy parts were assigned to the same actors. These considerations involved many, not unlaborious, readjustments, now of casts, and again of the order of the repertory. But having gone thus minutely into the first three months of the season, we did not think it necessarj' to map out the remaining months in equal detail. It is possible that, in the order of the repertory set forth for these latter months, some inconvenient collocations might, on close scrutiny, be found to occur. But we have assured ourselves that, given the company we have selected, or a company equivalent to it, cautious adjustment can always obviate such difficulties.^ 1 It may be remarked that the narrowness of opportunity afforded to most of our popular actors under the present system, places in the way of any speculative casting diificulties which, after a time, would be cons-iderably lessened in the actual working of a Repertory Theatre. - It must be remembered, too, that, within reasonable limits, the employment of understudies is not only admissible but desirable, by way of giving experience to the younger members of the company. This point is more fully discussed on p. 31. THE COMPANY 19 We are confident, then, that the forty-two actors and twenty- four actresses of om* hypothetical company would be enough, yet not much more than enough, for the adequate presentation of the repertory we have sketched.^ Twelve of the actors and eight of the actresses we assume to be young people as yet unknown. The others (thirty actors and eighteen actresses) are all artists of established reputation. For many reasons, we cannot give their real names : mainly because we have no right to make public the private information we have received as to their probable salaries. We have, therefore, given them fictitious names, in order that any one examining the scheme may be able to ascertain the nature and amount of the work we require of each member of the company. It is not in the least essential to estimating the merits of the scheme that the actual identity of any of the artists in question should be known. It might quite well happen that, if the Theatre were started to-morrow, not one of these particular actors and actresses would be en- gaged. Not one of them, at any rate, would be indispensable. We could supply the place of each twice over at least, without going beyond the list of known and probably available artists. The names we have given, then, may be taken as representing types rather than individuals. It matters not what particular actor or actress we had in mind ; he (or she) merely represents a more or less numerous class of artists capable of doing approxi- 1 The Comedie-Fran^aise in 1903 consisted of 15 male and 9 female sociHaires, 14 male and 17 female pensionnaires — 55 in all, as against our 66. Probably a good many performers analogous to those 12 actors and 8 actresses whom we assume to be " young people as yet imknown," are reckoned as supernumeraries at the Theatre- Fran^ais, and not included in the official list. It is also to be noted that few plays acted at the Thiiatre-Fiaii^ais require such large casts as a Shakespearean tragedy or history. The company of the Vienna Burgtheater in 1902 appears to have consisted of about 44 actors and 33 actresses ; but more than half of the actresses were very rarely employed. 20 NATIONAL THEATRE mately the same work, and procurable at approximately the same remuneration. The income of all actors and actresses regularly attached to the Theatre for terms of not less than three years — as distinct from subordinate and probationary performers on yearly en- gagements — would consist partly of a fixed annual salary, partly of fees paid for each performance in which he or she took part. This system of feux, as it is called at the Thdatre- Francais, commends itself for several reasons. It is almost universal at repertory theatres on the Continent ; and though it is more or less unfamiliar in England, we were confirmed in our intention of adopting it on finding that an English expert whom we consulted — a man with an unrivalled knowledge of "the profession" — instantly declared for it of his own accord, without any prompting from us. Under this system, as we apply it, an actor's contract with the Theatre would secure him a certain salary, and a certain guaranteed number of perform- ances, at a given fee for each performance. He could thus count upon a minimum income, whether he actually gave so many performances or not. In some cases the actual number of performances would fall below the guarantee ; more often it would rise above the guarantee. It will be seen that, in the season actually sketched, twenty-two of the actors and sixteen of the actresses give more than their guaranteed number of per- formances (in some cases nearly twice as many), while seven actors and two actresses give fewer, and one actor gives exactly the guaranteed number. These results — arrived at without any " cooking," for we decided the number of appearances we thought it reasonable to guarantee each performer before ascertaining how often we would actually employ him or her — may be taken as representing pretty fairly the probabilities of an actual season. FEE SYSTEM 21 The chief advantages of the fee system may be briefly stated as follows : — (i) It counteracts the tendency to "slackness" which, human nature being what it is, occasionally besets any worker who finds himself in a secure position, in which his earnings cannot be increased by zeal or diminished by perfunctoriness. (2) It enables the management to adjust the earnings of a performer to his practical usefulness more readily than by actual alteration of his salary. The rule would be that a salary, once attained, should not be reduced. But at each renewal of engagement, though the salary might of course be increased, the main issue between the management and the performer would be the regulation of the amount of the fee to be paid and the number of performances to be guaranteed. The system, in fact, provides an elastic margin of great con- venience. It is specially desirable to meet the case of performers whose usefulness to the Theatre may for a time be very great, but is, in the nature of things, more or less transient. Thus it will be seen that one or two actresses on our list earn very large fees in proportion to their salary, which, indeed, is nearly doubled by their fee income. In these cases the salary may be taken as representing the permanent value of their talent, the fees as representing the temporary value of their personality. When their existing contract expired, or at the end of another three years' term, the management might possibly reduce the number of guaranteed performances. On the expiry of yet another term, the amount of fee might have to be reduced. These adjustments would probably be made with much less friction than a reduction of salary, and might, moreover, meet the justice of the case with greater nicety. (3) The pension due to an actor must almost inevitably 22 NATIONAL THEATRE be regulated by the salary he is earning at the time when he is disabled or superannuated, or when he leaves the com- pany. If, then, there is no fee system, and a decline in the performer's value to the Theatre must be met by a reduction in his or her salary, cases might not infrequently arise in which a performer would positively suffer a diminution of pension by remaining a member of the company — the extra percentage earned by additional years of service being cancelled, or more than cancelled, by the reduction of the salary on which the pension was to be calculated. The inconveniences of such a system will be apparent to any one who reads the pen- sion regulations (Appendix B). An actress, for example, who might be drawing a salary of ;^900 at the age of thirty, would know that at fifty she might command no more than a third of that sum. The result would be that the moment there was a question of reducing her salary even by ;^50, she would leave the Theatre. By doing so, she would be in a position to claim, at the superannuation age (fixed, in our scheme, at fifty-five for women), at least 20 per cent, of ;i^900 ; whereas, by remaining in the service of the Theatre till she reached the superannuation age, she might find her claim reduced to something like 60 per cent, of ;^300 — that is to say, a pension no larger, and possibly smaller, than that which would have been due to her had she left the Theatre between the ages of thirty and thirty-five. Such a system would be manifestly absurd ; and still more impossible would it be to make the pension of a performer calculable, not on the salary he was last earning, but on the highest salary he had ever earned. All these difficulties vanish if we make the salary on which the pension is to be calculated a stable minimum of value, so to speak, which may increase but cannot diminish. FEE SYSTEM 23 while fluctuations in the performer's value are expressed solely in what we have called the elastic margin. (4) Another advantage of the fee system is that it places the requisite limitation upon the Director's theoretical power to cast any actor for any part, however small. It is some- times mentioned as one of the great merits of continental repertory theatres (and especially of the Meiningen Company) that the leading actors are required on occasion to take the humblest parts, and that the same artist may be found play- ing Hamlet to-night and a footman to-morrow. If this were true, it would be a very foolish and even inartistic arrange- ment. At the National Theatre no actor should be engaged for any special " line of business," nor should any actor have the right to refuse a part assigned him by the Director ; but the fee system would afford a sufficient guarantee that the Director would not wantonly cast any artist for a part mani- festly below his or her talent and status. It would be sheer waste to make an actor whose fee for each performance was £st, undertake a part which could be equally well filled by an actor whose fee was only £\ ox £\, los. The period of engagement for a regular member of the company would be three years, renewable in similar periods. Not until he attains a three years' engagement does a per- former begin to qualify for admission to the privileges of the pension fund. One of the difficulties in such an enterprise is to make the company so far stable as to ensure their playing together to the best advantage, without giving any one such absolute fixity of tenure as to enable him to decline into mere officialism and mechanical routine. This end is probably best attained by a system of comparatively short engagements, qualified by a traditional understanding that the policy of the Theatre is best suited by permanence of service, and that an 24 NATIONAL THEATRE actor who has once proved his value and established his position, will not be parted with unless it be for good and sufficient reason. On the other hand, as a certain change of employment is often desirable to prevent an artist from getting into a rut and becoming stale, it should be at the discretion of the Director to allow a performer an occasional furlough for a definite period, so that, without severing his connection with the Theatre, or forfeiting any advantage of pension or seniority accruing from continuity of service, he might accept a special engagement at another theatre. It would not be desirable that an actor, in joining the Theatre with the inten- tion of devoting his life to it, should feel himself for ever debarred from playing a part outside it, however peculiarly it might be adapted to his talents. Loyalty is best secured by a sense of reasonable freedom. Moreover, the National Theatre should try to live on good terms with the private theatres around it, and the Director should be free, on fitting occasion, to do a brother manager a courtesy. The following tables show at a glance the remuneration allotted in our budget to the actors and actresses of the com- pany. Opposite the name of each performer will be found (i) his or her fixed salary ; (2) the amount of the fee payable for each performance ; (3) the number of performances guaranteed by contract ; (4) the total income thus guaranteed to the performer; (5) the number of performances actually given by him or her in our specimen season ; (6) the total income actually earned by the performer in the season in question. It may be noted that the incomes at the upper end of the scale might in practice be slightly reduced, while those lower down might be slightly augmented, by the fact that a leading per- former might now and then have to give up a part for a few nights to an understudy.^ • See footnote, p. 31. SALARIES 25 SALARIES ACTORS so 1 a S Income _-. C Actual Salary. Fee. li Guaranteed. Is Income. (?0 ^1 £ £ s. £ s. £ s. Mr. Kingsway . 900 5 75 1275 100 1400 Mr. Aldwych . 800 5 75 1175 75 1175 Mr. Langham . 700 5 ° 75 1075 83 1115 Mr. Mark T,a,ne 500 3 ° 100 800 138 914 Mr. Ludgate . 500 I 100 600 149 649 Mr. Wimpole . 400 I 100 500 123 523 Iklr. Fenchurch. 400 I 10 100 55° no 565 Mr. Barbican . 400 I 10 75 512 10 74 512 10 ]Mr. Bryanston . 400 I 10 75 512 10 100 55° Mr. Holborn . 400 I 10 75 512 10 74 512 10 Mr. Somerset House 400 I 75 475 116 516 Mr. PaUmall . 300 I 100 400 156 456 Mr. Tower Hill 300 I 100 400 170 470 Mr. Savile Rowe 300 I 10 100 450 112 468 Mr. Gracechurch 300 I 10 75 412 10 lOI 451 10 Mr. Clement Dane . 300 I 100 400 72 400 Mr. Throgmorton 300 I 100 400 118 41S Mr. Hyde Park 300 I 10 100 450 130 495 'Mr. Cornhill . 300 I 100 400 82 400 Mr. White Hall 300 I 100 400 91 400 Mr. Bethnal Green . 300 I 100 400 131 431 Mr. Smithfield 300 I 100 400 97 400 Mr. Knightsbridge . 250 10 100 300 140 320 Mr. Temple Barre . 250 10 100 300 106 303 Mr. Farringdon 250 10 100 300 118 309 Mr. Paternoster 250 10 100 300 96 300 Mr. Lothbury . 250 10 100 300 131 315 10 Mr. Finsbury . 250 10 ICO 300 169 334 10 ilr. Longacre . 250 10 100 300 127 313 10 Mr. Euston 250 Totj 10 il 100 300 126 313 (^14,900 ii5.73° Actors who receive n( ) fees : — Messrs. A., B., C, D., (4) a t ;^2So a year , , • ;^I,000 Messrs. E., F., G., H., (4) a t ;^2oo a yeai- . , Soo c Messrs. I., J., K., '. L., (4) a1 Tote il of Men' year s Sali iries and Fee s ;< 600 ^18,130 26 NATIONAL THEATRE ACTRESSES M . X 1 11 Income c Actual Salary. Fee. s s ■2 - Guaranteed. Income. r. 3 £ £ 5. £ £ s. Miss Elcho 700 S 75 1075 91 "55 Miss Belvoir . 600 s 75 975 72 975 Miss Mentmore 500 3 75 725 106 818 Mrs. Penshurst 400 I 75 475 89 489 Miss Knole 400 I 75 475 78 478 Mrs. Dalmeny . 400 I 50 45° 41 45° Miss Inveraray. 300 I 50 35° 57 357 Miss Tintagel . 300 3 50 45° 94 582 Miss Walmer . 300 2 50 400 99 498 Miss Blenheim . 250 3 50 400 82 496 Miss Longleat . 250 5° 300 94 344 Miss Haddon Hall . 250 10 50 325 87 380 10 Miss Ai'undel . 250 50 300 86 336 Miss Carnarvon 250 5° 300 52 352 Mrs. Pevensey 250 5° 300 64 314 Miss Alnwick . 200 5° 250 81 281 Miss Chatsworth 200 5° 250 70 270 Miss Hatfield . 200 Tofcd 5° 250 72 272 ;£8o5o ;^8847 10 Actresses who receive no fees ; Misses M., N., 0., (3) at ^ "200 a yea r . • ■ , 600 Misses P., Q., R., ( 3)at;^ Total 150 a year of Ladies 'Sal. iries and Fee 3 45° ;^9897 10 The question now arises : Have we formed a fairly correct estimate of the income (salary plus fees) which would be de- manded by the actors we have in view, or their equivalents ? As the remuneration of the performers is necessarily the largest item in a theatrical budget, the practical merits of our scheme must in great measure depend on the answer to this question. We have, of course, founded our estimate on the best infor- ACTORS' SALARIES 27 mation available to us as to the actual earnings at the present moment of the artists in question. Their earnings, not their nominal weekly salary ; that is a totally different matter. An actor's income-tax return, based on an average of three years, is in the majority of cases not at all what the outside public is apt to imagine on learning that Mr. So-and-So's salary is such-and- such an imposing sum per week. To reduce this statement to its true proportions, we should have to learn how many weeks in the year Mr. So-and-So is on an average employed. The economic account of the matter seems to be this : On the one hand, the profession is greatly overcrowded, so that there ai"e always far more nominally qualified actors wanting parts than there are parts to be filled. This would, in the case of an ordi- nary' employment, bring wages to the lowest subsistence level for a man of the class required. But, on the other hand, a manager is not like an ordinary employer who " takes on " without selection any " hands " who have attained a certain standard of skill. On the contrary, he selects very carefully the actor whom, of all those available, he considers best fitted for a particular part ; and in relation to that particular part, the actor comes to have something like a monopoly value. He can de- mand any salary that is not so extravagant as to make the next- best man seem preferable. But when once he has played this part, months or years may elapse before another presents itself, for which his physical or mental characteristics give him this monopoly value ; and if he has not a monopoly value, his competition value is very small indeed, and he may find " no buyers " even at a miserably low figure. The employments in a theatre which can be filled, like a place at a power-loom, by any one who has served a mechanical apprenticeship, are, in fact, filled by " hands " (so to speak) at that lowest sub- 28 NATIONAL THEATRE sistence wage which is regulated by the pressure of applicants for any post in a theatre, however insignificant.^ These are the actors who are never heard of. The actors who command any considerable weekly salary, command it on account of their special fitness for a particular part ; and, as a general rule, the parts for which they are specially fit present themselves so rarely, that an actor's earnings during a run of two or three months will often represent his whole income for a year or more. Even when an artist has risen to the level of reputation at which his mere name in the bill is of considerable value, apart from his special fitness for a given part, he is by no means sure of continuous engagements. Actors of great personal popularity will fre- quently drop out of work for months at a time without any assignable reason. An actor's vogue among the managers (as distinct from the public) is subject to a sort of mysterious perio- dicity. That is one of the main reasons why so many are eager to " go into management" for themselves. Our first business, then, was to estimate the average income, over a period of from three to five years, actually earned by any artist whom we wished to include in our company. In some cases, at the lower end of our list, this income would be so small that the sum we felt it right to allot would probably represent an increase rather than a diminution of the actor's total earn- ings, even apart from the further advantages offered him. About the middle of the list, some of the incomes we allot are probably very much the same as the average incomes actually earned by the performers in question. But if we have levelled ' Even the " subsistence wage " can be, and often is, lowered by the fact that the " blackleg " is so prominent in the economy of a certain class of management — the man or woman who has other means of livelihood, and is willing to appear on the stage for derisory sums, or for nothing, or even to pay for the privilege. FIXITY OF TENURE 29 up at the lower end of the list, we have on the whole levelled down at the middle and upper end, and that for three reasons — first, on account of the permanence of employment offered ; second, on account of its more dignified and agreeable condi- tions ; third, on account of the participation in the pension fund, secured after ten years' service. Let us consider these three points in their order. The first has already been dealt with in the paragraph re- ferring to conditions of engagement. Very few actors under the present system have their position ensured for even the three years which would, in this Theatre, be the minimum term for every performer who had passed the probationary stage. It is seldom that an actor can see his way ahead beyond "the run of the piece " in which he is engaged.^ He may be pretty confi- dent of soon finding another engagement ; but confidence is not the same thing as certainty. Moreover, as above stated, the majority of actors find their demand with managers run in longer or shorter cycles. At one time they will have to refuse offers which come pouring in upon them ; at another time, for no apparent reason, and without any change in their status with the public, the managers will seem to have forgotten their exist- ence. In the main, stage employment belongs to that least satisfactory and most unwholesome class — casual labour. That many actors — indeed, all actors of a type desirable at such a theatre as this — will make considerable sacrifices to escape from this precarious and demoralising condition, is not for a moment doubtful. Even a three years' engagement would, to the mass of the profession, mean comparative fixity of tenure ; while, as ' It shovdd be noted, however, that within the past few years it has become more and more the practice of some managers to give the leading members of their company yearly engagements. 30 NATIONAL THEATRE above stated, the rule should be that, in the absence of some definite reason to the contrary, the actor might expect to remain for much longer terms, or even to the end of his career, in the service of the Theatre. At the same time it must be noted that a "definite reason to the contrary" would not alvpays imply misconduct or even slackness on the actor's part. The need for bringing " new blood " into the company would now and then involve dispensing with the services of an actor against whom nothing could be alleged save that his place might be better filled by another man. But if the Theatre were sufficiently prosperous to permit of the maintenance of a company somewhat larger than strict necessity demanded, the bringing in of "new blood" would not always imply the supplanting of older talents, but might merely involve some reduction in the fee-income of an actor who would have to share his parts with a younger recruit. The system of furloughs, judiciously applied, would also help to keep the company large and representative, yet not overgrown. In the second place, even apart from its greater security, the actor's position would be much more agreeable, both socially and artistically, than it is apt to be under the present system. He would be able to settle down among his household gods — an advantage more appreciated than some people might imagine among actors of the present day. He would not be liable at any moment to finding himself compelled, lest worse befall him, to accept a provincial, American, or colonial engagement, and "hve in his boxes" for months or years. The charms of a nomadic existence soon pall on the actor, and there are few who would not stretch a good many points for the sake of an assured position in London, even apart from any prestige that might eventually attach to association with the National Theatre. CONDITIONS OF WORK 31 The conditions of work, too, would be far more agreeable than they generally are at present. Rehearsals, indeed, would be numerous, but being always conducted in a Theatre which was, so to speak, the actor's second home, the inconvenience and fatigue attaching to them would be minimised. And if re- hearsals occupied a good many of his days, performances, on the other hand, would not occupy all his evenings. He would not feel himself a slave every night of his life from seven o'clock to midnight. The actors in most frequent employment — who would be those playing the minor and less fatiguing parts — would have two or three free evenings in every week ; while actors playing leading parts would seldom have to give more than four performances a week, and often not so many.^ Even supposing that a performer appears five times in a week, the difference between five performances and the eight " shows " which he is now expected to give in a successful play means the difference between pleasant artistic activity and monotonous mechanical toil. Taking the company all round, it would be seldom indeed that an actor or actress would not have three 1 It may here be pointed out that understudying in this Theatre will be neither so perfunctory nor so thankless a task as it generally is in the existing state of things. It will not, as at present, be illness or accident alone that gives an understudy a chance of proving his quality. The conduct of the Theatre will often render it impossible to retain complete an original cast for every performance of a play. If an actor is rehears- ing a great new part — Hamlet, for example — he may be compelled to spare his strength for the first night by giving up to his understudy his part in any play which may be announced for performance on one of the two or three nights immediately preceding that fixed for the new production. The Director would have the right to insist on his doing so if the service of the Theatre seemed to demand it. Again, if an actor were playing a heavy part in a very successful production which was repeated four times a week, some of his parts in the other plays presented during the same weeks would, no doubt, fall to his understudies. Indeed, if an understudy should show marked ability in a part at the one full understudy rehearsal which each play will receive, the Direc- tor would make a point of finding an opportunity or opportunities for him to play it in public. The wise Director will always be looking among his rank and file for the leaders, and the ripe and accomplished talents, of the future. 32 NATIONAL THEATRE evenings in the week (including Sunday) free for study, recrea- tion, or social life. It would be in every way good for the actor to be enabled to enlarge the circle of his social relations, and escape from the constant companionship of those of his own calling. The artistic advantage to the actor arising from variety of employment is generally admitted, yet not fully realised. Beyond all doubt, the supersession of the old stock company by the long run system has done a veiy real service to the stage. It has encouraged a finish, both in play-writing and acting, which the older conditions never allowed. It has broken a tradition of slovenliness. But the system — or rather its exclusive prevalence — is now over-reaching itself. The old system, under which the physical fitness or unfitness of an actor for a part was apt to be entirely ignored, has been replaced by a new system under which physical fitness is regarded as the one thing needful. Under the old system talent and skill were expected to work impossibilities ; under the new system little is left for them to do. An author who wants to cast a part, ransacks London and the provinces for a man or woman who can " look " it, and trusts to his own or the producer's coaching to supply the place of talent and skill. As there are no fixed companies and only a few long engagements, his freedom of choice is almost unlimited ; yet authors complain (quite justly) that, with the whole " profes- sion " at their command, it is frequently impossible to get important characters in their works even moderately well played. What is the reason ? Simply that the absolute tiuidity of the theatrical world, enabling an actor to appear always in parts which he can get through on the strength of his mere personality, leads to the atrophy of whatever talent PENSION FUND 33 he may possess. Being cast only for parts for which his personality is obviously suited, he is tied down to one line of work, never attains any suppleness or versatility, and at last becomes stale and uninteresting, even in the parts to which he is so closely confined. Constant mechanical repeti- tion of one type of character hardens his peculiarities into mannerisms. Even if his performance of a part be not mechanical from the outset, the intolerable monotony involved in seven or eight repetitions a week soon grinds all spontaneity out of it ; and it is not only his performance of that part that suffers, but his capability for others. The fluidity of the theatrical world, besides checking the development of the individual actor, impairs, in the majority of productions, the harmony of the general effect. It pre- vents the formation of any of those artistic homes where the members of the family are in habitual sympathy one with another. A permanent company, formed, so to speak, by natural selection and the survival of the fittest, used to each other's methods, and working in harmony, may be trusted to give a far sounder performance of any play than the most brilliant "scratch" company that can be got together. Finally, the advantages of the Pension Fund, with the provision it assures in case of disablement or superannuation, cannot but appeal to the better class of actor. A suggested pension scheme will be found in Appendix B, p. 135. It is, necessarily, too complex to be summarised with any advantage, but not, we hope, to be understood by any one who will read its articles carefully. Whether it is so devised as to be practicable and attractive is not for us to determine. We have not the least doubt, at any rate, that a practicable scheme can be devised ; and we have the best authority for believing c 34 NATIONAL THEATRE that the advantages of a pension fund would be keenly appre- ciated by the class of actors whom the Theatre would seek to attract. We have every confidence, then, that the services of those actors of whom our hypothetical company is composed, or of their equivalents, could be secured for approximately the sums we have allotted to them. It is to be observed that such an institution cannot hope, and does not desire, to keep within its limits the born " star," the man or woman who is obviously capable of attaining world-wide renown or notoriety. Rachel, though no doubt the glory of the Com^die Franjaise, came very near being its ruin ; and it was fated that Sarah Bern- hardt and Coquelin should fly off from that organisation as soon as they fully realised the value, in sovereigns, dollars, marks, and roubles, of their personality and talent. We do not pretend that our company contains a Sarah Bernhardt or a Coquelin ; nor, if one of its members developed any such conspicuous virtuosity, should we expect him or her to remain within the bounds of the institution. But it is quite possible to possess distinguished talent, and even genius, without the power, or the wish, to set the world on fire. It should be noticed that some of the class of actors who now are, or aspire to be, actor-managers, would, if such a theatre existed, be quite content with the career it offered them. The craving to become an actor-manager is, in many cases, not prompted by any overweening ambition, but by the necessity for escaping from the predominance of other actor-managers. The lower ranks of the company would be filled by young probationers (those designated in our salary-lists and casts by initials only), who would be engaged for not more and not less than a season at a time, and would be remunerated by SUMMARY OF SALARIES 35 Balaries alone, without fees. They would fill the small parts in plays requiring a very large cast, would understudy, and, in exceptional cases, would play what may be called mute character-parts — the leading figures in a mob, &c., &c. For populace, armies, &c., a certain number of professional "supers" would have to be employed. An estimate under this head will be found below. For what are technically known as "extra gentlemen and ladies" — courtiers, &c., in classical plays, guests and background-figures who "walk on" in modem plays — the management ought to be able to rely upon the pupils of the Training School which would be attached to the Theatre. It would, indeed, be one of the chief advan- tages this school could offer its pupils, that they would be admitted to some, at any rate, of the rehearsals of the Theatre, and by appearing in supernumerary parts, would be enabled to acquire the habit of the scene. The question of the Train- ing School is further discussed in Section X. Summary of Salaries Payable to Performers. Thirty actors on three-years' engagements (salaries and fees) ^ . . . . . Twelve actors on short engagements, who do not receive fees ..... Eighteen actresses on three-years' engage- ments (salaries and fees) ^ . Six actresses on short engagements, who do not receive fees ...... Supermaster and Supernumeraries (including payment for rehearsals) ^ . ... ' Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. ' It is assumed that the pupils of the Training School would serve without salary as extra ladies and gentlemen. ;^i5.73o 2,400 8,847 10 1,050 750 28.777 10 SECTION IV Repertory for a Specimen Season — The Theatre not a Pioneer Theatre — Principles of Selection — Shakespeare — Elizabethan Drama — Restoration Comedy — Eighteenth-Century Comedy — Early Victorian and Mid-Vic- torian Plays — Modern Revivals — New Plays — Foreign Plays, Classical and Modern — Schedule of Repertory. A FEW words must be said as to the composition of the reper- tory for our specimen season. And here, at the outset, there is a misconception to be guarded against. It is not an " Advanced " Theatre that we are design- ing. The great subsidised theatres of the Continent are not "advanced" theatres. It is not their business to be far ahead of the time, but to be well abreast of it. Sometimes, no doubt (as in the case of the Berlin Schauspielhaus), they fail even in that duty ; but, as a rule, they perform it reasonably well. They follow, more or less cautiously, more or less eclectically, in the wake of the " advanced " theatres ; and that is as it should be. Outposts are necessary to the army of progress ; but no army can be all outposts ; and where the main body is out of touch with its pioneers, they pioneer in vain. The Theatre we have here in view forms part, and an indispensable part, of the main army of progress. It will neither compete with the outpost theatres nor relieve them of their functions. It is the business of the outposts to press on, to try this path and that, sometimes to blunder, and find themselves in an untenable position, or in a " No Thoroughfare." The main body, profiting by their ex- perience, tries to avoid their errors ; and through this division 36 REPERTORY 37 of labour the general advance goes on steadily and securely, with no risk of a serious set-back. There can be no doubt that the extraordinary headway which the German drama has made during the past fifteen years is due to the influence of the pioneer theatres in clearing the way for the main body ; but it is the advance of the main body that gives the outpost work its national, and even European, significance. The work of our English pioneer theatres, often admirable in itself, has been in great measure robbed of its significance by the fact that they have scarcely ever been in touch with the main army. The National Theatre would keep a sympathetic eye upon the work of the outpost theatres, and would itself experiment in due measure. A wise management would show its wisdom mainly, perhaps, in knowing when to experiment and when to hold its hand. But experiment would not be its primary function. Its aim would be to recruit and foster an intelligent, not neces- sarily an " advanced," public. But intelligent members of the " advanced " public would find plenty to interest them in its workings. This distinction between the National Theatre and the pioneer theatre it seemed well to emphasise at the outset, as any failure to realise it could only lead to misunderstanding and disappointment. The main principles we had in view, in sketching our speci- men repertor}', were that it should be national, representative, and popular. The national note we struck at the very outset in presenting, in chronological sequence, the central and most continuous portion of Shakespeare's great epic of English history, as it has justly been called. To attempt the production in one week of four of the most exacting plays of the world's literature — plays with 38 NATIONAL THEATRE exceptionally heavy casts and exceptional requirements in the way of scenery and costumes — was clearly to put a great strain on the resources of the Theatre. We assumed, however, that there would be ample time for preparation (much more, of course, than there would be, under ordinary circumstances, be- tween one season and another) ; and we felt that the importance of the occasion should be marked, not by one big production, in which the National Theatre could not hope to compete with private theatres in scenic attraction, but by a sustained artistic effort on a great scale, such as no private theatre could reason- ably attempt. We felt, too, that, in opening with a single Shakespearean production, the management might not un- naturally be tempted to aim at a degree of scenic luxury — as opposed to appropriateness — inconsistent with the idea of the Theatre ; whereas the very magnitude of the effort demanded in presenting a cycle of four plays, would render almost impera- tive from the first the observance of a just standard of dignified moderation. The cycle would, therefore, be as characteristic in a technical sense as in a literary sense it would be appropriate. Our other Shakespearean productions we selected on the following grounds : The Tempest as a beautiful poem, much neglected of late years ; The Taming of the Shrew as a popular farce, showing the more prosaic and commonplace side of the poet's genius ; and Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and As You Like It, simply as immortal masterpieces which no English theatre can make too great haste to establish in its repertory. The number of Shakespearean productions — nine — we believe to be approximately justified by an analysis of the roll of Shakespeare's works in relation to the circumstances of the case. The con- ventional Shakespearean canon consists of thirty-seven plays. Of these, one — Titus Andronicus — is wholly unpresentable on SHAKESPEARE 39 the modern stage ; while six — Troihis and Cressida, Timon of Athens, Pericles, and the three parts of Henry VI. — can only be presented, with doubtful advantage, after heroic curtailment and manipulation. We do not say that they ought never to be attempted ; but they cannot possibly take a permanent place in the repertory of any theatre. Then, again, of the remaining plays, five would probably be found fitted only for occasional revival at long intervals : The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, and Love's Labour's Lost, as immature pro- ductions ; All's Well that Ends Well, as likewise immature (in spite of re-touching), and inacceptable in theme ; and Henry VIIL., as a formless pageant play, which has very little claim to rank as Shakespeare's. There remain, then, twenty-five plays, which ought never to be suffered for long to drop out of the re- pertory of an English National Theatre. If six, on an average, were revived in every season, the whole list (save one) would be gone through once in four years ; while in each season certain plays, carried forward from the season or seasons before, would be considered, not as revivals, but as belonging to the permanent substratum of the repertory — what is called in France the repertoire courant. We take it, then, that in this initial season three plays may be regarded as representing the Shakespearean element in this permanent substratum, while the remaining six are about equivalent to the normal revivals of a normal season. We do not, of course, suggest that the number of Shake- spearean productions in a season would be regulated with mathematical accuracy ; nor do we assume that our analysis of the plays will command universal assent. All we suggest is that on some such analysis, and on some such principle of rotation, the Shakespearean work of the Theatre would pro- bably have to be founded. 40 NATIONAL THEATRE Shakespeare apart, the Elizabethan drama has fallen into such total disuse that the attempt to reanimate for the theatrical public a representative selection of plays, though absolutely imperative upon the management, would have to be gone about slowly and cautiously. We believe that there are probably a dozen — perhaps even a score — of the plays of Shakespeare's contemporaries that have still the breath of theatrical life in them. Careful experiment will ultimately separate them from the mass. But in a first season, and until the main lines of the repertory are firmly established, we felt that it would be unwise to devote much time and energy to such experiments. Out of several Elizabethan plays which we considered — some of them in themselves more interesting than Every Man in his Humour — we chose Ben Jonson's comedy as being probably the least experimental. Its theatrical qualities have been tested in comparatively recent years — notably by that company of distinguished amateurs of which Charles Dickens was the inspiring genius. The plays of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century would, for notorious reasons, require very careful handling. Some of them, however, might doubtless be made available for the modern stage ; and having satisfied ourselves that Congreve's Love for Love could be presented with com- paratively slight curtailment — stopping far short of mutilation — we thought there could be no doubt that the first place belonged to it, as the representative play of its period. In the later eighteenth century there is no lack of presentable material ; but the three undoubted masterpieces of the period are so familiar that there seemed to be no particular hurry for adding them to the repertory. On the other hand. The Critic has not been seen for something like half a century, MODERN REVIVALS 41 except in a truncated form, and at " benefit " performances when unlimited clowning was the order of the day. We selected it, then, from among several competitors, as the representative for this season of the Georgian Age. The choice of a play to represent the first half of the nine- teenth century was by no means easy, though the embarrass- ment was scarcely one of riches. At last we fixed upon Money — of course to be dressed, and so far as possible acted, after the manner of the early Victorian period. Our choice was finally determined by the consideration that, the Mid- Victorian period being inevitably represented by its one master- piece, Caste, we should be able to insert between the two, Mr. Pinero's delightful comedy, Trelawny of the Wells, and thus give, in a sort of comedy cycle, illustrations of the old rhetorical and new realistic methods, with a fanciful, yet not unfaithful, history of the transition between the two. It is unnecessary to go at length into the reasons which prompted our selection of recent English plays. Of most of these pieces we may say, as we said of the actors in the company, that they are to be taken as types rather than as individuals. All of them are subject to stage-right, and in some cases permission to revive them might not be obtain- able. But if this one or that failed us, there would be no lack of others to fall back upon. It would be more difficult, perhaps, to explain the absence of certain plays and authors from the list than to justify the presence of any play which appears on it. Why, for instance, are Mr. Pinero's farces unrepresented ? Why do the names of Mr. J. M. Barrie, Mr. Stephen Phillips, Mr. H. V. Esmond, Mr. Anthony Hope, Mr. Louis Parker, Captain Robert Marshall, Mr. H. H. Davies, nowhere appear ? The answer is simple — namely, that there 42 NATIONAL THEATRE are only so-and-so many nights in a season, and that it is impossible within the limits of one year to sample a whole literature. Besides, some of the authors whose names are absent from our list of revivals may be lurking in disguise under the rubric of New Plays. Though, in selecting modern plays for revival, we have in the main deferred to the generally expressed theatrical taste of the past ten or twelve years, we do not wish to imply an opinion that this taste is all that can be desired, or that it would be specially fostered by the National Theatre. On the contrar}', we believe that the "society play" — the drama of "frocks and frills" — bulks far too largely on the stage of to-day ; and one of the chief advantages of the National Theatre would lie in its providing an escape from the con- ditions which at present are thought to impose this type of play upon both managers and authors. There is no doubt that a large section of the public is being gradually alienated from the theatre by a sense of the monotony of the fare pro- vided ; and as we were bound to choose from among existing plays, we could not help, in some measure, reproducing that monotony. But after a few seasons, when the repertory had been recruited by the new productions of the Theatre, the sameness would disappear. It would be the object of the Theatre, not to perpetuate the dramatic tradition of the past ten years, but largely to widen the range of subjects and methods open to the dramatist. It would produce some, no doubt, of the plays that are written to-day, but also many that are not; and it would aim at reconciling to the drama many people who are now more or less estranged from it. One play only among our revivals has not had its theatrical quality tested by performance at a regular London theatre — NEW PLAYS 43 to wit, Mr. W. B. Yeats's Countess Cathleen. This we included, not only because of its rare beauty, but because we felt that the representative character of the repertory demanded that the new Irish drama should hold an honourable place in it. We regretted our inability to find an American play that seemed suited for revival ; but as the great majority of American plays are unprinted, or were, at all events, inacces- sible to us, our failure to discover one must by no means be taken as meaning that no such play exists. Perhaps, too, America may be represented among the New Plays. With regard to these, it must be distinctly understood that they are quite imaginary. It was obvious that a season in which no provision was made for new plays would not be typical. We had, then, to leave room for what seemed a fair number of new productions ; but in no case had we in mind any existing unacted play ; nor did we mentally assign any one of them to an individual dramatist. Thus the larger or smaller number of performances allotted to each new play indicates merely our forecast of average probability, not any judgment as to the greater or smaller attractiveness of any particular author's work. It seemed to us evident that, although in any National Theatre the national drama must hold by far the most prominent place, yet the dramatic literature of foreign nations ought also to be represented in due proportion. As regards the classical litera- ture of France, the apparent impossibility of rendering the Alexandrine by any tolerable English equivalent restricts within narrow limits the material from which it is possible to choose. We at last fixed upon Moli^re's Don Juan as perhaps the greatest of his prose works, and one which can certainly be made effective in its English dress. Several German classics 44 NATIONAL THEATRE ' we had under consideration, but failed to find room for any of them in this season's repertory. Of modern plays, we chose Dumas's Francillon as representing what may be called the Second Empire theatre at its best (though it was produced under the Republic) ; Brieux's La Robe Rouge as a characteris- tic and easily transplantable specimen of the French drama of to-day ; Johannisfeuer as the most poetic, and at the same time one of the most interesting of the plays of Sudermann ; and Pelleas and Melisande as that play of Maeterlinck's which had most clearly proved its theatrical quality. But in the case of the foreign, as well as of the English modern plays, our selec- tion is to be regarded as merely illustrative. There were many others which we might equally well have chosen, and of which the one actually selected must be taken as a type. One adaptation, A Pair of Spectacles, has slipped into our repertory almost by inadvertence. It holds an exceptional posi- tion, being, in fact, a fairy tale, as much at home in England as in France. The rule would be, of course, that foreign plays should be translated, not adapted. We have purposely excluded from this specimen repertory all plays of the class which may be called disputable, designing to show that there was ample material at the command of the Theatre without travelling beyond the range of universally accepted classics, and modern work which has proved its at- tractiveness for the English public. For this reason the names of Tolstoy, Gorky, Ibsen, Bjornson, Hauptmann, D'Annunzio, and Bernard Shaw do not figure in our list of authors. That some of these writers' works would before long find house-room in the Theatre we can scarcely doubt ; but we have shown that a rich and varied, if not a thoroughly representative, repertory can be formed without them. Nothing, as we have pointed out, ONE-ACT PLAYS 45 can be more mistaken than the idea that a National Theatre ought to be, or would be, a forcing-house for the esoteric drama. It would be a principle of the Theatre that front-pieces and after-pieces should be as well cast and as carefully treated as the plays which fill the main part of the programme. We have allowed for two new one-act plays and five revivals. All the revivals, except Mr. Frederick Fenn's Judged by A2)pearances, may seem to be of a rather serious type. The reason for this is that the plays which were short enough to require a front-piece were mostly of the lighter order, and seemed to demand, by way of contrast, somewhat graver companionship. We had no de- sign of excluding the bright comedietta or even the rattling farce, supposing it to possess any real humour or ingenuity. We in- tended to include in the repertory one other one-act play of a very serious type — Sudermann's Fritzchen. It was omitted, through an oversight, until our calculations were almost com- pleted ; and then, as it was not indispensable, we did not think it worth while to undertake the long series of corrections that would have been necessary had we restored it to its place. [Schedule of Eepkrtory 46 NATIONAL THEATRE SCHEDULE OF REPERTOKY. Num- Author. Play. First Per- Last Per- ber of formance. formance. Perfor- mances. I. Shakespeare King Richard II. . Sept. 15 July 15 12 2. „ . . King Henry IV., Ft. I. . ,. 17 )» 18 12 3- >. . • King Henry IV., Pt. II. „ 18 Apr. 24 5 4- ,, . • King Henry V. „ 20 July 21 10 5. Pinero The Benefit of the Doubt .. 23 1) 24 12 6. Henley & Stevenson Beau Austin . ,, 29 Dec. 17 7 7. 1 (New Play) . Saint Cecilia . Oct. 7 July 22 41 8. GUbert . Tom Cobb » 17 Nov. 15 6 9. Congreve . Love for Love 3' July 27 9 10. Chambers The Tyranny of Tears . Nov. 7 Nov. 20 4 11. Moliere . Don Juan „ 21 July 29 7 12. 1 (New Play) . The Flight of the Duchess .. 25 Dec. 30 10 13. Wilde . The Importance of being Earnest . Dec 6 Jan. 31 5 14. Shakespeare The Tempest . ,, 12 Aug. I 31 15. Labiche & Grundy . A Pair of Spectacles Jan. 6 Jan. 17 3 16. Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew „ 17 July 30 13 17. Sudermann Johannisfeuer „ 21 Feb. 4 4 18 1 (New Play) . The Backwater >. 31 )) II 4 19. Sheridan . The Critic Feb. 7 July 20 9 20. Yeats The Countess Cathleen . >. 13 J) 31 6 21. Jones The Liars » 23 1) 28 9 22. Shakespeare Hamlet .... „ 28 J) 25 19 23. ? (New Play) . The Chiltern Hundreds . Mar. 6 Aug. I 43 24. Dumas fils Francillon .. 25 July 22 10 25. Robertson Caste .... April 6 )} 16 7 26. Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet . » 17 n 18 13 27. Brieux La Robe Rouge May 2 it 8 7 28. Jonsou Every Man in his Humour 8 jy 25 7 29. ? (New Play) . Hodge and the Vicar .) 15 June 10 8 30. Carton Lady Hunt worth's Ex- periment . 26 July 10 7 31. Shakespeare As You Like It June 3 J) 23 9 32. Pinero Trelawny of the Wells . ., 9 if 15 6 33. Maeterlinck Pelleas and Melisande . >. 19 )) 6 6 34. Bulwer Lytton Money .... July II >) 14 2 Total . 363 ON E-ACT AND TWO-ACT PLAYS. Gilbert . Sweethearts. Yeats The Land of Heart's Desire Tennyson The Falcon. Hcrz and Wills lolanthe. Fenn Judged by Appearances. ? (New Play) At the Dock Gates. ? (New Play) The Spartan. REPERTORY CLASSIFIED The specimen Repertory may be analysed as follows : — New Plats : Performances. Saint Cecilia . . . . . . 41 The Flight of the Duchess . The Backwater . The Chiltern Hundreds Hodge and the Vicar 47 Elizabethan Comedy : Every Man in his Humour . . Restoration Comedy: Love for Love ..... Eighteenth Century Comedy : The Critic Nineteenth Century Comedy (before 1870) : Caste ...... Money ...... Modern English Plays (since 1870) : The Benefit of the Doubt . Beau Austin .... Tom Cobb .... The Tyranny of Tears The Importance of being Earnest The Countess Cathleen The Liars ..... Lady Huntworth's Experiment . Trelawny of the Wells 10 4 43 Revivals : Hhakespeare : King Eichard IL . 12 King Henry IV., Pt. I. 12 King Henry IV., Pt. II. 5 King Henry V. 10 The Tempest 31 The Taming of the Shrew 13 Hamlet 19 Romeo and Juliet 13 As You Like It 9 106 124 12 7 6 4 5 6 9 7 6 62 48 NATIONAL THEATRE Eevivals : Pebformancbs. Foreign Classic: Don Juan ....... 7 Modern Foreign Plays : French : A Pair of Spectacles .... 3 Francillon ...... 10 La Robe Rouge ..... 7 Pelleas and Melisande .... 6 German : Johannisfeuer 30 Grand total . 363* It thus appears that 326 performances are devoted to English plays — 37 to foreign plays; 106 performances are devoted to new plays, 257 to revivals; 124 performances are devoted to Shakespeare, 34 to old English plays, other than Shakespeare, and 62 to revivals of recent English plays. Our own criticism of this specimen season would be that Shakespeare occupies rather too much space in it, and new plays rather too little. Perhaps, in a normal season, the * It may be of interest to summarise the repertory-list of the Tlieiitre-Frangais during the season 1902-1903. Seven new plays in three or four acts were produced, and were performed respectively 4, 5, 12, 16, 40, 41, and 84 times. Five new one-act plays were produced. There were 6 important revivals, the plays in question being performed respectively 2, 7, 8, 12, 14, and 15 times ; and there were 7 revivals of one- act plays. Then, in the repertoire courant were included 14 tragedies, 32 comedies in three, four, or five acts, and 19 comedies in one or two acts. Of the longer [days in the repertoire cotirant, 3 were acted only once, 3 twice, 3 thrice, 5 four times, 8 five times, 3 six times, 4 seven times, 4 eight times, i nine times, 5 ten times, 2 eleven times, 2 twelve times, i thirteen times, i fourteen times, and i seventeen times. It thus appears that 59 plays in three acts and over were performed, as against our 34, and 31 plays in one or two acta, a^ against our 7. To account for these differences it may be noted that the Theatre-Frangais gives 70 or 80 more performances in the year than we have reckoned for, and that performances of two or three pieces in one programme are the rule rather than the exception. It is quite common for a five- act classical tragedy and a three-act or even five-act comedy to compose a single programme. REPERTORY 49 lOO proportions would be reversed — that is to say, about Shakespearean performances would be given, and from 130 to 150 performances of new plays. As for the other elements in the repertory, we believe that their proportions are pretty fairly adjusted ; though the space given to non-Shakespearean classics is smaller than it would probably become when the repertory was thoroughly established. We now give the order of performances, day by day, for our specimen season of forty-six weeks : — REPERTORY. [When a play is performed for the first time, its name is printed in dark type; when for the last time, in italics. An asterisk attached to the title of a play shows that a front-piece or after-piece is given along with it.] Sept. Oct Monday IS . . . . King Richard II. Tuesday 16 . . . Wednesday 17 (aft.) . 1st King Henry IV. Thursday 18 . . . . 2nd King Henry IV. Friday 19 . . . Saturday 20 (aft.) . King Henry V. Monday 22 . . . . Richard II. Tuesday 23 . . . . The Benefit of the Doubt. Wednesday 24 (aft) . . The Benefit of the Doubt, ist Henry IV. Thursday 25 . . . 2nd Henry IV. Friday 26 . . . . The Benefit of the Doubt Saturday 27 (aft) . . Richard II. Henry V. Monday 29 . . . . Beau Austin.* Tuesday 30 . . . . Beau Austin.* Wednesday I (aft) . . ist Henry IV. The Benefit of the Doubt. Thursday 2 . . . . Henry V. Friday 3 • . . . The Benefit of the Doubt (5th time). 50 NATIONAL THEATRE Oct. Saturday 4 (aft.) . Monday Tuesday Wednesday 6 . . 7 ■ • 8 (aft.) Thursday Friday Saturday 9 • • 10 . . 11 (aft.) 1» Monday Tuesday Wednesday 13 • • 14 . . 15 (aft.) >> Thursday Friday Saturday 16 . . 17 . . 18 (aft.) Monday Tuesday 20 . . 21 . . »» Wednesday 22 (aft.) Thursday Friday Saturday 23 ■ • 24 . . 25 (aft.) Monday Tuesday Wednesday 27 . . 28 . . 29 (aft.) Nov. Thursday Friday Saturday 30 . . 31 • • I (aft.) „ Monday 3 . . ,, Tuesday 4 . . „ Wednesday 5 (aft.) 2nd Henry IV. Beau Austin.* The Benefit of the Doubt New Play. Saint Cecilia. Henry V. New Play. Saint Cecilisi. Beau Austin. New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia (5th time). Richard II. New Play. Saint Cecilia, Beau Austin (5th time). The Benefit of the Doubt. New Play. Saint Cecilia, Tom Cobb,* Tom Cobb.* New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia (loth time). Richard II. (5th time). Tom Cobb.* ist Henry IV. New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Benefit of the Doubt. The Benefit of the Doubt. New Play. Saint Cecilia. Heni-y V. (5th time). Tom Cobb.* Tom Cobb * (sth time). Love for Love,* Richard II. Love for Love.* Love for Love.* New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. Saint Cecilia (15th time). Henry V. REPERTORY 51 Nov. Thursday 6 . „ Friday 7 . . ,, Saturday 8 (aft.) „ Monday 10 . ,, Tuesday 11. . „ Wednesday 12 (aft.) „ Thursday 13 . . „ Friday 14 . . „ Saturday 15 (aft.) „ Monday 17 . . „ Tuesday 18 . . ,, Wednesday 19 (aft.) Thursday 20 . . Friday 21 . Saturday 22 (aft.) Monday 24 . . Tuesday 25 . . Wednesday 26 (aft.) Thursday 27 . Friday 28 . . Saturday 29 (aft.) Dec. Monday Tuesday 2 . Wednesday 3 (aft.) Love for Love.* The Tyranny of Tears. Love for Love (sth time). New Play. Saint CecUia. New Pky. Saint Cecilia. ist Henry IV. (5th time). ist Henry IV. The Tyranny of Tears. The Benefit of the Doubt (loth time). Love for Love.* New Play. Saint Cecilia. Tom Cohh * (6th time). Richard II. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tyranny of Tears. New Play. Saint Cecilia (20th time). The Tyranny of Tears time). Don Juan.* New Play. Saint Cecilia. Don Juan.* New Play. New Play. Duchess. Don Juan.* New Play. Duchess. Don Jiian.* New Play. Duchess. New Play. Duchess. Henry V. New Play. The Flight of the Duchess (5th time). New Play. Saint Cecilia. New Play. The Flight of the Duchess. Richard II. (4th Saint Cecilia. The Flight of the The Flight of the The Flight of the The FHght of the 52 NATIONAL THEATRE Dec. Thursday 4 . . . Friday 5 . . . Saturday 6 (aft.) . Monday S . . , Tuesday 9 . . , Wednesday 10 (aft.) „ Thursday 11 . „ Friday 12 . . „ Saturday 13 (aft.) „ Monday 15 . . „ Tuesday 16 . . „ Wednesday 17 (aft.) „ Thursday 18 . . „ Friday 19 . . ,, Saturday 20 (aft.) „ Monday 22 . . „ Tuesday 23 . . „ Wednesday 24 (aft.) „ Thursday 25 . . „ Friday 26 (aft.) „ Saturday 27 (aft.) „ Monday 29 . . „ Tuesday 30 . . „ Wednesday 31 (aft.) Jan. Thursday i . . „ Friday 2 . . New Play. The Flight of the Duchess. ist Henry IV. Don Juan * (5th time). The Importance of being Earnest. Henry V. New Play. The Flight of the Duchess. The Importance of being Ear- nest.* New Play. Saint Cecilia. Beau Austin.* The Tempest. New Play. Saint Cecilia (25th time). New Play. The Flight of the Duchess. The Tempest. Don Juan.* The Tempest. Beaii, Austin * (7th time). The Importance of being Earnest.* The Tempest. The Importance of being Earnest.* Love for Love.* The Tempest (5th time). The Tempest. The Benefit of the Doubt. (Christmas Day). ist Henry IV. (Boxing Day). The Tempest New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest. The Tempest. New Play. The Flight of the Duchess (loth time). The Tempest (loth time). New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest. The Tempest. REPERTORY 53 Jan. Saturday 3 (aft.) . Feb. Monday Tuesday Wednesday 5 • • • 6 . . . 7 (aft.) . Thursday Friday Saturday 8 . . . 9 . . . 10 (aft.) . Monday Tuesday 12 . . . 13 . . . Wednesday 14 (aft.) . Thursday Friday Saturday 15 • • • 16 . . . 17 (aft.) . Monday Tuesday Wednesday 19 . . . 20 . . . 21 (aft.) . Thursday Friday Saturday 22 . . . 23 . . . 24 (aft.) . Monday Tuesday Wednesday 26 . . . 27 . . . 28 (aft.) . Thursday Friday Saturday 29 . . . 30 . . . 31 . . . Monday Tuesday 2 . . . 3 • • • Wednesday 4 (aft.) Richard II. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest. A Pair of Spectacles.* The Tempest. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest (15th time). The Tempest. The Tempest. Love for Love.* The Tempest. New Play. Saint Cecilia (30th time). The Tempest. New Play. Saint Cecilia. A Pair of Spectacles.* The Tempest (20th time). A Pair of Spectacles* (3rd time). The Taming of the Shrew. The Tempest. The Taming of the Shrew. The Tempest. Johannisfeuer. The Taming of the Shrew. The Tempest. Johannisfeuer. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest. New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempest (25th time). The Taming of the Shrew. Johannisfeuer. The Tempest The Importance of being Earnest * (5th time). New Play. The Backwater. New Play. The Backwater. The Taming of the Shrew (5th time). The Taming of the Shrew. Johannisfeuer (4th time). 54 NATIONAL THEATRE Feb. Thursday 5 • • • . New Play. The Backwater. >» Friday 6 . . . . New Play. Saint Cecilia. 11 Saturday 7 (aft.) . . The Tempest. The Critic* t> Monday 9 . . . . The Taming of the Shrew. ij Tuesday lO . . . . The Critic* I) Wednesday II (aft.) . • New Play. The Backwater (4th time). New Play. Saint Cecilia (3sth time). fi Thursday 12 . . . . The Critic* it Friday 13 . . . . The Countess Cathleen. »> Saturday 14 (aft.) . . New Play. Saint Cecilia. The Tempe.st. »> Monday 16 . . . . New Play. Saint Cecilia. 11 Tuesday 17 . . . . The Countess Cathleeu. i» Wednesday 18 (aft.) . . The Critic* ist Henry IV. If Thursday 19 . . . . The Countess Cathleen. »> Friday 20 . . . . New Play. Saint Cecilia. i> Saturday 21 (aft.) . The Taming of the Shrew. The Critic * (sth time). I) Monday 23 . . . . The Liars. 11 Tuesday 24 . . . . New Play. Saint Cecilia. » Wednesday 25 (aft.) . . The Countess Cathleen. The Critic* II Thursday 26 . . . . The Liars. II Friday 27 . . . . The Taming of the Shiew. II Saturday 28 (aft.) . . The Liars. Hamlet. !arch Monday 2 . . . . The Critic* II Tuesday 3 • •• Hamlet. II Wednesday 4 (aft.) . . The Liars. Tlie Countess Cathleen (5th time). II Thursday 5 • • • . Hamlet. •1 Friday 6 . . , . New Play. The Chiltem Hundreds. •1 Saturday 7 (aft.) . . Hamlet. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. » Monday 9 . . . . Hamlet (5th time). REPERTORY 55 March. Tuesday Wednesday 10 . 11 (aft.) Thursday Friday Saturday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 12 . . 13 • ■ 14 (aft.) 16 . . 17 . . 18 (aft.) 19 . . 20 . Saturday 21 (aft.) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 23 • • 24 . . 25 (aft.) 26 . . 27 . . Saturday 28 (aft.) April. Monday Tuesday Wednesday 30 . . 31 • . I (aft.) The Chiltern Hun- The Chiltern Hun- The Liars (5 th time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Hamlet. New Play, dreds. New Play. dreds (5th time). The Critic* Hamlet. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Hamlet. The Liars. Richard II. (loth time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. ist Henry IV. (loth time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (loth time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. The Taming of the Shrew (loth time). Francillon. Francillon. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. New Play, dreds. Hamlet. New Play, dreds. New Play. dreds (15th time) Francillon Hamlet (loth time) The Chiltern Hun- The Chiltern Hun- The Chiltern Hun- 56 NATIONAL THEATRE April. Thursday 2 . . „ Friday 3 . . „ Saturday 4 (aft.) „ Monday 6 . . „ Tuesday 7 . . „ Wednesday 8 (aft.) „ Thursday g . . ,, Friday 10 . . „ Saturday 1 1 (aft.) „ Monday 13 (aft) „ Tuesday 14 . . „ Wednesday 15 (aft.) ,, Thursday 16 . . „ Friday 17 . . „ Saturday 18 (aft.) „ Monday 20 . . „ Tuesday 21 . . „ Wednesday 22 (aft.) ,, Thursday 23 . . „ Friday 24 . . „ Satiu-day 25 (aft.) „ Monday 27 . . 2nd Henry IV. New Play. The ChUtern Hun- dreds. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Francillon. Caste.* New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Hamlet. Caste.* (Good Friday.) Francillon (5th time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (20th time). Hamlet. (Easter Monday.) The Taming of the Shrew. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. The Liars. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Francillon. Romeo and Juliet. Caste.* New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Richard II. (Shakespeare Week.) The Tempest. The Taming of the Shrew, ist Henry IV. Hamlet. (Shakespeare's birth- day.) 2nd Henry IV (^th. time). Romeo and Juliet. Henry V. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. REPERTORY 57 April. May. Tuesday 28 . . . . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (25th time). Wednesday 29 (aft.) . . New Play. The ChUtern Hun- dreds. Francillon. Thursday 30 • ■ , Romeo and Juliet. Friday I . Hamlet. Saturday 2 (aft.) . . Romeo and Juliet. La Robe Rouge. Monday 4 . La Robe Rouge. Tuesday 5 . The Liars. Wednesday 6 (aft.) . . Hamlet (15th time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dred.s. Thursday 7 > • • . La Robe Rouge. Friday 8 . Every Man in His Humour. Saturday 9 (aft.) . . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Romeo and Juliet (5th time). Monday II • . • . Romeo and Juliet. Tuesday 12 . . . . New Play. The ChUtern Hun- dreds. Wednesday 13 (aft.) . . Caste.* Hamlet. Thursday 14 . Every Man in His Humour. Friday IS . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. Satui-day 16 (aft.) . . La Robe Rouge. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (30th time). Monday 18 . . . . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. Tuesday 19 ■ ■ • , Romeo and Juliet. Wednesday 20 (aft.) . Every Man in His Humour. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Thursday 21 • ■ • , New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. Friday 22 • • • . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Saturday 23 (aft.) . . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. Hamlet. 58 NATIONAL THEATRE tfay. Monday 25 . . La Robe Rouge (5th time). „ Tuesday 26 . . . . Lady Huntworth's Experi- ment. „ Wednesday 27 (aft.) . . Romeo and Juliet. New Play. Hodge and the Vicar (5th time). „ Thursday 28 • . Lady Huntworth's Experiment. „ Friday 29 . . . . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. „ Saturday 30 (aft.) . . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Every Man in His Humour. June. Monday I • • • Lady Huntworth's Experiment. „ Tuesday 2 • • • . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar. „ Wednesday 3 (aft.) . . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. As You Like It. „ Thursday 4 • • • . As You Like It. „ Friday 5 • • • . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (3sth time). „ Saturday 6 (aft.) . . Francillon. As You Like It. „ Monday 8 • • • . Romeo and Juliet. „ Tuesday 9 . Trelawny of the Wells. „ Wednesday 10 (aft.) . . New Play. Hodge and the Vicar (8th time). Lady Huntworth's Experiment. „ Thursday II . . • . Trelawny of the Wells. „ Friday 12 • • • . Every Man in His Humour (5th time). „ Saturday 13 (aft.) . . As You Like It. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. „ Monday IS . . . Trelawny of the Wells. „ Tuesday 16 • • • . New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. „ Wednesday 17 (aft.) . . As You Like It (5 th time). Trelawny of the Wells. „ Thursday 18 . • . Caste (5th time). „ Friday '9 • • . Pelleas and Melisande. REPERTORY 59 June. Saturday 20 (aft.) Monday Tuesday 23 . . Wednesday 24 (aft.) Thursday 25 . . Friday 26 . . »j Saturday 27 (aft.) Monday 29 . . Tuesday 30 . . iiy- Wednesday i (aft.) >> Thursday 2 . . Friday 3 . . Saturday 4 (aft.) Monday 6 . . Tuesday 7 . . Wednesday 8 (aft.) Thursday 9 . . Friday 10 . Saturday n (aft.) Monday 13 , . Tuesday 14 . . Wednesday 15 (aft.) Thursday 16 . . Hamlet. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Romeo and Juliet (loth time). Lady Huntworth's Experiment (loth time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (40th time). Pelleas and Melisande.* Trelawny of the Wells (sth time). Pelleas and Melisande.* As You Like It. As You Like It. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Pelleas and Meli.sande.* Eomeo and Juliet. Pelleas and Melisande * (5th time). Every Man in His Humour. Lady Huntworth's Experiment. La Robe Rouge. Pelleas arid Mdisande* (6th time). Francillon. As You Like It. La Robe Rouge (7 th time). Romeo and Juliet. Lady Huntworth's Experiment (7th time). Caste.* Money. New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds. Money (2nd time). Richard II. (12th time). Trelawny of the Wells (6th time). Caste* (7th time). 6o NATIONAL THEATRE July. Friday 17 . . ,, Satui'day 18 (aft.) „ Monday 20 . . „ Tuesday 21 . . „ Wednesday 22 . . Thursday 23 . . Friday 24 . . Saturday 25 (aft) Monday 27 . . Tuesday 28 . . Wednesday 29 (aft.) Thursday 30 . , „ Friday Aug. Saturday 31 I (aft.) New Play. Saint Cecilia (40th time). ist Henry IV. (12th time). Romeo and Juliet (13th time). The Critic * (9th time). Henry V. (loth time). New Play. Saint Cecilia (41st time). Francillon (loth time). As You Like It (9th time). The Benefit of the Doubt (12th time). Evert/ Man in His Humour (7th time). Hamlet (19th time). Love for Love (9th time), Tlie Liars (9th time). The Tempest (30th time). Don Juan* (7th time). The Taming of the Shrew (13th time). The Countess Cathleen (6th time). New Play. The Chiltern Hun- dreds (43rd time). The Tempest (31st time). SECTION V Expenses in Front of the House — Refreshments — Music. In presenting our estimate of expenses " in front of the house," we have only one comment to make. The reader who examines our proposed system of Subscription Booking (Appendix C) may be disposed to think that it will demand a larger booking-office staff than we have allowed. After giving the matter careful thought, however, we believe that this is not the case. When once the system was in working order, the subscription seats could be allotted and distributed very quickly. Monday afternoon (according to our arrangement in Rule 7, p. 142) would, doubtless, be a busy time at the Theatre ; and the services of the whole secretarial staff, except the Director's Secretary, might have to be requisi- tioned ; but the work of the remainder of the week would be proportionately lightened. On the whole, we believe that the system would mean economy in box-office work rather than the reverse. Salaries ix Front of the House. Acting Manager 1 ....... jC3°° ° Box-office : — ist Clerk 1 250 o 2nd Clerk 1 ....... 200 o 3rd Clerk- ....... 75 o ' Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. - Also Upper Circle Money-taker. 62 NATIONAL THEATRE Salaries in Front of the Hoi "SE — ( •ontinued. Secretarial Staff : — Director's Secretary 200 Two Typists at ^2 a week . 200 Two Typists at j£i, 10s. a week ISO Three Money-takers at ;^i a week . 150 Five Check-takers at ;^i a week^ . 250 Housekeeper 125 Ten Cleaners at los. 6d. a week - . 262 10 Three Firemen at ^2 a week . 300 Hall Porter 75 Assistant to Hall Porter . 40 Twelve Ushers at i6s. a week . 4S0 Eight Cloakroom Attendants at i6s. a week 320 Total • £zzn 10 The Refreshment Rooms ought, if properly managed, to bring in a substantial revenue. The extravagant prices and execrable quality of the refreshments supplied at most London theatres constitute one of the scandals and stupidities of the present system. At many theatres the refreshment-contractor is also licensed to demand sixpence for a playbill covered with advertisements, and for the privilege of depositing an overcoat or umbrella at the cloak-room. All these abuses would of course be done away with. The refreshment-room would no longer be a mere drinking-bar, but more like a comfortable and well-managed tea-room — with a license. At the theatre bar of to-day, nothing is to be had to eat, except, perhaps, a few macaroons and stale sponge-cakes. This is a great mistake. At afternoon performances, in particular, ' Men in uniform, employed at the end of the performance as linkmen. - This (current) rate is too low ; but as 7 or 8 of the cleaners would also be em- ployed as dressers (see p. 67) the figure here stated is probably in excess of what would actually have to be paid under this head, even if the wages for cleaning alone were considerably increased. MUSIC 63 there would certainly be a good demand for light eatables of many descriptions, attractively and comfortably served, at moderate prices. The management would, of course, keep this department in its own control ; and as the public would be in every way encouraged to leave the auditorium between the acts, the refreshment-rooms would doubtless do a thriving trade. We believe that we are within the mark in estimating the profit at _^iooo a year, which sum we accordingly set off against our total expenses. (See p. 103.) In many continental theatres, part of the ground-floor of the building is occupied by a cafd-restaurant, distinct from the theatre, and usually let to a private caterer. Such a restaurant, whether let or retained in the hands of the management, would be a very desirable adjunct to this Theatre, as it would be found a great convenience by those habitual frequenters whom the management ought to make every endeavour to attract. (See remarks on the subscription system, pp. 85 and 140.) The site might or might not be large enough to allow of the in- clusion of a restaurant in the building ; and even if it were large enough, there seems to be some doubt as to whether the County Council regulations would not stand in the way of the scheme. This double uncertainty naturally debars us from reckoning on the restaurant as a source of revenue ; but should it prove possible it would certainly prove profitable. Salaries of Musical Staff. Conductor ^ . jQ 600 Twelve Bandsmen at ^150 a year . . . 1800 Twelve Bandsmen at _;^ 1 25 a year . , . 1500 Total , , ;!£^39oo * Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. 64 NATIONAL THEATRE At the Th^S.tre-Fran§ais, and indeed at most of the leading theatres of France and Germany, interact music is altogether dispensed with. We considered the possibility of following this example, but decided not to do so. The innovation would, no doubt, be welcomed by many people ; but the majority would as yet be opposed to it. Nor, in a theatre where Shakespeare was constantly in the bill, would the abolition of interact music mean any considerable economy. In most of Shakespeare's plays a certain amount of music is absolutely indispensable. A com- petent musical staff would therefore have to be provided ; and any attempt to secure the services of this stajQf intermittently, for Shakespearean nights alone, would result in inefficiency without economy. It must therefore be a permanent staff; and there would clearly be no economy in leaving it unemployed on nights when its services were not absolutely necessary. At the same time, there is no doubt that many people sincerely dislike to have irrelevant music thrust upon them between the acts of a play which demands no musical accompaniment. By way of meeting all tastes, then, we propose that only " incidental music " — that is, music specially composed for a play, and believed to be par- ticularly appropriate to it — shall be performed by the orchestra in its usual place in the auditorium (or beneath the stage) ; and that, when plays are being given which neither possess nor admit of " incidental music," the orchestra shall play between the acts, not in the auditorium, but in the Saloon.^ This system will have the advantage of giving people an extra inducement to leave the auditorium between the acts ; while those can always remain in it who do not wish to have the continuity of their emotion in- terrupted — or their conversation drowned — by music. In order ' An overture, before the rise of the curtain, might or might not be performed in the auditorium. MUSIC 65 that this system may work satisfactorily, the Saloon must be designed in two storeys, as it were — the main hall being devoted to the occupants of the stalls and first circle, while the galleries or loggias round it shall accommodate the public of the upper tiers. Refreshments, as above indicated, would be served in rooms opening off the Saloon. If the system were properly carried out, audiences would soon come to regard the interacts, not as necessary inflictions, but as a substantive element in the pleasures of the evening. SECTION VI Expenses behind the Scenes — System of Producing. In this Section we estimate the salaries of all employees behind the scenes, other than those who appear on the stage. Salaries alone are included ; the cost of materials, &c., in the Scene-room and Wardrobe departments will be found in the next Section, under the head of " General Expenses." Salaries behind the Scenes. Stage-Manager! Head-Prompter and Librarian ^ . . . Three Under-Prompters at £ioo a year . TwoCall-Boys. ... ... Two Producers 1 at ;^7 50 a year Producing fees to actors who may undertake produc tions ........ Scene-Room StaflP : ^ — Principal Scenic Artist* .... Second Scenic Artist 1 .... Two Labourers at ^^75 a year . Wardrobe Staff :— Chief of Wardrobe * .... First Assistant ^ Second Assistant ..... Wardrobe Mistress ^ .... Extra workers not permanently employed ^600 300 300 70 1500 600 600 300 150 300 200 100 250 700 ' Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. ^ The Principal Scenic Artist would have the right to take pupils. 66 BEHIND THE SCENES Salaeies behind the Scenes — continued. Carpenter's Staff : ' — Master Carpenter^ .... Six Daymen at ^^i, 4s. a week Five Nightmen ' at _;^i a week Twenty Nightmen at i6b. a week Property Staff : — Property Master and Modeller ' Head Dayman ..... Three Daymen at _;^i, 4s. a week Seven Nightmen at i6s. a week Engineer's Staff : — Chief Electrician ^ . . . . One Dayman at ^2, los. a week One Cleaner at ;^i, 4s. a week . Six Nightmen at 1 6a a week . Fifteen Dressers at 16s. a week Extra payments to Nightmen and Dressers for an average of 2 dress-rehearsals a week Stage-Doorkeeper 2 ..... Assistant Stage-Doorkeeper * . 67 Total £230 360 250 Soo 200 125 180 280 200 125 60 160 600 542 10 100 75 £\o,2Ti 10 It will be observed that for the production of pla3's we have provided by the appointment of two " Producers " and the allotment of a sum for special fees to actors of the com- pany who may undertake occasional productions. The assign- ment of certain productions to actors of the company (who, ' To those accustomed to the mechanical conditions generally prevalent in English theatres, the Carpenter's Staff and Property Staff may seem unduly small. It must be remembered that we assume the stage to be fitted with labour-saving appliances, at present scarcely known in England, and that we contemplate a considerable simplifi- cation of the scenery that will have to be handled. See Section VII. p. 72. More- over, the more permanent conditions of employment which would obtain in this as in other dejiartments of the Theatre would in time, perhaps, get rid of some of the labour- wasting specialisations of function which now exist. 2 Entitled to privileges of Pension Fund. ' Two headmen on stage, two headmen in flies, one headman in cellar. * Also employed in front of the house. 68 NATIONAL THEATRE of course, must in no case themselves have any part in the productions in question) has this advantage among others, that it enables the management to obtain variety in methods of production, while attaching to the Theatre actors of great value in particular parts, whose range might be too limited to assure them adequate employment without the aid of a supplemen- tary activity, such as that of producing. Such actors are often good producers of difficult plays, and, as a leaven to the general mass, may prove of great value to the Theatre. The number of performances guaranteed to such an actor in his contract would be small, but it should be understood that his whole income would be brought up to a certain minimum, either by extra performances or by the fees for one or two productions. Experience would soon show how these fees could most conveniently be regulated — whether in the shape of a lump sum for each production, or a fee for each full rehearsal. Of the two Producers, one would probably be mainly employed upon rhetorical and costume plays, the other upon modern and realistic plays. It is needless to speculate whether this would grow into a hard-and-fast distinction. Though the functions of the Producer include what is commonly • known as stage-management — the regulation of entrances, exits, positions, business, &c. — the Stage-Manager, properly so called, is wholly distinct from the Producer of a play. The routine of a play's production will be somewhat as follows : — Upon the decision of the Heading Committee to produce or revive a play, the date of its first performance will be fixed (approximately at any rate) by the Director, probably in consultation with the Business Manager and the PRODUCING 69 Stage-Manager. The Director will then select a Producer, and the book of the play will be handed over to him. One of the three under-prompters will also be allotted to him as his lieutenant, to take charge of all the minor details. Although the Producer must, of course, be in constant touch with the Stage-Manager, the latter's active responsibility for the pro- duction will not begin until it reaches the dress-rehearsal period. The Stage-Manager's lieutenant, the Head-Prompter, being in charge of the stage and rehearsal-room, will have to arrange the time-table of rehearsals. The Director will cast the play in consultation with the Producer. When the Producer has thought out his scheme of production, he will again consult with the Director, and this time also with the Stage-Manager, the Scene-Painter, and the head of the wardrobe. At this juncture the Pro- ducer's ideas will be liable to criticism and modification, the last word on any disputed point lying always with the Director. The plan of production will at this stage be laid down in as much detail as possible. Eehearsals will begin, and although the Director, over- seeing everything, may attend one or two, he will probably reserve all official criticism till a later period. The Producer, at all events, wiU be solely responsible for the play until the dress- and scene-rehearsals begin. The Stage-Manager's con- trol of the play begins with the first fuU-dress rehearsal. He is responsible for all the mechanical work on the stage. The Producer retains artistic authority, subject to the official criti- cism of the Director. No excision or alteration in the text of a play may be made, either before or after production, except in consulta- tion between the Producer and the Director. In the case of 70 NATIONAL THEATRE an original modern play, the author's rights in this matter — and on all other matters concerning the production — will of course be determined, by his contract with the Theatre. Some authors will no doubt produce their own plays. In such cases they might either be treated in all respects as official producers; or an actor-producer might be assigned to them as advisory assistant. The Producer's responsibility for a play does not end with its production. He must if possible attend any extra rehearsals occasioned by a change of cast, or by a perfor- mance taking place after an interval of some weeks. He remains until the end of the season artistically in charge of a play which he has produced. Understudy rehearsals would be conducted by the Head- Prompter, assisted by the under-prompter attached to the play. It would be the Head-Prompter's duty, as Librarian, to have in charge, after production, the prompt copies and scene-models of a play, and he would be expected to make himself acquainted with the main lines of its business. He should be able to conduct a plain rehearsal of any play in the repertory — such a rehearsal as would give a newcomer ease among an established cast. There should be one full understudy rehearsal of every play, which the Producer of the play should attend. In the case of revivals of plays performed in past seasons, the Producer would of course have access to all existing prompt-books. He must, however, create a prompt-book of his own, which will be endorsed with his name, and will re- main the property of the Theatre. The careful and intelligent marking of these books would be a most important matter. SECTION VII General Expenses : Scenery, Dresses, Lighting, Advertising, &c. Under the head of General Expenses we include all items of outlay, both before and behind the scenes, which do not take the form of salaries, and are chargeable to the profit-and-loss account of the Theatre. It will be remembered that rates, taxes, insurance premium, and the cost of repairs to the building, fix- tures, furniture, machinery, &c. (as distinct from scenery and properties employed on the stage), are assumed to be covered by the endowment of the Theatre. They are met (according to our scheme — see Section XII.) by the interest on the Guarantee Fund. If at any time the Guarantee Fund fell so low that the interest on it did not cover these items of outlay, the deficit would have to be charged to the General Expenses. Geneeal Expenses. Scenery (materials and making) , Furniture and Properties .... Costumes : — Modern Plays (ladies' dresses) Costume Plays (materials) . , Wigs (contract) ...... Electric Light (whole house) at jC^o a week Electric limes (average of 15' lights, at i8s. a week Heating, and (if necessary) gas . Advertising ...... Printing (repertory-lists for Subscribers, window-bills, playbills, booking-sheets, and tickets), at ;^i2 a week Stationery and Petty Cash (postages, &c.),at_;^2oa week Special Production Expenses (see p. xxi) Total 7« each) 838 2,480 960 350 1,500 67s 150 2,500 600 1,000 1.569 • ;>^i4,oSO 72 NATIONAL THEATRE Our estimate of expenses connected with scenery may seem surprisingly low, in contrast to the gigantic outlay which managers are said to incur in placing, for example, a great " Shakespearean revival " on the stage. There is generally some exaggeration in these rumours ; but it is no doubt pos- sible for a manager to spend a great deal of money in having scenery specially built and painted, by contract, for each new production at his theatre — scenery which is largely unadaptable to any other production, and unusable on any other stage than his own. Storage, too, is so expensive that, unless a scene is quite certain to be used again in very much its original shape, it does not pay to keep it ; and the result is that a large propor- tion of the scenery painted in London to-day is sold, after its first " run " is over, for its value in wood and canvas. But this wasteful method is not that actually employed at the most suc- cessful theatres, and it would certainly not be employed at the Theatre we are outlining. Scenery might be " made," * under the supervision of a second Master Carpenter, in workshops belonging to the Theatre ; but it is doubtful whether this would mean any economy upon the contract price here allowed for. It would be painted by the regularly employed scene-room staflF. Moreover, waste would be reduced to a minimum by the plan of building to certain standard proportions every piece of scenery and every " rostrum " or other structure used on the stage (which must have no " rake " in it), thus securing great interchangeability of parts. In the course of an average year's working, then, at least as much labour would probably go to the repainting and adapting of old scenery as to the manufacture of new. It is quite possible to have scenery of ' It is scarcely necessary to point out the distinction between the making of a scene — its construction in wood and canvas — and the painting of it. SCENERY 73 great beauty and perfect appropriateness without having recourse to those massive and costly constructions with which the stage is now so often encumbered. The ideal to be aimed at is not that the disclosure of the scene, on the rise of the curtain, should be greeted with " Oh's ! " " Ah's ! " and rounds of applause, but that, as the action progresses, the audience should feel, perhaps subconsciously, the unobtrusive harmony of the scenic background. The method by which our estimate is attained is this : We have calculated the number of scenes necessary for the mounting of the first year's repertory, and find them to be (approximately) eighty-six full sets and thirty front cloths. The cost of " mak- ing " (as distinct from painting) the sets would vary considerably, but after careful inquiry we believe that we may fairly average it at ;^6o a set ; while the front cloths could be made at ^5 each. This gives us a total of ^5160 for the making of sets, and ;^I50 for the making of cloths — in all, ;^53io. Reckoning, then, the average period of service of a piece of scenery at four years, in order to find the annual expense of " making " sufficient to keep the stock up to this level, we divide ;^53io by 4, and arrive in round numbers at the sum of ;i^i328. This figure, then, repre- sents the contract cost of one year's construction of scenery. The painting is, of course, provided for in the scene-room salaries (.2^1050); and these two sums, together with ;i{^ioo for scene-room materials (paint, size, brushes, &c.), represent the whole annual outlay for scenery — namely, jC2^'/S. Our estimate for costumes was a somewhat more complex matter. Here we had, in the first place, to distinguish between the costumes for " costume " plays, which would be made in the Theatre, and ladies' dresses for modem plays, which would not. Let us take the latter first. After a great deal of discussion 74 NATIONAL THEATRE and consultation of authorities, we determined, in this as in other cases, to adopt an outside estimate. We concluded that the ladies' dresses for the modem new plays of our specimen season might be set down at ;i^iioo, and the ladies' dresses for the modern revivals at ^2000, making ;^3ioo in all. Then came the question how much of this sum would be chargeable to the current expenses of a normal season. In order to answer this question we had to estimate the value of the dresses — not, of course, their selling value, but their value to the Theatre — after a season's use. Here, again, we took an outside estimate, and concluded that they would be depreciated by four-fifths, or, in other words, worth only one-fifth of what they had cost. On these assumptions, then, the amount chargeable to a single season worked out at ;i^248o. This figure we put down rather in deference to criticism than as representing our own judgment. We believe that both the total estimate and the estimate for depreciation are too high. For this particular season, indeed, the total estimate may not be excessive ; but, as we have pointed out on p. 42, it must be remembered that in this season the drawing-room play, with its lavish millinery, occupies a much larger space than it pro- bably would in a normal season, after the Theatre had been some years at work. Drawing-room plays, both new and re- vived, would no doubt continue to hold a certain place in the repertory ; but, on the other hand, many modern plays would be produced (and in course of time revived) which not only might, but must, be quite inexpensively dressed. Again, as to depreciation, it is of course true that the remaking and adapting which are possible in the case of historical costumes are prac- tically impossible in the case of modem dresses. But a con- siderable number of dresses could certainly be carried forward. COSTUMES 75 unaltered, from one season to the next. In our specimen season, for instance, The Importance of being Earnest is re- vived and acted 5 times. Suppose that the Director put it up again for 5 or 10 performances in the following season — is it to be imagined that he could not do so without re-dressing it? Dowdiness or shabbiness of costume would, of course, be out of the question ; but it would soon come to be understood that, while new productions of the drawing-room order would be " gowned " in the latest mode, modern plays which formed part of the current repertory would not be re-gowned season by season, in exact observance of every fluctuation of fashion. It would be part of the Director's business to decide when the costumes in a modern play had (apart from wear and tear) become so obsolete as to require renewal. For these reasons we believe that our total estimate for modem dresses might be considerably reduced for the purposes of a normal season, and that the depreciation might fairly be put down at two-thirds instead of four-fifths. As regards historical costumes (to be made in the Theatre) our method was this : we obtained an estimate for the costumes required in all the old plays of our specimen season, supposing them to be made by contract under present conditions, though not, of course, with the profuse employment of costly materials which characterises a long-run spectacular revival. The estimate amounted to /8860. From this we deducted 25 per cent. (^2215), as representing the maker's profit, thus leaving ^6645. From this again we deducted ^2895, being our informant's estimate for the labour employed in making these costumes. There remained, then, a sum of /3750, representing the cost of material. We now assumed that, taking one style with another, there would be, on an average, four years' service in 76 NATIONAL THEATRE the costumes. Accordingly we divided by four the cost of the materials required for our opening season, and arrived at ;^96o as an approximate estimate of the yearly outlay for materials required in costume plays. The expense of making these costumes is of course represented in the salaries of the Wardrobe Staff in our estimate of expenses " Behind the Scenes." Our allowance for furniture and properties we arrived at by estimating the total cost of the furniture and properties required for the specimen season (^4704), and assuming eight years to be the average working life of an article of furniture. This we believe to be a low estimate, allowing a large margin for the cost of repairs. One-eighth of ^4704, or ^^588, was therefore the sum chargeable to a normal season ; and to this we added a " property bill " of ^5 a week for sundry materials and consumables, making ;^838 in all.* Our estimate for advertising — practically ;i^50 a week — we believe to be ample. As before remarked, such an institution as this ought to be — and must be, if it is to succeed — in great ' In a footnote on p. 6, ;^20,ooo is put down as the probable cost of the initial stock which the Donor would have to provide. That sum is arrived at as follows : — Scenery. — Our estimate for the "making" of the whole scenery for the opening season is ;^53io. To this we add ^3000 as a probable estimate for the cost of paint- ing, thus finding the whole cost of making and painting the first season's scenery to work out at ;if83io. From this, then, we deduct ;£2478, being our estimate for scene- room salaries and cost of " making" during a normal season, and arrive at jCS^j'^i ^ the cost of the scenery which the Donor would have to supply in order to place the opening season on the financial footing of an ordinary year. Costumes. — The ladies' modem dresses for the whole season are estimated to cost ^3100, and four-fifths of that sum is reckoned as chargeable to the current expenses of a normal season. Therefore, one-fifth (^620) has to be .supplied by the Donor. The price of historical costumes for the opening season is estimated at ^8860, from which we deduct ^960, being the cost of materials for a normal season, and ;{^i885, being the wardrobe-department salaries for a normal season, thus arriving at ^6015 as the pro- portion chargeable to the Donor. Properties. — The whole estimate for furniture and properties for the opening season ADVERTISEMENT 77 measure its own advertisement. It must stand out from its surroundings and attract attention in virtue of its inherent dignity and largeness of design. It would not be one of a crowd of entertainment-houses clamorously over-bidding one another for popular favour. Its aim in advertising should not be to obtrude itself upon the notice of the casual newspaper- reader, but to afford readily accessible information as to its doings for all who choose to look for it. We may also point out that the proposed subscription system (Appendix C), by which notifications of the repertory for two weeks ahead would every week be forwarded to subscribers, would in itself be an eflFective form of advertising. came to £,^^o^. From this we deduct one-eighth as the proportion chargeable to a normal season, and find ^41 16 to be provided by the Donor. Thus the outlay necessary to place the opening season on the financial footing of a normal season would be : — Scenery £'i^^Tfl Ladies' modern dresses 620 Historical costumes 6,015 Properties, &o. 4)ii6 Total .... ^£16,583 There would also be musical instruments to be provided for use on the sfcige (pianos, harmonium, small organ, &c., &c.), and perhaps some specially costly pieces of armour and historical properties. Therefore we think ^20,000 a probable estimate for the cost of the initial stock. SECTION VIII The Auditorium — Seat Capacity and Money Capacity — Prices — Subscription (Abonnement) System. The seating capacity of the Theatre, with its correlative money-containing capacity, is a very important matter to be considered. The enterprise might be seriously handicapped, or even ruined, by a too large or too small auditorium. In order to afford a basis for comparisons, we here give a tabular statement of the seating [capacity of several well-known London theatres : — Drury Lane Adelphi (before reconstruction) Shaftesbury Duke of York's New Theatre St. James's . Prince of Wales's Avenue Comedy Savoy . Haymarket . Vaudeville . 3500 2300 1800 1300 1264 1260 1 200 1200 1185 1150 1 100 1000 It appears, then, that the seating capacity of a medium- sized London theatre of to-day ranges from iioo to 1300. The Shaftesbury, indeed, which is not an extravagantly large house, seats 1 800, and the Adelphi over 2000 ; but each of these theatres contains a large pit and gallery in which the audience can be much more tightly packed than it would be in even the 78 THE AUDITORIUM 79 cheapest seats of the National Theatre, while many of the seats probably command but an indifferent view of the stage. Taking these things into account, we had originally placed the seating capacity of the Theatre here outlined at 1350; but more than one critic of very high authority urged us to recon- sider and increase this estimate. "The Theatre," we were told, " must be in a position to ' make hay while the sun shines,' or, in other words, to take the fullest advantage of the first flush of popularity attending a successful production. When a play hits the popular fancy, it is always found that, during the first few weeks, crowds of people have to be turned away, many of whom do not come back again. In this Theatre, in which the number of performances a play can attain is strictly limited, it is all the more necessary that, in the case of a success, this limited number of performances should be as fruitful as possible. The classical repertory will have to be supported largely upon the profits made by successful modern plays ; therefore the Theatre must be large enough to leave a very wide margin of profit on such productions." That the classical repertory must live on the modem plays, we do not admit ; but otherwise we agree with this reasoning. The only question is how far the capacity of the auditorium may be extended without rendering it too large for clear sight, easy hearing, and a sense of intimate relationship between the actor and the audience.* This is an architectural problem, to be solved only by experiment ; but on careful inquiry we ' It must be remembered, too, that a house with accommodation for a great many more people than the average audience it can hope to attract, seems emptier than it really is when the audience falls below the average: so that even a fairly remunerative audience may be so sparsely scattered as to look, and feel, like a depressingly "bad house." The system of obviating this inconvenience by " papering " the house would of course be rigorously excluded at the National Theatre. 8o NATIONAL THEATRE are disposed to accept the view that our original estimate was too low. Everything depends upon the skill of the designer. Some theatres which seem enormous seat comparatively few people ; others, which seat a large number, seem compact and comfortable. One point is certain : namely, that the Theatre must be designed primarily for modern plays. It is possible to fit a Shakespearean production into a house adapted for modern drama ; it is impossible to give modem drama its proper effect in a theatre primarily designed for spectacular productions. If we look abroad for guidance the evidence is a little difficult of interpretation. We have not exact information as to the French theatres, but we have reason to believe that neither the Th^atre-Frangais nor the Od^on can seat more than 1 200 spectators. These seem to the eye very large theatres ; their comparatively small capacity is probably due to the fact that their galleries are verj' shallow. A large part of each gallery, in fact, is given up to boxes, in which the spectators cannot sit more than two deep. For the same reason the Burgtheater in Vienna looks large in proportion to its seating capacity, which is 1474. On the other hand, the Deutsches Volkstheater of Vienna, a most commodious theatre where every class of play is performed, accommodates the aston- ishing number of 1873 spectators. We say "accommodates,"' not " seats," for the " Stehparterre " or " standing-pit " is an institution in this, as in many other Austrian theatres, a special price being charged for " standing-room only." But even if we deduct 200 for standing-room (a large conjecture) there remain over 1650 comfortable and roomy seats. Among other Viennese theatres, the Eaimund-Theater accommodates 1607 spectators, and the Kaiserjubilaums - Stadttheater 1885. The Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague, a house of no inordinate dimen- SEAT-CAPACITY 8i sions, contains 1800 places. The National Theatre in Christiania — an admirable house both for modern and historical drama — accommodates 1400 people with the utmost comfort. In most of these theatres — indeed we believe in all — the galleries are of inconsiderable depth, the system of carrying them well forward, so as to bring a large proportion of the audience comparatively close to the stage, being little practised on the Continent. We believe then, on reconsideration, that it would be possible to design a house — with deep galleries well brought forward, and with a moderate proscenium opening — which might, without seeming unduly vast or cavernous, accommodate from 1550 to 1600 spectators. Let us assume that 1550* represents the utmost capa- city of the Theatre. Our next step is to exclude from our calculations the odd 50 places. It is probable that there would be a certain number of boxes which would contain the most expensive seats in the house ; but until the Theatre is actually designed we must leave this feature in doubt Furthermore, there would have to be a certain, though strictly limited, number of free admissions, for students of the Training School, members of the company not employed in the per- formance in progress, &c., &c. On first nights, too, free seats might ^ have to be allotted to the Press. These 50 seats, then, • One eminent authority who has examined our scheme is of opinion that the house might, without inconvenience,'be so constructed as to hold, at full prices, £^70 or £2,^0, instead of the ^345 allowed for in this estimate. The addition of icxj six- shilling seats would bring the capacity of the house, at full prices, up to ^375, and at "ordinary" rates (as explained below, p. 86) from /301, 12s. up to ^328, 5s. This would certainly make a great differencejn the yearly balance-sheet, and it is not at all inconceivable that an otherwise] suitable theatre might be designed which should hold an audience of 1650. We do not feel sufficiently confident of this to make it a basis of calculation ; but see footnote, p. 108. 2 We say "might," for we believe that at this Theatre it might be possible to introduce a more satisfactory system than that of free admissions for the theatrical F 82 NATIONAL THEATRE we assume to be partly box seats, partly free seats. In so far as they may be box seats, they leave a margin to the good in our calculations. There remain 1500 seats to be disposed of, and for the purposes of this calculation we reckon the " House Full " when these 1500 seats are all sold. A probable apportionment of them might be as follows : — Stalls (occupying the whole floor of the house) — Front Rows 300 seats. Back Rows , 150 tf First Circle — Front Rows 200 Back Rows 200 Second Cucle — Front Rows ISC- Back Rows ISO Third Circle Front Rows , 15° Back Rows (Gallery) 200 Total . . . 1500 J) critics. Under present conditions it is ve ry difficult for a critic, be he never so willing, to pay for his seat, seeing that first-night places do not come into the market, or can at best be secured with great trouble. Exorbitant prices, too, stand in the way of the admittedly healthier system by which the critic should pay for his seat. Takini; a hint from Vienna, we suggest that at the National Theatre a special seat should be allotted to every paper on the Press list, and that the critic of that paper should always be able to secure its special seat by sending in an application before a certain stated time, accompanied by the subscription price of the place — which, as hereafter explained, would be 63. if it be in the front rows of the stalls, 5s. if it he in the back rows of the stalls or front rows of the first circle. As there would be about twenty-three important first nights in the season, this would mean that a critic's attendance at all of them would cost his paper either £,(>, i8s. or ^5, 15s. It is probable that a few critics would want to follow the performances of the Theatre very closely, as Francisque Sarcey followed those of the Thciatre-Franfais, and would attend not only on first nights but on many others as well. It would of course be competent for the Director, recognising the services such a critic may render the Theatre, to place him on the free list for ordinary nights, as distinct from first nights. PRICES 83 It is beyond question that the prices at the National Theatre ought to be considerably lower than those which at present prevail in the West End of London. Experiments in the direction of lower prices have not hitherto succeeded, because they have been made at theatres which had somehow or other fallen into bad odour, and have always been associated with inferior entertainments. They have been a last resource against failure, and an ineflFectual one. So distinctly do theatres lose caste when prices are lowered, that in most leases there is a clause forbidding any such reduction. The half-guinea stall, however, is a product of the long-run system, and can maintain its ground only at long-run theatres. People will face high prices in order to see a play that is in vogue, that is "run upon"; even if they dislike it, they have the satisfaction of being able to say so with authority. But unless they know that all the world is flocking to a play, they will not pay half a guinea (or other sums in proportion) in order to find out for themselves whether it is or is not to their taste. High prices, then, are among the chief reasons why there is seldom any medium, under present conditions, between huge success and total failure. But the experiment has never been tried of starting at moderate prices a new theatre, quite obviously of the first rank. We are not sure that even in the case of a long-run theatre the policy might not prove a sound one. For a repertory theatre, at any rate, it is essential. It must not rely upon "rushes" anymore than it relies upon " runs." To the great body of its public it must be a place of habitual resort, not merely a place to be visited, at cost of much trouble, discomfort, and money, when some particular entertainment happens to be so much in vogue as to supply a motive for disregarding these drawbacks. The present scale 84 NATIONAL THEATRE of prices means large profits in the case of a successful new play, or spectacular revival, while at the height of its vogue ; but in the absence of such special attractions, it undoubtedly tends to keep people out of the theatres. Now, at the National Theatre there would be no spectacular revivals ; and though there would no doubt be new plays which people would be eager to see even at high prices, they would not constitute the bulk of the repertory, nor would it be reasonable to fix the scale of prices with a special view to such pieces as were likely to be in exceptionally keen demand. It has been suggested that two or three rows of stalls should be sold at the current half-guinea rate. But which rows ? Certainly not those nearest the stage, for they are not the most desirable. Nor would it seem feasible to charge half a guinea for a strip of three rows in the middle of the stalls, while the rows in front and behind were sold at 7s. 6d. In short, we are firm in our belief that a general reduction of prices is the true policy for this Theatre. The following table shows the prices which we suggest as reasonable, and the receipts which they would produce : — Stalls- FULL PRICES. Front Rows Back Rows First Circle — 300 seats at 7s. 150 „ 6a. 6d. £ 112 45 10 Front Rows 200 seats at 6s. 60 Back Rows Second Circle — , 200 „ 5s. 5° Front Rows Back Rows Third Circle- 150 seats at 4s. 150 „ 2S. 6d. 30 18 Front Rows Back Rows (G allery) 150 seats at 2s. 200 ,, IS. Total . 6d. 18 10 IS £ u.s SUBSCRIPTION SYSTEM 85 Thus the full capacity of the house (boxes apart) at full prices would be ;!^345. But only on comparatively rare occasions would all the seats be sold at full prices. , On ordinary nights, according to the system fully set forth in Appendix C, the greater number of places would probably be sold at subscription (abonnement) prices. Under the German abonnement system, the " Abonnent " usually buys a certain seat for a fixed series of evenings — say every Friday throughout the season, or every second Monday, or whatever the arrange- ment may be. We do not believe that this arrangement would be practicable in London, except in special cases. We suggest that there should be, during part of the season at any rate, a series of fashionable Thursday evenings (like the "Mardis" of the Thdatre-Francais), for which people should engage a particular seat or group of seats at full rates,^ knowing that the Theatre would on these evenings be the rendezvous of their " set," and of course expecting a different play to be presented on each evening of the series. But these " special subscription " evenings have nothing to do with the ordinary subscription system which we would propose to introduce. This is founded on the common principle of " a reduction on taking a quantity." Every one buying ten places at a time would save from one-and-sixpence to sixpence on each place. For details of the system we refer the reader to the Appendix (p. 140). In the meantime, we proceed to calculate the capacity of the house on the assumption that one-third of the seats are sold at full rates and two-thirds at subscription rates : — ' It might even be found that people were willing to pay advanced rates — say, the current theatrical prices of to-day — for these special subscription seats. It would simply be a question of supply and demand. There would be no objection in principle to advancing the prices for these particular evenings. 86 NATIONAL THEATRE "ORDINARY" PRICES. Stalls- Front Rows 100 seats at 7s. 6d. £?,! 10 Back Bows 200 „ 6s. 50 „ 6s. 60 IS First Circle- 100 „ ss. 25 Front Rows 66 seats at 6s. 19 16 Back Rows 134 .. SS. 66 „ 5s. 33 16 10 10 Second Circle — 134 .. 48. 26 16 Front Rows 50 seats at 4s. 10 1) )) • • Back Rows 100 „ 3s. 50 „ 2S. 6d. 15 6 5 Third Circle- 100 „ 2S. 10 Front Rows 50 seats at 2 s. 6d. 6 5 )» »» • • Back Rows (Gallery), n( subscription price' . 100 „ 2S. 200 „ IS. Total . 10 10 -=£■301 12 This sum — ;^30i, 12s. — may be regarded as the receipt of the normal full house on ordinary occasions. Only on sixty occasions in each season is the Director authorised to " suspend the subscription" and sell all seats at their full price. This number (about one-sixth of the whole number of performances) is calculated so as to allow of full prices being charged, not only on all important first-nights, but for the first few per- formances of certain new plays or revivals, and on special occasions such as royal "command" nights and the like. The wise Director would show his wisdom in a judicious use of this right to " suspend the subscription," so as to reap the full benefit of it without irritating or alienating the regular sub- scribers. MONEY-CAPACITY 87 The assumption that, on ordinary nights, one-third of the seats would be sold at full rates and two-thirds at subscription rates is grounded on a rule to be hereafter stated (Appendix C, Rule 5), but is nevertheless quite hypothetical. It might not infrequently happen that more than two-thirds of the seats were sold at subscription prices. Supposing the whole house to be sold at subscription rates, the receipts would work out as follows : — SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ALONE. Stalls 11 ... First Circle Seats Second Circle Seats )> ») • Third Circle Seats , Gallery . . . Total . . . ;i^277 10 Again, a certain number of educational and other special performances (we have placed the maximum at fifteen) would be given in each season at largely reduced prices. On these occasions the full receipt would be : — 300 seats at 6s. £90 15° . , Ss- 35 200 , 53- 5° 200 , 4S. 40 150 1 , 38- 22 10 150 . , 2S. IS 150 , 2S. 15 200 , , IS. 10 REDUCED PRICES. Stalls . 300 seats at 4S. £60 i) • • • 150 3S. 22 10 First Circle Seats . 200 33- 3° J) )j 200 2S. 20 Second Circle Seats 300 IS. 15 Third Circle Seats . 150 IS. 7 10 Gallery . 200 6d. 5 Total ;£l60 88 NATIONAL THEATRE These are, of course, maximum calculations, and we are far from assuming that the Theatre could always look for maximum receipts. A discussion of reasonable probabilities under this head will be found in Section XI. The lack of a pit in the Theatre here forecast will probably be held a defect. But the pit is really a survival from a bygone order of things, and would enormously complicate the architec- tural problem. The abolition of the pit at the Haymarket Theatre in no way impairs the attractiveness of that very popular house. Our scheme provides 300 seats at the pit price of 2s. 6d., or, according to our subscription system (Appendix C), 2s. to pur- chasers of ten seats at a time. The pit at His Majesty's Theatre seats only 190, SECTION IX Relation of the Theatre to Living Authors — Royalties. We have calculated at lo per cent, the royalty to be paid to the authors of new plays, that being also the percentage deducted from the receipts of non-copyright plays, for the benefit of the Pension Fund (see Appendix B). It is not intended to lay down a fixed rule as to the royalties payable to living authors. They would be the subject of special agreement in each individual case. As a matter of fact, a " sliding scale " would probably be adopted in most cases ; but calculations on this basis would be far too complicated for a discussion such as the present. We believe that lo per cent, ought to be, and would be, about the average — a more advantageous rate, we may add, than is commonly commanded, except by authors of the highest standing. Let us see, then, what a successful play would be likely to earn in a season. In that which we have outlined, two new plays are notably successful, one being acted thirty-nine times and the other forty-three times. Supposing, as we fairly may, that the first thirty performances of each of these plays (from three to six of which would be given with " subscription sus- pended ") drew an average sum equivalent to full houses at the "ordinary" rates (two-thirds of the house, that is to say, being occupied by subscribers, and one-third by non-subscribers pay- ing the full price for their seats), this would mean lo per cent, on ^300 for thirty nights, or ^900. After the thirty 89 go NATIONAL THEATRE performances we suppose the receipts to drop oflF — say, to an average of ;^200. In that case the author of the one play would have ;^i8o (nine performances at an average royalty of ;£2o) to add to his total earnings ; while the author of the other play would receive an additional ;^26o (thirteen performances at the same average royalty). Thus one author would receive ;^io8o, and the other ^i i6o, in all. Supposing, now, that the latter author, whose play was per- formed forty-three times, had been able to command a percentage higher than the average — say, 1 2^ per cent. — his total receipts for that season would be ^1450.^ There would remain to each author, of course, the provincial, American, and foreign rights of his play — to say nothing of the certainty that a play which had proved very successful in one season would be repeated in the following season, and the pro- bability that it might pass into the permanent repertory of the Theatre, and become a " stock piece," seldom absent from the bills for many weeks at a stretch.*^ ' It is, of course, not at all improbable that the great success of a season might attain a much larger number of performances — seventy or eighty. In the latter case, on the assumption of seventy performances at an average receipt of ;^30o, and ten at an average receipt of ;£200, the author's whole earnings, on a lo per cent, royalty, would be ;£23oo, while on a I2i per cent, royalty they would be ;£2875. It may be well to calculate what the authors of the less successful plays of our specimen season would receive. One play has ten performances. Supposing five of them to produce an average of ^250, and the remainder an average of ^150, the author would receive at 10 per cent, just ;{^20o. Another is performed eight times — four per- formances at ^250 and four at ^150, would put ^160 in the author's pocket. The remaining new play is performed only four times. Let us assume that it is a play by an unknown author, full of promise which deserves encouragement, but obviously un- likely to succeed. The management might produce it, in order to bring the author's name before the public and give him a start, but might allow him no more than 7^^ per cent. Every new play could count on at least one nearly full house at full prices ; so we may reckon the receipts of this play's four nights at ^^340, ^250, ^140, ^70, on which the royaltii-'s would amount to ^60 — no such contemptible remuneration for a beginner - The general practice of the Theatre would probably be to stipulate for the exclusive London rights in a play so long as it chose to retain it in ita repertory. It AUTHORS' FEES 91 To most men of letters — to most artists or professional men — such remuneration as even the less successful of our two authors would receive for a single play, in a single season, at a single theatre, would seem by no means despicable. But we are far from pretending that even the ^1450 netted by the more successful and more highly remunerated author will bear any comparison with the sum which a dramatist of the first rank expects to clear by a successful play at a long-run theatre. Is there any likelihood, then, that the National Theatre would be able to induce these dramatists to work for it ? Yes, there is every likelihood that it would secure their best work. It is becoming more and more evident that, while there is a large public for the strongest and most serious plays of our living dramatists, it is not what may be called a three-hundred night public — nay, it is barely a hundred-night public. Only by some rare chance — such, for example, as the sudden vogue of some brilliant performer — does a play of the highest class ever attain one of those huge successes which entirely throw into the shade the modest figures above stated. As a rule, a dramatist who does the strongest work of which he is capable, risks absolute failure, and has at best to be content with a quite moderate success, which, moreover, exhausts, or nearly exhausts, the money-making capacity of his play. Few plays are revived after their first run, and fewer still prove largely remunerative on revival. In working for the National Theatre, then, a dramatist would have these advantages : — would have to keep ita claim upon the play alive, so to speak, by never allowing a stated time to elapse without a stated number of performances. The usual understand- ing might be that if, in any three consecutive seasons, a play had been acted less than fifteen times, it should be held to have dropped out of the repertory, and the entire control of it should revert to the author. The Theatre must on no account speculate in plays — that is to say, acquire any rights in performances of them other than those which it gives itself. 92 NATIONAL THEATRE (i) He would not be forced to suit his work to the require- ments or the prejudices of a particular actor- or actress-manager. He would be enabled, for instance, to produce plays containing several parts of almost equal importance — a liberty denied to him under the star system. Such a play as Le Monde ou Von s'ennuie is for this reason impossible on the English stage. Were The School for Scandal a new play, the practical equality of the four parts — Sir Peter and Lady Teazle, Joseph and Charles Surface — would, under present conditions, almost certainly exclude it from the stage. (2) He would minimise the risk of absolute failure. The Theatre, once fairly established, would certainly attach to itself a large body of subscribers and habitual frequenters, taking an interest in its policy and its fortunes, who would seldom leave a new play unvisited. A dramatist of any note, then, might securely reckon on a certain number of good houses, and would not have to face the loss of prestige involved in the premature withdrawal of a play which had been launched for a hundred- night or two-hundred night run. (3) Even if a play were only a moderate success at first, its chances of a long life — of maintaining its place on the stage for an indefinite number of years — would be much greater at the National Theatre than at any other. It is a far healthier state of things, and far better for a dramatist's reputation, if not for his pocket, that a play should bring in an average of ;^500 a year for ten years than that it should bring in ;;^5000 in one year, and then be heard of no more. Another point is to be noted, which has an important bearing on the author's position. The establishment of a Repertory Theatre of this class in London would almost PROVINCIAL PROFITS 93 certainly be followed before long by the establishment of similar theatres — for the most part, no doubt, on a somewhat smaller scale — in all the important cities of the kingdom. A play which had met with any acceptance at the National Theatre would instantly be in demand at a score of Municipal or Subscription Theatres in the provincial centres ; and it might often happen, as it does in Germany at present, that the provinces would redress any injustice that might have been done in the capital. At present a play which has not, at any rate, the appearance of having made a great success in London, is practically worthless in the provinces ; but a number of Repertory Theatres, each with its intelligently- interested public of constant subscribers, would enormously widen the range of appeal open to a dramatic author, to say nothing of enhancing his revenues. The leading dramatists of Germany, writing exclusively for repertory theatres, have certainly no reason, even from a pecuniary point of view, to envy our playwrights or to sigh for the long-run system. If it be objected that a playwright, accustomed to modem conditions of mounting and stage-management, will not will- ingly leave his work to the tender mercies of a dozen provincial companies, whose treatment of it he cannot oversee or control, the answer is again a reference to Germany, where playwrights find this system answer exceedingly well. It of course pre- supposes,:^a much larger number of competent actors and able producers than we at present possess in England ; but these the repertory system would necessarily beget, if it ever struck root at all ; and it is the only system by which they can ever be begotten. Nor would the author necessarily abandon all control over the representation of his work when it went forth to the provincial theatres. Prompt copies would be 94 NATIONAL THEATRE sent to the theatres where the play was to be given ; the producers attached to these theatres might assist at the rehearsals conducted by the author in London ; it would not infrequently happen, we believe, that authors would find time personally to supervise some of the rehearsals at the leading provincial theatres, especially if they knew that this part or that had been allotted to an actor or actress of promise. Cases would certainly not be uncommon in which a provincial performer would make a striking success in a part which had perhaps not received full justice in London. It is not pretended that the provincial performances would have the absolute mechanical smoothness attained by a touring com- pany under present conditions — a company which elaborately mimics the London production, and repeats a single play night after night for months. But the loss of this soulless surface polish would assuredly be no loss to art ; and it would be a distinct gain to art that authors should learn to write plays which did not depend for their ejQPect upon a minute personal supervision of the actor's every tone and gesture.^ Each addition to the list of Repertory Theatres thi-oughout the country would tend in many ways to facilitate the work- ing of all the rest. But even supposing the National Theatre to stand alone, we do not think, for the reasons stated above, that it would find any difficulty in securing the best work of the best dramatists. On the contrary, we believe that the best dramatists are fully aware that present conditions are hostile to their best work, and would lend ready support 1 It should be open to the Director, with the sanction of the Trustees, to take the whole companv on tour, on certain rare occasions, — at times, for instance, when the Theatre had to be closed for extensive repairs. Perhaps, too, a system of reciprocity might be established with Repertory Theatres in the leading provincial towns, whereby an exchange of companies for a brief season might now and then be effected. A NEW OUTLET 95 to a theatre at which other conditions prevailed. They could not but gain by it, since it would oflFer a new outlet for their work without in any way restricting or inteifering with the outlets at present at their command. When they happened to write a play with a star part, a " strong sentimental interest," or any other attribute that seemed to promise a two-hundred or three-hundred night run, they would natur- ally carry it to a long-run theatre. But such themes are not the only themes — are not even sufficiently common to afford our leading playwrights a continuous series of successes. We find them frequently essaying themes which are on the face of it unlikely to attract the three-hundred night public ; and we may be sure that for one such theme which they actually essay, they consider and reject half-a-dozen, knowing them to be hopeless under actor-manager and long-run conditions. They would welcome a theatre, then, which should enable them to produce with comparative security the best plays that, under existing circumstances, they actually write, and would encourage them to write the still better plays which, under existing circumstances, they leave unwritten. SECTION X The Training School — Principles and Regulations — A possible Dramatic College. A Deamatic Training School would be an indispensable adjunct to a National Theatre. In saying this, we do not commit our- selves to the affirmative side in the ancient controversy as to whether acting can be, and ought to be, taught. On the con- trar}% we strongly incline to the negative side. The better part of the art of acting cannot be directly taught ; but certain of its constituent elements can and ought to be. There must be no excuse for the appearance at this Theatre, in however unimpor- tant a position, of any person who is entirely unskilled in the rudimentary mechanism of his calling. Though many teachers of acting, and a few teaching organisations exist, almost the only practical training obtainable under the present system consists in the paternal attentions of a (more or less qualified) producer during several weeks of leisurely rehearsing. Were this method the best in the world, it is clearly impossible in a Repertory Theatre. A high standard of competence must be maintained among even the most subordinate members of a company called upon to do such varied and exacting work as our scheme in- volves. To this end, the most obvious, economical, and efficient means is the establishment of a Dramatic Training School, by which, of course, it would not be the National Theatre alone that would benefit. Such a School, well conducted, would be of incalculable advantage to the whole art of English acting. 96 THE TRAINING SCHOOL 97 The great majority of our leading authors, managers, and actors are agreed in deploring our present lack of any such insti- tution.^ We have not gone into any financial estimate for the Train- ing School, as it could clearly be made self-supporting. There is a great demand for dramatic training, and the advantages of a School afRhated to the National Theatue would certainly attract large numbers of paying pupils. At the same time there would be ample room for endowment, to be directed to three ends : — 1. The establishment of Scholarships for students of notable promise and of limited means. 2. The enlargement of the teaching staff, so as to enable the School (in a manner to be hereafter indicated) to fulfil all the functions of a Dramatic College. 3. The provision of a specially suitable building, fitted with all desirable appliances, in a specially convenient locality. The School should be artistically and financially under the control of the Director and Business Manager of the Theatre. The Director would have to delegate to a specially-selected lieutenant the immediate and daily supervision of its working ; but he himself would remain its responsible head. In the conduct of the School, two main principles should be observed : — (i) Each pupil should be bound to apprentice himself, as it were, to a certain minimum course of study, for which he should pay in advance a large proportion, at any rate, of the fees, to be forfeited in the event of his not completing the course. Some ' Written before the establishment of Mr. Beerbohm Tree's School of Acting. G 98 NATIONAL THEATRE such precaution would be necessary to insure that the advan- tages of the School should not be abused by the mere trifler and dilettante, who thinks it would be pleasant to dabble in a calling which he imagines to be an easy and idle one. (2) The second principle follows from what we have said above as to the limits within which the teaching of acting is desirable. It is that training should, as far as possible, be analytic rather than synthetic — that the constituent parts of act- ing, rather than acting itself, should be the subjects of instruc- tion. The teaching of acting, either in a studio or at rehearsal, is too apt to mean simply the coaching of a young actor by an old actor in antiquated methods. With a little experience, an actor will learn to pick and choose among the virtues and vices of an over-developed style. But a tyro is apt to absorb only the vices, since they are so easy to imitate. What should first of all be taught in the School are the several accomplishments which, mastered perfectly and used instinctively, go to make an actor complete in the technique of his art — voice-production, elocu- tion, the speaking of verse, gesture, dancing, and fencing. The rehearsing of parts should be confined to the second half of the training. Individual coaching should be entirely excluded. As to the division of subjects and organisation of the profes- sorial staff, hints may be gathered from several existing institu- tions, such as the Eoyal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music, and Mr. Franklin Sargent's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The School should certainly share with the Theatre the services of — say — three of its actors and two of its actresses, who, with but a portion of their time employed at the Theatre, should divide the work of rehearsing advanced pupils in various plays. It would be well, indeed, to obtain the partial services of an even larger number of actors and actresses from THE TRAINING SCHOOL 99 the Theatre ; for pupils should be placed under as many varie- ties of stage management as possible, as a further safeguard against the perils of imitation.^ It will be noticed that we suggest the employment of actresses as well as actors in the quality of School stage-managers. 'I'here is no reason, save lack of opportunity, why an experienced actress should not be an excellent stage-manager ; and in any case, in school work, there are many things which women must be taught by women. Pupils should enter the School for not less than one and not more than three years. An entrance examination would be advisable, but it should be imposed merely with the object of eliminating the quite obviously unfit. Few things are more difficult or more dangerous than to say with certainty that a young person " will never act." The first year's course should consist solely of the contribu- tory accomplishments before-mentioned. During the second year the study and rehearsing of parts should be added. Second year pupils would be used to " walk on " in the Theatre. In their third year, pupils would be given more important parts to study and rehearse. The Director of the Theatre would attend complete rehearsals and (very occasional) pupil - per- formances. It would be competent for him to cast any third- year pupils for small parts in the Theatre repertory, and to appoint them as understudies. For this they would be paid. Pupils on leaving — or, as the Americans say, graduating from — the School, would have no absolute claim to engagements ' The partial employment of actors and actresses in the Training School would mean either a slight reduction of the salary-list of the Theatre, or a certain enlargement of the company without increase of expenditure. lOO NATIONAL THEATRE at the Theatre.^ The Director would, doubtless, be glad to recruit his company from among them, knowing the soundness of their training. But it would of course be impossible to keep on increasing the staff of the Theatre year by year ; and more- over it would generally be advisable for trained pupils to seek elsewhere for more immediate practice in important parts than they could possibly hope to obtain at the Central Theatre. As we have elsewhere pointed out, the successful establishment of a National Theatre would almost certainly be followed by the establishment of Municipal or Subscription Theatres in the great provincial centres, and the directors of these theatres would be sure to keep a watchful eye upon the pupils of the National Theatre Training School. It would be the business of the School — and this should be clearly understood and borne in mind — to minister to the requirements of the theatre in general, no less than to those of the National Theatre in particular. While the National Theatre kept — as it should always try to keep — in the forefront of theatrical progress, its pupils would be welcomed everywhere. But to have graduated in an old-fashioned school is almost worse than to have graduated in no school at all. The danger common to all securely established bodies is that of falling behind the times. The School should be so ordered as to help the Theatre to avoid this danger, by providing for it recruits strong in the vital principles of their art, instead of assisting it mechanically to hand on an academic tradition (however worthy) from one artistic generation to another. ' But the Theatre would have a first claim on the services of pupils who had taken scholarships. That is to say, it would be at the option of the Director to engage them for a period equivalent to the period of their scholarship, and if offered such an engage- ment they would be bound to accept it on terms to be stated in the Scholarsliip Regulations. THE TRAINING SCHOOL loi As the School would not be run with a view to profit, the fees woxild be regulated so as simply to cover the necessary expenses, apart from such luxuries, so to speak, as might be provided by endowment. At the same time it is clear that, however low the fees, a three-years' course of training, involving daily attendance in the centre of London, is a means of entering the theatrical profession costly in comparison with those now usually adopted. But this is not to be regretted. The fact that acting is a trade for which there is no recognised preparation, encourages many men, and still more women, with no special aptitude, to " go on the stage " for a year or two, and then to drop it as soon as the novelty of the experience has worn oflF. Thus a " casual labour" class is created, the existence of which is most prejudicial to the interests of the lower ranks of profes- sional actors, whose sole chance of a decent livelihood lies in continuity of employment. The establishment of a recognised Training School will not, of course, keep this " casual labour " altogether out of the field, but it will create a clear distinction between the actor and the amateur, so that in time a certain stigma will attach to the employment of wholly unqualified people. Pupils of the Training School would be admitted to some rehearsals at the Theatre (especially to those of classical plays), and, under certain restrictions, to performances as well. Though technical training would be the primary business of the School, it ought (as above foreshadowed) to develop in process of time into a Dramatic College, capable of giving instruction in all subjects, literary or artistic, that have any direct bearing upon the actor's art. To this end lectureships in Dramatic Literature, History, Archaeology, &c., would have to be endowed, and prizes ofi'ered for proficiency in such subjects. But I02 NATIONAL THEATRE attendance at these lectures (as distinct from the courses of technical training) should be optional and free. It may be objected that the School would thus trench upon the province of existing educational institutions — the colleges of the University of London, &c., &c. — where a wider course of literary instruction can be obtained than the School could possibly oflFer. The answer is twofold. In the first place, it would be impracticable to insist that pupils should have gone through a complete course of literary instruction hefore entering the Training School, and equally impracticable to expect them to attend lectures or classes in other parts of London while they are going through their course of technical training. Any literary instruction of which they can reasonably be expected to avail themselves must be supplied in, or quite close to, the building in which their technical training is carried on. In the second place, though the actor's literary culture should no doubt be as wide as possible, yet human life is short, and the literary coiurses in our higher colleges include much matter that does not bear directly upon his art, and omit much matter that does. It is visionarj' to expect that every actor should qualify for a B.A. degree ; but it is neither superfluous nor impracticable to offer him, along with his technical training, courses of literary and historical instruction specially adapted to his requirements — courses which should awaken in him an intelligent interest in his art, and deepen his comprehension of its principles and problems. The County Council might be expected, in pursuance of its recent policy, to allow a "grant in aid" to the Training School. SECTION XI General Summary of Expenses — Receipts required to Meet Expenses- Possibilities and Probabilities — Order of Procedure. Summary of Expenses for One Season. Salaries : General Staff. , . . Performers Employees in front of the house Musical Staff .... Employees behind the scenes . General expenses .... Total ;^4,6oo o 28,777 10 3>377 10 3,900 o 10,277 10 14,050 o ^£■64,982 10 It will be seen that our estimate of expenses, exclusive of authors' fees and the percentage on the receipts of non- copyright PLAYS WHICH IS TO SUPPORT THE PENSION FUND, amounts to ;;^64,982, los. From this we deduct ;^iooo, the estimated profit on the sale of refreshments (see p. 62), and arrive at ;^63,982, los., or in round numbers, ;^64,ooo, as the nett yearly outlay. This means that, reckoning the number of performances at 363, an average receipt per performance of ^177, p?MS the authors' percentages, would be needed in order to cover expenses. Eeckoning the royalties, whether on copyright or non-copyright plays, at an average of 10 per cent., we conclude that an average receipt of about £196, 13s. would be required to relieve the Theatre from the need of a yearly subvention. What likelihood is there of that average being reached? »03 I04 NATIONAL THEATRE For an ordinary London theatre, it would be a high average ; but the criterion is not a just one. When the initial expenses of mounting a play have been paid oflF by a month or so of nearly full houses, a manager can aflford to go on running it so long as the receipts keep a few pounds above the sum which it costs him to " take his curtain up " ; so that he may very likely play it for months to audiences far below the full capacity of his theatre. If his nightly expenses, including rent, taxes, and interest on borrowed money, are ^loo, and his nightly receipts ;^iio, he is making (with matinees) the handsome income of ;^8o a week, and will be in no hurry to change his bill. Thus the" average receipt on (say) a six-months' run may be no more than ;^iio or ;^ii5 a performance. But a repertory theatre, per- petually renewing its attractions, recruiting a , solid stand-by of constant supporters, and offering the public more com- fortable accommodation at lower prices than the long-run theatres can afford, would have every chance of securing more constantly well-filled houses than most of the long-run theatres are in the habit of attracting. We speak of theatres devoted to comedy or drama. The successful extravaganza- theatres probably attract a very high average of receipts ; but it is by dint of very lavish expenditm^e. The total receipts of the Th^atre-Frangais in the year 1895 were ;^85,052 (2,126,275 francs). The prices were at this time pretty nearly equivalent to those suggested in Section VIII. They ranged from 10 francs (8s. 4d.) to i franc (lod.) ; but the majority of the best places in the house (stalls and first circle) were sold at 8 francs and 7 francs (6s. 8d. and 5s. lod.). We believe that in a normal season at the Frangais the number of performances is about 430 ; so that the average receipt of this FORECAST OF RECEIPTS 105 season would be ;^i98, or /^^ more than the average receipt required to cover expenses at the Theatre here outlined. Since 1895 the prices at the Francais have risen. They are now nearly as high as those which obtain at our own West End theatres. In the year 1902, at these higher prices, the total receipts were ;^ioi,6o4 (2,540,103 francs), or an average of over .;^230 a performance. The Com^die Francaise, no doubt, enjoys a prestige which cannot possibly attach to any new institution. On the other hand, something must be allowed for the charm of novelty. By the time that has worn oflf, one may fairly hope that a certain amount of prestige will have accrued to the Theatre. The Th^atre-Fran^ais, as a rule, is open all the year round, gives afternoon as well as evening performances on Sundays, and not infrequently afternoon performances on Thursdays as well. It is impossible for an English theatre to give so many performances in the year ; but by suppress- ing, in whole or in part, the six weeks' vacation we have reckoned for — and this could be done with veiy little extra expense — we could considerably diminish the average re- ceipt required in order to cover the annual outlay. Vie are inclined to believe that it would be good policy to close the Theatre for a fortnight only, reopening about the middle of August instead of the middle of September; by which means the average receipt required (royalties included) could be reduced to about ;^I78. But as this short vacation would be more or less experimental, we thought it wiser not to base our calculations upon it. An analysis of the individual receipts required to make up the necessary average will show, we trust, that our expecta- tions are not extravagant. io6 NATIONAL THEATRE We estimate, as before explained (p. 8i), for a theatre seating 1550 people, but we strike off fifty seats for free admissions. There would be three scales of prices : At full prices (on nights for which subscription tickets are not available) the house would hold ^345. At "ordinary" prices (on nights when subscription tickets are available, but one row in every three is supposed to be occupied by non-subscribers paying full rates) the house would hold ;^30I, I2S. At reduced prices, for educational and other special per- formances, the house would hold ^160. The Director has the right to suspend the subscription and charge full prices throughout the house on a maximum of 60 performances in the season. Supposing him to exercise this right on only 50 nights, and supposing the average receipt of these nights to be ;^340, we find that they would bring £1^,000 into the treasury. Again, during the greater part of the season there would be a full-dress and full-price subscription night once a week, like the fashionable Mardis of the Theatre-Francais. Suppos- ing that there were 30 such nights, at a receipt of ;^320, this would give a total of ;!^96oo. Again, in the season we have outlined, we reckon on two new plays and one Shakespearean revival making a marked success. In such cases we might reasonably expect to fill the house at " ordinary " prices for a fairly long series of nights. Suppose, then, that each of these three productions draws ;^300 for 25 nights — this gives us a total of ;^22,500. We may fairly reckon, too, on reaching the maximum at " ordinary " prices on, say, ten other nights, bringing in a total of ^3000. FORECAST OF RECEIPTS 107 Thus we have 165 performances bringing ;^52,ioo into the treasury. Now a royalty of 10 per cent, on ;^52,ioo comes to /'5210. This, then, we must add to our total expenses of ;i^63,982, making ^69,192 in all. The Director reserves (as against the Subscribers) the right to give a maximum of fifteen performances in the season at reduced prices. We suppose him to exercise this right on ten occasions, bringing in £1600. On this sum no royalties would have to be paid. The plays given would be Shakespearean and other classical pieces, " for the use of schools," and of students preparing for examinations. We now add the ^1600 resulting from these ten perform- ances to our former total of receipts, and find that 175 perform- ances have brought in jC53>7oo. This we deduct from our last total of expenses, and find that ;^i 5,491 {2)lus royalties) have still to be accounted for in 188 (that is, 363 minus 175) per- formances. Dividing 188 into ;^ 15,491, we get as nearly as possible ^82. This, then, plus the percentage — say, £g a night— would have to be the average receipt of ordinary per- formances. Now ^82 j3?MS jC9 makes ^91 ; and that is considerably less than one-third of the money capacity of the Theatre at " ordinary " rates ; indeed, just about one-third of its capacity at subscription rates alone. Let us look at the matter in another light. Taking the total annual outlay, exclusive of royalties, at ;^63,982, and adding one-ninth of this sum to cover the royalties, we find ;^7 1,091 to be the whole annual expense. Suppose, now, that the Theatre were a great success, and that the average of its receipts was equivalent to the full house at subscription rates alone, we find that the season's receipts would be j^ 100 io8 NATIONAL THEATRE and that the profit on the season's working would be ^29,641, los., minus the additional royalties arising from the surplus receipts. We do not, of course, calculate on such success as this, though it is far from impossible ; but we state the figures in order to show that there is a large margin be- tween great success and failure to make both ends meet. We may here present a summary of the various " margins " allowed in the course of our calculations — points at which it is highly probable that receipts may be increased or expenses diminished, (i) It is quite possible (as pointed out in the foot- note to p. 81) that the Theatre might seat 1650 instead of 1550 people, so that the full house at full prices would bring in ;C375 instead of ;^345.^ (2) In all our calculations we have left 50 seats out of account as being partly box-seats and partly free seats ; but there would be many occasions on which all, or almost all, these seats would be occupied by paying spectators. (3) As we have just seen (p. 105), it would be possible, at very little extra expense, to add at least thirty-two performances to thei:363 we have estimated for, thus considerably reducing the nightly average of receipts required to balance expenses. (4) It may quite possibly appear that the 10 per cent, on the receipts of non-copyright plays which we allot to the Pension Fund is more than is required to establish the Fund on a solid basis ; in which case the percentage would naturally be reduced. ' Since the above was written, Mr. John Hare has informed us that at the Hollis Street Theatre, Boston, Mass., he has acted A Pair of Spectacles (a play demanding the minutest and most delicate effect*) without feeling any inconvenience from the size o£ the house, which nevertheless contained ^400 at prices ranging from two dollars downwards — very little higher than the prices we suggest. This confirms our impres- sion that a theatre might be designed, equally adapted to Shakespeare and to modern comedy, which should hold at least ^375. In that case, the calculations on pp. 106, 107 would give something like ^77 (instead of ;^9i) as the average receipt required for ordinary performances. ORDER OF PROCEDURE T09 (5) The partial employment of members of the company as teachers in the Training School might lead to a certain lighten- ing of the salary-list. If our hope of larger incomings or smaller outgoings should be justified in even one or two of these cases, the effect on the yearly balance-sheet would be considerable. If it be asked what we conceive to be the natural order of procedure in calling such a Theatre into being, we would fore- cast it as follows : 1 The starting-point would unquestionably be the conditional promise of the building. That secured, the next step would be to obtain the equally conditional promise of a site. In other words, Donor A. would say to Donors B., C, D. (individuals or a Corporation), " If you will grant a site on such- and-such terms, I will erect a theatre on it which shall ulti- mately, on such-and-such conditions, become the property of the Nation ; " whereupon Donors B., C, D. would reply, " If you can satisfy us that there is a reasonable chance of this Theatre successfully fulfilling its purposes, we are willing to grant the site." Then Donor A. and Donors B., C, D. would consult together (under expert advice) on the terms of a provisional constitution. Chief among the advising experts would in all probability be the man provisionally designated to fill the post of Director. Before matters went much further, the various public Bodies above enumerated (p. 10) ought to be invited to nomi- nate Trustees, and to undertake this duty in permanency, as occasion should arise. But as the majority of the Board would, in the first instance, be nominated by the Donors of the building and site, this would practically mean that the Donors reserved ' Assuming, for the moment, the co-operation of several Donors, though we believe it equally probable, and at least equally desirable, that the whole institution should be created by one man. no NATIONAL THEATRE to themselves the right to appoint the first Director. It would not be advisable to leave this appointment entirely in the hands of the newly constituted and untried Board of Trustees. The Trustees being provisionally appointed, the next step would be for the Donors to discuss with them, and obtain their definite assent to, the Statutes by which their functions were to be re- gulated. Not until the Statutes were finally and unanimously ratified would the Trustees be considered as definitely holding office. This point being reached, they would so far enter on their functions as to set about the raising of the Guarantee Fund. Their proposals would set forth that the constitution of the Theatre had now been settled in such-and-such terms, and the site and the building promised, provided that a body of Guarantors would undertake, on their part, to be responsible for such-and-such a sum, to be paid to the credit of the Theatre six months before the date of its opening (to be subsequently fixed). At a somewhat earlier stage, the Donor of the building would probably have invited architects to send in competitive designs for a theatre to occupy the proposed site. With the criticism and selection of the design the Trustees should, officially at all events, have nothing to do. This task the Donor should reserve to himself, in concert with the Director and the Donors of the site, who would probably appoint a small commission of experts to represent them. Sketches and plans of the selected design should, if possible, accompany the pro- posals for the formation of the Guarantee Fund. As soon as it was evident that no hitch in the arrangements was to be feared, the building might be proceeded with ; and in due time the General Staff" would be appointed, and the Director would set about organising his company and arranging his repertory for the first season. At what time the salaries of the Director and ORDER OF PROCEDURE iii other employees should begin to accrue would, of course, be a matter of private arrangement ; but all salaries paid or payable before the opening of the Theatre should be reckoned as part of the building donation, along with the initial stock of scenery and costumes. On the day fixed for the opening performance, Donor A. and Donors B., C, D. should definitely make over the building and site to the Trustees, who should from that moment enter upon their full functions ; while the Donors and Guarantors should thenceforth have no more control over the enterprise than any other members of the general public. It is needless to add that many of the negotiations which we have here represented as successive might, and probably would, be undertaken simultaneously. We have merely tried to sketch their logical order, supposing "one thing at a time" to be the motto of the promoters of the enterprise. Nor need we say that if the whole Institution — Site, Building, and Guarantee Fund — were to be provided by one Donor, the method of pro- cedure would be immensely simplified. SECTION XII The Guarantee Fund — The Amount Required — Provisions for its Administra- tion — How to Wind up in Case of Failure — How to Apply the Surplus in Case of Success — The Sinking Fund. We have now outlined, in as much detail as seemed desirable at the present stage, the scheme of a National Theatre which we believe to be attainable without any extravagant demand upon the public spirit of a great and wealthy community. As above stated, the financial pre-suppositions of the scheme are two: (i) that the Theatre Building should be provided, free of rent, taxes, insurance premium, and cost of upkeep ; (2) that a Guarantee Fund should be raised to assure, for a certain period at any rate, the solvency of the institution. It has now to be pointed out that a good theatre, in a good position, has always a high commercial value, and that in the event of the failure of the National enterprise, property in the building and site should revert to the Donor or Donors, together with the Guarantors, who would thus not have wasted their substance to no end, but would recover a considerable part of it. The condition of aflfairs which is to be taken as implying failure and involving the winding up of the enterprise, must be clearly determined beforehand ; and to this end we proceed to make some suggestions. The Statutes governing this side of the enterprise must, of course, be drawn up in consultation with skilled financiers. All we attempt for the present is to afford some rough indication of what their provisions might be. GUARANTEE FUND 113 To give the enterprise at the outset a fair chance of success, it is clear that the Guarantee Fund must be liberal and must be known to be liberal. As the salaries allotted to actors and to many other employees are regulated on the assumption of ex- ceptional stability, the whole calculation would evidently be upset if, in the eyes of the persons to be so remunerated, the enterprise seemed, not stable, but precarious. The Guarantee Fund must be guaranteed sufficient to ensure the existence of the enterprise, even in the face of the largest yearly deficits that can reasonably be anticipated, for a certain term of years ; and the point at which failure is to be considered definite and irretrievable must be so fixed that the remaining portion of the Guarantee Fund shall be sufficient to indemnify, on a certain fixed scale, those with whom the Theatre has been forced to break any expressed or implied contract Let us roughly calculate what losses might conceivably have to be met. Absolute accuracy is almost impossible in these calculations, for every diminution in the receipts involves a corresponding diminution in the expenses, seeing that the sums paid in royalties, to authors and to the Pension Fund, would be smaller. We can but roughly work out these complex calcula- tions ; but in all cases we may be taken as stating outside figures. We assume, then, that the total expenses of the season of 363 performances (royalties included) amount to ;^7 1,091. We have seen that the full capacity of the house at " ordinary" rates (one-third at full prices and two-thirds at subscription prices) would be in round numbers ;^300. Supposing, now, that the average receipt were only one-half of that sum, ^T 150, the total receipt for the season would be j^ 54,450, leaving a deficit of £16,641, or, roughly allowing for the diminished royalties, say H 114 NATIONAL THEATRE ;^ 1 5,000. If the average receipt were only ;^ioo, the deficit would be about ^^ 30,000 ; if the average receipt were ;^ 175, the deficit would be about ^7000. In view of these figures, we suggest that the Guarantee Fund should be ;£ 150,000. On this supposition, let us forecast various eventualities.^ Take the worst event that is reasonably conceivable. Suppose that the average receipt was only £^0, and that the season's deficit was ^^42,000. This would mean, of course, that the Theatre had wholly failed to answer its purpose and to supply any want. But the fault might lie in the management. The Trustees at the end of the season might dismiss the Director (paying any indemnity that might have been stipulated for in such an event), and might transfer the control of the enterprise to a new Director. Suppose that the new Director produced a slightly better result, the deficit on the second season being ;^2 7,000, and on the third season ;£20,ooo. Thus, at the end of the third season, the whole Guarantee Fund would have been reduced by three-fifths — ;£90,ooo having been spent, and ;£6o,ooo remaining to draw upon. The course now to be taken by the Trustees would depend on many circumstances, (a) It might be quite clear that, in ' The term Guarantee Fund, as noted on p. 7, is used for convenience, but is scarcely accurate. The money would have to be, not merely promised, but paid in full to the account of the Theatre. The interest on it would go to paying the rates and taxes on the Theatre, the insurance premium, and the cost of repairs. How the Theatre might be rated it is impossible to foresee at all definitely. It may be hoped that the Commissioners would not be too exacting. The insurance premium would probably not be much less than ^1000 a year. The repairs to the building ought not for some years to form a considerable item. So long as the Guarantee Fund remained intact, tlie income arising from it ought to be ample for all thes>- purposes. But should it be trenched upon to any large exteut, the income might become inadequate ; and in that case any deficit would have to be charged to the yearly expenses of the Theatre. See Statute 19, p. 130. GUARANTEE FUND 115 spite of the large deficits, the Theatre was taking root, acquiring prestige, giving a valuable stimulus to theatrical life in general. In that case the Trustees would doubtless continue the Director in ofRce, and ask him to go on as he had begun. It might be that he would gradually reduce the deficit to ;£50oo, ^^3000, ^2000, ;^500 ; so that at the end of the seventh season the actual loss would have been ;^ 100, 500. The eighth season might show a clean balance-sheet, and from the ninth onward profits might begin to be made — a possibility to be discussed further on. For the moment, let us return to the point at which, after three seasons, _;^90,ooo had been lost, and consider another set of possible circumstances. (b) The position of the Theatre might be entirely dubious, and the possibility of a further reduction in the yearly deficit problematical. The Statutes would probably permit the Trustees, in the event of absolute disaster, to wind up the enterprise after three seasons ; and a party of the Trustees might wish to regard the existing state of affairs as absolutely disastrous, and to throw up the sponge. Let us suppose this party in a minority, however, and suppose that the Theatre were carried on for three more seasons at an annual loss of ^10,000. The total loss would then have been ;^ 120,000, or four- fifths of the Guarantee Fund. Now we suggest that at this point — as soon, that is to say, as the Guarantee Fund is reduced to ;^30,ooo — the Statutes should make it obligatory on the Trustees either to raise a further Guarantee Fund of at least ;if 30,000, or to wind up the enterprise. This provision would be all the more desirable as the success or failure of the Trustees in the attempt to raise the further Guarantee Fund would afi"ord a pretty conclusive answer to the question whether the Theatre was or was not justifying its existence, and fulfilling an important social and artistic function. ii6 NATIONAL THEATRE If it was felt to be so valuable that it should at least have another chance of establishing itself in financial security, the ;^30,ooo necessary for its continuance would very soon be forthcoming. If, on the other hand, it was felt to be hopelessly struggling along and cumbering the ground, no one would come to its rescue, and the Trustees would have no option but to wind it up. For this purpose the ^30,000 in hand would be far more than was needed. We fix this very wide margin in order that every employee of the Theatre, from the Director to the Call-boy, might feel absolutely certain that, if the worst came to the worst, all contracts would be fulfilled. For the indemnification of actors and others who had accepted comparatively small salaries in consideration of the permanence of the institution and the expectancy of a pension, the accumulations of the Pension Fund would be available, though they might have to be supplemented from the Guarantee Fund. The huge initial deficits we have hitherto assumed — ^43,000, ;^2 7,000, and ^20,000 — are in fact extremely improbable. Such eventualities have to be faced and provided for in theory ; but in practice we believe that something like this would be much more apt to happen : The first season, while the institution had the attraction of novelty, might show a deficit of ;i^5000, which might rise in the following five seasons to an average deficit of (say) ;^8ooo, so that at the end of the sixth season the Guarantee Fund might have been reduced by ;!^45,ooo. The question would now be whether the deficit tended, season by season, to rise or to fall. In the latter case, all would be plain sailing : the Theatre would evidently be gradually recruiting and educating its public, and might confidently be expected, after a few more seasons, to show a balance to the good. In the former case — if the deficit tended rather upwards than downwards — the GUARANTEE FUND 117 Trustees would have to call the Director and the General Staff into very serious consultation. On the one hand, measures of economy would have to be discussed ; on the other hand, schemes for enhancing the attractions of the Theatre. It would, of course, be open to the Trustees to call in expert advice from without. A system of reforms might perhaps be suggested by an outside critic which might commend itself to the Trustees and not to the Director. If he was disinclined even to attempt its execution, his only course would be to resign, under whatever conditions his contract prescribed. The author of the approved scheme might then be appointed Director, or some one else who was in sympathy with it. The new Director might turn the tide, and after the ninth or tenth season, the yearly accounts might begin to show a surplus in place of a deficit. Or it is conceivable that all refoiTas might be in vain, and that the Guarantee Fund might keep on dwindling by small sums — jC 1000 this year, ^500 next year, ;,^300 the year after — both ends never quite meeting. In such a case, twenty, thirty, or forty years might pass before the total loss of ^120,000 was reached, after which the Trustees were bound by the Statutes either to raise a further Guarantee Fund or to wind up the enterprise. That limit being reached, their duty would be the same whether after six seasons or after sixty. But we suggest that the Statutes might contain a special provision to meet the case of a constant series of small deficits. If the experience of (say) twenty seasons proved that the Theatre could not be run so as to fulfil its purposes except at an annual loss of (say) ^5000, but that, with that deficit, it did amply fulfil its purposes, the Trustees might be permitted, in concert with the Guarantors, to convert the Guarantee Fund into a fixed endowment capital, bringing in a yearly income sufficient for the needs of the ii8 NATIONAL THEATRE institution.^ We would add, however, that in no event ought this course to be made obligatory on the Trustees, and that the effort to make the Theatre self-supporting should not be aban- doned until its impossibility had been clearly demonstrated. But here a caveat is perhaps desirable. It ought to be under- stood from the outset that while the Director must always exercise every reasonable economy, he must not adopt a cheese- paring, and still less a " sweating," policy in order to make both ends meet. The first Director in particular might be tempted to pursue penny-wise and pound-foolish tactics in the hope of astonishing the Trustees by a seemingly brilliant balance-sheet. This he might do in three ways : by starving the scenery and costume departments, by over-working the company and " sweat- ing " the subordinate members, or by prevailing on the Eeading Committee to admit unworthy plays into the repertory, and exploiting them to the extreme limit permitted by the Regula- tions. In the last case, the Trustees would have a more or less effective check upon his proceedings. In their comment upon his quarterly or half-yearly report, they might censure the prominence given to an objectionable play or class of play, and he would be bound, at his peril, to give heed to their censure. But it would be very difficult for the Trustees to take cognisance of a series of individually minute economies in salaries and other outgoings, whose cumulative effect might none the less be disastrous. It would be a wise measure, then, for the Trustees to give the Director to understand at the outset that during the first two or three seasons a moderate deficit would not be reckoned to his discredit. The object of these seasons ' It may be jwinted out, however, that this would clearly be a fitting opportunity for the Government to step in, make some equitable arrangement with the Guarantors, and allot the Theatre the yearly subvention which experience had shown to be nece-ssary. LIQUIDATION 119 should not be to produce a surplus, or even, at all costs, to make ends meet, but to establish the Theatre in the favour and respect of the public, to set on foot a worthy artistic tradition, and to beget in artists and employees a sense of comfort, security, and loyalty to the institution. We have now to consider the method of winding up the enterprise in the event of conclusive failure. Our suggestion is that the Trustees should be empowered to sell the Theatre Building and site (supposing the site to be freehold), and apply the proceeds to reimbursing, in the proportion of their contributions to the enterprise, the Donor or Donors of the building and site and the contributors to the Guarantee Fund. Let us suppose that the site was given by one Donor and cost ;^75,ooo; that the Building was provided and equipped by another Donor at the cost of ;^ 100,000 ; and that the Guarantee Fund was provided by a hundred contributors of ^1500 each. After ten seasons (let us say) the Guarantee Fund has been reduced by ^120,000, leaving ^^30,000 in hand; and the Trustees have failed to raise a further Guarantee Fund. They must then proceed to the liquidation of the enterprise. Its liabilities absorb (over and above the Pension Fund accumula- tions), say ;^i 5,000, leaving ^15,000 of the original Guarantee Fund still in hand. They then proceed to sell the Theatre and site. These might quite possibly fetch more than they cost ; but let us take the opposite view and assume that, having cost ;^i75,ooo, they sell for only ;^i 50,000. Thus the Trustees would have ;!f 165,000 to divide between one Donor of ^'75,000, one Donor of ;i{^ 100,000, and a hundred Guarantors of ^1500. The result would be (if our arithmetic is correct) that the Donor of the site would receive a little more than ;^3 7,500, the Donor of the building a little less than ;i^52,500, and each of the I20 NATIONAL THEATRE Guarantors a little more than ^^750. In other words, the Donors and the Guarantors would, in the event of the failure of the enterprise, all stand to lose a little less than half of their respective contributions. Taking a more cheerful and at least equally probable view, let us now sketch the course that seems advisable in the event of the Theatre not only making both ends meet, but showing a considerable balance to the good. The danger to be guarded against in this case is that of reckoning too soon upon the con- tinuance of a prosperity which must always be liable to serious fluctuations. The great point is that the Theatre should always have sufficient resources behind it to give its employees a sense of security, and to place it above the necessity or temptation to go a-profit-hunting at the expense of its artistic principles. We suggest, then, that however prosperous the enterprise may be, no attempt should be made to repay the Guarantors until the Theatre has accumulated in clear profit a capital sum equal to the original Guarantee Fund. When there is a surplus on the workings of any season, that surplus shall go to a Sinking Fund, to be kept wholly distinct from the Guarantee Fund, and left to accumulate at compound interest with a view to ultimately replacing the Guarantee Fund in the economy of the institution. While it is in process of accumulating, deficits shall not be met out of the Sinking Fund, but out of the Guarantee Fund alone. By this means it might not impro- bably happen that the Guarantee Fund would gradually dwindle while the Sinking Fund went on increasing. In the event of the Guarantee Fund having shrunk to ^30,000 before the Sinking Fund had attained to £ 1 50,000, the Trustees should be empowered to draw on the Sinking Fund for the further Guarantee of ;^30,ooo which they are bound to raise if the SINKING FUND 121 enterprise is to be continued. If the Sinking Fund at that time amounted to more than ;^30,ooo, there would, of course, be no necessity for the Trustees to make any appeal for outside aid. If, on the other hand, it amounted to less than ^30,000 — say to ;;/"io,ooo or ;^i 5,000 — the Trustees would have to raise the balance of the requisite ^^30,000, or else wind up the enterprise, in which case the Sinking Fund would rank simply as part of its general assets. But except in the event of the Guarantee Fund dwindling to ;^30,ooo, the Sinking Fund must be left untouched until it amounts to ;i^ 150,000. When that point is reached, all further surpluses shaU go to the reimburse- ment of the Guarantors, and (if necessary) of the Donor or Donors of the site/ on whatever system the Guarantee Contract shall determine. From this time forwaid, all further deficits shall be met by drafts on the Sinking Fund, the interest on which shall now go to form part of the annual income of the Theatre. If the Sinking Fund in its turn should be reduced to ;^30,ooo before the Guarantee Fund is fully paid off, the Trustees would have to proceed as in the case of the Guarantee Fund — that is to say, they must raise a further ;^30,ooo or wind up the enterprise. After the Guarantee Fund had been fully paid oflF, the constitution of the Theatre, as appears in the next paragraph, would have to be in some measure remodelled, and the Sinking Fund would be administered according to rules to be then determined, which need not now be forecast. The relations between the Sinking Fund and the Guarantee Fund • The probability is that the site, like the Theatre-Building, would be granted (whether by a public body or by a private Donor or Donors) on the understanding that, in the event of success, it should be a free gift to the Nation, and that only in the event of failure and liquidation should the Donor or Donors rank among the creditors of the enterprise. But this arrangement, though desirable, would not be essential. We have admitted (p. 7) that the gift of the building and the gift of the site do not stand on precisely the same plane. 122 NATIONAL THEATRE might conceivably, under the arrangement here suggested, be- come very complex, and we repeat that the Statutes governing them would have to be carefully drawn up by skilled financiers. Our suggestions are merely designed to illustrate the principle that the Theatre must not cut itself adrift from its sheet-anchor, the Guarantee Fund, until it has secured another and equally strong anchor to take its place. As soon as the Guarantors and (if necessaiy) the Donors of the site have been paid oflF, the Theatre should become, no longer conditionally, but absolutely, the property of the Nation, represented by Parliament. In that event Parliament would of course have the right either to confirm such of the Statutes as applied to the new condition of afi"airs, and con- tinue the Trustees in office, or to remodel the constitution and method of government of the Theatre. By that time the Theatre would itself have provided an object-lesson in the aims and methods of theatrical endowment, and Parliament would have been, as it were, educated up to responsibilities which, at present, it would probably be chary of undertaking. It is, of course, conceivable that the Theatre should, as it were, buy its own building, repaying to the Donor, his heirs or assigns, the sums expended upon it. But our sug- gestion is that he should from the first renounce all claim upon the enterprise in the event of success. In making such a splendid gift to the Nation, he would secure himself a last- ing monument ; whereas if he merely advanced the money, in the hope of ultimate repayment, his name could not be, in the same abiding sense, associated with the benefaction. Only in the event of failure and liquidation ought he to rank, along with the Donor or Donors of the site and the Guaran- tors, among the creditors of the enterprise. GUARANTEE FUND 123 On the other hand, we suggest that if the whole institu- tion were to be called into being by one man, he ought not to make a free gift of the Guarantee Fund, but ought to charge the Theatre with the duty of repaying it, just as if it were provided by a numerous body of Guarantors. Whether the cost of the site also should be repayable would be for him to determine. Apart from this question of the site, the constitution of the enterprise, and the methods of dealing with success or failure, ought to be practically the same, whether it were set on foot by one man or by many. Finally, returning to the supposition that the Guarantee Fund is provided by a considerable number of Guarantors, we may be asked what inducement our proposal holds out to them. If they are to sacrifice the interest on their money for an indefinite number of years, and to run the risk of losing about half of it, what privilege or advantage are they to enjoy in return? We answer frankly — none whatever. Their names may be engraved, with those of other benefactors of the institution, on the walls of the vestibule ; but beyond this they will " get nothing for their money " save the satis- faction of having done, or tried to do, a splendid service to the English drama and stage, and having helped to amend a condition of afi'airs which is not only artistically deplorable, but tends to be socially demoralising. It is quite impossible for the Theatre to offer them any privilege which shall not be ludicrously disproportionate to the magnitude of their benefaction. Of course if the whole Guarantee Fund were provided by (say) three contributors of ;^50,ooo each, it would be possible to give each of them a box, to remain his property until his ^50,000 were repaid, or the enterprise was wound up. But it does not seem probable that the Fund should 124 NATIONAL THEATRE be raised in this fashion ; and if the contributors were more than three, four, or at the outside six, it would be impossible for the Theatre to give them each a box. A very simple computation will show that the sum might be provided by loo contributors of ;^i5oo each, 3CX) contributors of ;^500 each, 600 contributors of ;^2 50 each, or 1000 contributors of ;^i50 each. It is needless to speculate which of these possibilities is the most probable ; for whether the contributors be 100 or icxx», we do not consider it possible for the Theatre to offer them any privilege which should not enormously embarrass its workings, while remaining a pitiably meagre requital of their generosity. Such attempts at recompense as we have from time to time thought of suggesting would detract from the disinterestedness of their public spirit, without affording them any substantial or really desirable advantage. Nor do we believe that the lack of material "inducement" would be any real obstacle to the raising of the Guarantee Fund. When once the other factors in the enterprise are assured, on such a liberal scale as to stir the imagination of the community and afford a fair presumption of success, there is little fear of the scheme falling to the ground for lack of Guarantors. APPENDICES APPENDIX A DRAFT OF STATUTES AND REGULATIONS [By " Statutes " we mean the fundamental Constitution of the Theatre, which, once accepted by the Trustees, can be altered only by Act of Parliament. By " Regulations " we mean the bye-laws laid down by the Trustees, which they, and they only, may revise from time to time, as expediency suggests. The following Statutes and Regulations do not profess to be exhaustive. They merely indicate the form which such a Code might take, and define and supplement suggestions already offered in the foregoing chapters.] STATUTES The site for this Theatre is granted by and the Theatre is erected and equipped by , on the following conditions: — (i) Unless and until the contingencies occur which are provided for in Paragraphs 21 and 22, it shall be known as the Theatre. (2) Unless and until the contingencies occur which are provided for in Paragraphs 21 and 22, or those provided for in Paragraph 28, the ownership of the Theatre shall be vested in a Board of Trustees, fifteen in number, to be constituted as follows : — One to be noruinated by the University of Oxford ; one to be nominated by the University of Cambridge ; one to be nominated by the University of London ; one to be nominated by the President and Council of the Royal Academy ; two to he nominated by the London County Council ; the remaining nine to be nominated in the first instance by the Donors of the site and of the Theatre.' Each Trustee shall hold office until death or voluntary resignation, except as provided in Paragraph 4. On the death or resignation of a nominee of one of the abovc- 1 The method of nomination would of course be a matter for arrangement between the parties concerned. 137 128 NATIONAL THEATRE mentioned Public Bodies, that Body shall nominate his successor. On the death or resignation of one of the Donors' nominees, the vacancy shall be filled alternately by nomination of H.M. Government for the time being, and by co-optation, all members of the Board having power to vote in the latter event, and the casting vote, in case of a tie, being given by the Government. (3) The services of the Trustees shall be unremunerated. (4) The Trustees may, by a vote of twelve of their number, enforce the resignation of a member of the Board, who cannot in that case be re-nominated or re-elected. (5) Should any of the Public Bodies above mentioned resign their right of nomination, the Trustees shall transfer it to another Public Body, selected by vote. In case of difference of opinion as to the Body to be chosen, a bare majority shall decide. (6) The Trustees shall appoint, from outside their own number, a Director and General Staff for the Theatre. The distribution of the functions of the General Staff the Trustees may from time to time modify by Regulation, as expediency shall direct; but in no event shall the General Staff (exclusive of the Director) exceed six in number. (7) All actors, actresses, and other employees of the Theatre, except the General Staff, shall be engaged by the Director. (8) The Trustees shall have no share in the management of the Theatre except through the Director, who is their sole and responsible Executive Officer. Should he fail to carry on the Theatre to their satisfaction, they have no power to override his arrangements, but must call upon him to resign, on whatever terms his contract shall prescribe. (9) The Director shall present to the Trustees, at such intervals as they shall from time to time appoint, a Report of the workings of the Theatre, artistic and financial. This Report they shall endorse with whatever remarks or censures they think desirable, and it shall be the Director's duty to give effect to the views thus expressed or implied. (10) The Theatre shall not be managed with a view to commercial gain ; that is to say, no person or persons, save the Trustees, shall have any interest in, or claim or charge upon, its profits ; but any surplus of receipts over expenditure shall be vested in the Trustees, to be applied by them to the purposes set forth in Paragraphs 25 and 26. STATUTES 129 (11) All employees of the Theatre shall be remunerated by fixed salaries, or definite payments for definite services — in no case by contingent percentages. Dramatic authors, however, may be re- munerated by percentages upon the gross receipts produced by their plays. (12) The Director shall in no case be an actor, practising his art for fee or reward. Should he be a retired actor, the Trustees shall decide, by fixed regulation or otherwise, on what exceptional occasions (and in no case for personal profit) he shall be allowed to reappear at other theatres. He shall in no event play any part on the stage of the Theatre. (13) The Theatre shall be conducted as a Repertory Theatre — that is to say, a number of plays shall always be ready for perform- ance, and shall be performed, in alternation, and no play shall be acted more than two or three times in unbroken succession. ( 1 4) The repertory shall consist of what are known as " dramatic pieces," in contradistinction to musical pieces — that is to say, though songs naturally incidental to a dramatic story may be sung, no essen- tial part of the action of a play may be carried on in music.^ (15) Not less than one-fourth of the performances of each season shall be devoted to the English Classical Drama. The Trustees may by special Regulation raise this minimum, but they must not lower it. (16) The Trustees shall issue Regulations stating what plays are to be regarded as belonging to the English Classical Drama ; the minimum number of performances of such plays to be given in a season, or month, or week ; the maximum number of consecutive performances that may be given of any one play ; and otherwise pre- scribing in its essential outlines the conduct of the Theatre. Such Regulations they may alter from time to time as expediency suggests, provided always that the Regulations keep within the letter and the spirit of these Statutes. (17) There shall be a Pension Fund attached to the Theatre, to be raised and administered as the Trustees shall determine. (18) Before the Theatre shall be opened, the Trustees shall raise a Capital Sum of not less than ^^ 150,000, in contributions of not less ' It seemed necessary to attempt some definition of a " dramatic piece." Certain passages in Elizabethan plays and masques might be found to conflict with the above definition ; but otherwise we believe it may serve its purpose. I I30 NATIONAL THEATRE than ;^I50 each. These sums shall be repayable to the Contributors, in whole or in part, as provided in Paragraph 25, but the Contributors shall receive no interest upon them. This sum of ;^ 150,000 is here- inafter called the Guarantee Fund. (19) The Trustees shall invest the Guarantee Fund, and the interest accruing on it shall be applied to pajring the Rates and Taxes and Insurance Premium on the Theatre, and to meeting the expense of repairs to the building, machinery, fixtures, and furnishings, as distinct from stage scenery, properties, and accessories. Any surplus interest on the Guarantee Fund, left over after meeting all such charges for a given season, shall be placed to a special fund entitled the " Rates, Insurance, and Repairs Fund." If in any season the Rates, Taxes, Insurance Premium, &c., should absorb more than the interest on the Guarantee Fund and whatever may be standing to the credit of the " Rates, Insurance, and Repairs Fund," such deficit shall be charged to the general expenses of the Theatre. (20) If the general expenses of any season shall exceed its receipts, the deficit shall be met by the Trustees out of the Guarantee Fund. (21) Should the calls on the Guarantee Fund at any time reduce it to one-fifth of its original amoimt (that is to say, to ;^30,ooo), it shall be the duty of the Trustees either to raise a further Guarantee Fund of ;^30,ooo, or, failing in that, to liquidate and wind up the enterprise by the method set forth in the next Paragraph. (22) Should liquidation become necessary, the Trustees shall, with- out more delay than may be reasonably advisable, sell the Theatre, site, and all accessories and appurtenances — in short, all the property vested in them — and after satisfying all legal and equitable claims upon the institution on the part of its employees, &c., shall divide the balance left in hand among the Donors of the site and building and the Contributors to the Guarantee Fimd, in proportions to be definitely predetermined at the time of the raismg of the Guarantee Fund, and to form part of the contract under which the Guarantee Fund is provided. (23) In the event of liquidation, the accumulations of the Pension F'und shall be primarily applicable to compensating employees of the Theatre for the failure of their expectancy of a pension ; but should they prove inadequate to this purpose, the accumulations shall be supplemented from the general assets of the institution. STATUTES 131 (24) On selling the Theatre, in the event of Uquidation, the Trustees shall insert in the conditions of sale a clause debarring the purchaser from continuing to apply to it the name of the Theatre. (25) When at the close of any season the balance-sheet shall show a clear surplus of receipts over expenditure, such sm-plus shall be placed to a Sinking Fund, to be kept wholly apart from the Guarantee Fund. This Sinking Fund shall not be drawn upon to meet deficits unless and until the Guarantee Fund shall have been reduced to one-fifth of its original amount. In that case the whole of it, or, if it exceed the stated sum, the necessary part of it, shall be applied by the Trustees to the provision of the further Guarantee Fund required in terms of Paragraph 2 i . Unless and until the Sinking Fund has to be drawn upon for this purpose, it shall be suffered to accumulate at compound interest (each further surplus being added to it in turn) until it shall have reached a sum equivalent to the amount of the original Guarantee Fund. From this time forward, all further surpluses shall be applied to repaying the contributors to the Guarantee Fund [and the Donors of the site] ^ in such proportions, and at such intervals, as the Guarantee Contract shall determine, until the whole of the Guarantee Fund [and the value of the site] shall have been paid off. (26) When the Sinking Fund shall have reached a sum equivalent to the amount of the original Guarantee Fund, it shall take the place of that Fund, the interest upon it shall be applied, as was the interest on the Guarantee Fund, to the covering of rates, insurance, and repau-s, and it shall be administered in all respects in the same way as the Guarantee Fund. (27) The Donor of the Theatre-Building, though ranking as one of the creditors of the enterprise in the event of liquidation, shall have no claim to repayment out of the Sinking Fund. (28) When the Guarantee Fund and the value of the site shall have been completely repaid, as provided in Paragraph 25, the building, site, endowment-capital — in other words, the whole institu- tion — shall ipso facto become the absolute property ot the British Nation, represented by the Imperial ParUament. The Trustees will ' See footnote, p. 121. 132 NATIONAL THEATRE in that event formally lay down their office, and it will be for Parlia- ment either to reappoint them, and confirm such of these Statutes as shall be applicable to the then existing state of things, or to reorganise the institution under a fresh set of Statutes. (29) Such of these Statutes as do not imply a definite contract between parties may at any time — even before the Theatre has become the absolute property of the Nation — be altered by Act of Parliament ; but no Statute, having once come in force, can be altered except by Act of Parliament. Statutes which imply a definite contract between parties may be altered by Act of Parliament with the consent of all parties. EEGULATIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE CONDUCT OF THE THEATRE. By Order of the Trustees. (i) The General Staff shall consist of the Director and four other members, namely : i. The Literary Manager ; ii. The Business Manager ; iii. The Reading-Committee Man ; iv. The Solicitor. (2) The complete control of every department of the Theatre shall be in the hands of the Director, except only the choice of plays. (3) Plays shall be selected for production or revival by a committee of three, consisting of the Director, the Literary Manager, and the Reading-Committee Man. When a play has been so selected, it shall be the duty of the Director to produce it within a reasonable time. (4) The Reading-Committee Man shall have no other duty in con- nection with the Theatre than that of assisting in the selection of plays. He shall be a paid official, but shall not be expected to give his whole time to the service of the Theatre. (5) The Literary Manager shall, in the first instance, examine all plays sent in to the Theatre, and shall indicate to the Reading Com- mittee those which seem to him manifestly impossible. The other members of the Committee may or may not insist on reading such plays for themselves. It shall further be the duty of the Literary Manager to conduct special negotiations with authors ; to suggest and REGULATIONS 133 arrange old plays for revival ; to suggest foreign plays suitable for pro- duction ; to supervise the translation of such plays ; and to consult with and advise scene-painters, costumiers, and producers on questions of archaeology and local colour. (6) The Business Manager shall, subject to the Director, control all the incomings and outgoings of the Theatre, and shall draw up a half-yearly balance-sheet to be presented to the Trustees, for the correctness of which he shall be personally responsible. (7) It shall be the duty of the Solicitor to advise the Trustees as to the investment and management of the Guarantee Fund, Sinking Fund, &c., and as to contracts with the Director and General Staff; also to advise the Director as to contracts with employees, authors, &c., and as to other legal questions arising out of the conduct of the Theatre. He shall also act as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. He shall be a paid official, but shall not be expected to give his whole time to the service of the Theatre. (8) The Theatre being a Repertory Theatre, not less than thirty plays of full length shall be acted in any twelve months, and not less than three different plays of full length shall be acted in any one week. A play of full length means a play occupying at least two- thirds of the whole time of any given performance. But two two-act plays, or three one-act plays, composing a single programme, shall, for the purposes of this regulation, be reckoned as equivalent to a play of full length. (9) No play shall be repeated on more than two consecutive even- ings. A third consecutive performance may, however, be given on an afternoon. That is to say, a play acted on Monday and Tuesday even- ings may be repeated on Wednesday afternoon, but another play must be given on Wednesday evening ; and so on. (10) Not less than one-fourth of the performances of any given season shall be devoted to the English Classical Drama, and not less than one-third to the English and foreign Classical Drama taken to- gether. Plays, whether English or foreign, over one hundred years old shall be reckoned as belongino; to the Classical Drama. (11) Not more than one-fifth of the performances of any season shall be devoted to foreign plays, whether classical or modern. (12) Plays by American authors shall rank as EngUsh, not as foreign, plays. 134 NATIONAL THEATRE (13) No play, old or new, shall be performed more than one hundred times in a single season. (14) At least one performance of an English classical play shall be given in every week. (15) When a non-copyright play shall have been revived, the Director may order its repetition at any time during the season then current and the two following seasons ; but after that it must be re- considered and re-sanctioned by the Reading Committee for another term of three seasons before it can again be performed. (16) The actors and actresses of the company shall be engaged by the Director with regard to their general competence, and not to their particular fitness for any one part. No part, or line of parts, shall be guaranteed by contract to any individual artist. (17) No part shall be cast outside the regular company;^ but the Director may pay a celebrated actor or actress (not belonging to the company) the compliment of inviting him or her to appear at the Theatre for occasional performances, supported by members of the regular company, provided, however, that the total number of such complimentary performances in a single season shall not exceed ten. (18) At least six out of the thirty-seven plays commonly recog- nised as Shakespeare's shall be acted in every season, and at least sixty performances of Shakespearean plays shall be given. (19) No performer (except supernumeraries paid by the perfor- mance) shall be engaged for less than one year or for more than three years. (20) No performer shall have the right to refuse any part allotted to him by the Director. 1 It might sometimes be necessary to make an exception to this rule in the case of a " singing part." APPENDIX B PENSION FUND SUGGESTIONS In almost all foreign theatres where a Pension Fund exists, it is supported by actual deductions from the salaries of the actors. This system seems to us undesirable ; though where an actor accepts a lower salary than he would otherwise demand, in consideration of becoming entitled to the privileges of the Pension Fund, his claim upon it is doubtless of the same nature as though he contributed to it in the way of " deferred pay." Our proposal is to establish and support the Pension Fund by assigning to it a percentage on the receipts of non-copyright plays, equivalent to the royalty paid to the authors of copyright plays. This method will have the advantage of placing living writers and classics on equal terms. As the Theatre will not directly profit by the fact that a play is non-copyright, the management will be the less tempted, as the phrase goes, to make " Shakespeare a blackleg " — to let the classics, by reason of their greater cheapness, crowd living dramatists oft' the stage. Assuming that non-copyright plays would, on the whole, draw less money than copyright plays, wo have estimated the average receipt per performance at ;^i8o. The number of such performances in the season we have outlined is 164; but ten of these would be educational performances at reduced prices on which no royalty would be payable. Thus the number of performances on which the royalty would be pay- able would be 154, giving a total receipt of £2J,'J20. Ten per cent, of this sum would give the Pension Fund an annual income of £2y'j2. It is naturally impossible to forecast exactly the claims upon such a fund. The limited number of the persons who benefit by it upsets the averages on which actuarial calculations are based. At the same time, we are assured by the two actuaries who have been good enough to advise us, that, assuming our data to be correct, the sums we pro- 136 NATIONAL THEATRE pose to allot to the Pension Fund ought to be amply sufficient to meet all claims upon it. It will be observed that, under the rules to be hereafter stated, no claim can arise until ten years after the open- ing of the Theatre, during which time the fund will have been accumulating. We had originally included a somewhat detailed scheme for pro- viding for the widows and orphans of members of the Theatre. We are advised, however, firstly, that such provision is very unusual in pension schemes ; secondly, that it would be rash to pledge the Theatre to any fixed scale of payments in such cases, so impossible is it to fore- see the claims that might arise. We have therefore thought it best to leave it to the Pension Board (hereafter provided for) to consider such cases on their individual merits, and, where there is evidence of real distress, to make such provision as seems reasonable, and as the circumstances of the Pension Fund permit. It might be advisable to make a rule that every married man, on becoming " pensionable," must insure his life. It is further suggested that the Pension Board should be free to exercise a wide discretion in relaxing any rule which, as applied to any individual case, seems to conflict with justice or expediency. For example, the rule which fixes fifty-five and sixty as the ages at which an actress and an actor respectively may retire on a pension, might in certain cases be waived so as to allow an artist, even tliough not positively disabled, to retire at an earlier age. The provision for " furloughs " ( Rules 4 and 6) is prompted by the belief that it might often be desirable to allow an actor to accept an engagement for a definite period at another theatre, with- out severing his connection with the National Theatre, or forfeiting any advantages accruing to him from continuity of service. On the other hand, the " bonus-percentages," provided for in Rule 5 , are designed to make a permanent connection with the Theatre more advantageous than intermittent engagements. The general rule for Civil Service pensions is that for each year of service an official is entitled to ^^th of the salary he is earning at his retirement. It will be seen that even the lower rate of per- centage laid down in Rule 5 is, on the whole, and apart from bonus- percentages, slightly more advantageous than the Civil Service rate. Many details might have to be regulated into which, at the PENSION FUND 137 present stage, we have not thought it worth while to enter. We trust, however, that the following set of rules will be found to repre- sent in outline a practicable pension scheme. RULES I. A member of the Theatre who, under the rules to be herein- after stated, shall have become entitled, on disablement or superannua- tion, to enjoy the benefits of the Pension Fund, is hereinafter called a " pensionable " member. II. The Pension Fund shall be administered, and all disputes, &c., settled, by a Board consisting of: — The Director of the Theatre {ex officio Chairman) ; the Business Manager {ex officio Treasurer) ; the Solicitor ; and two Actors, whom the pensionable members of the Theatre shall elect by ballot from among their own number for a term of two years. One will retire each year, but will be indefinitely re-eligible. III. A member of the Theatre shall become pensionable when (and not until) he or she shall have been regularly engaged in the service of the Theatre for ten consecutive years. No engagement for a shorter term than three years shall count as a " regular engagement " for the purposes of this paragraph. The term " member of the Theatre " is to be taken as covering, not only actors and actresses, but certain officials of the Theatre,^ whose period of qualifi- cation shall be the same as that required of actors and actresses. IV. A furlough granted by the Director to a member of the Theatre, who remains under engagement to resume service at the Theatre at a definite date, shall not be held to break the continuity of service required to render that member pensionable. But the period of his furlough shall not be reckoned as part of the necessary ten 1 The Director. Two Scenic Artists. Tlie Literary Manager. The Chief of the Wardrobe. The Business Manager. The First Wardrobe Assistant. The Acting Manager. The Wardrobe Mistress. Two Box-Office Clerks. The Master Carpenter. The Conductor of the Orchestra. The Property Master. The Stage Manager. The Chief Electrician. The Head Prompter. The Stage-Doorkeeper. 138 NATIONAL THEATRE years. In other words, at the end of ten years from the date of his first three years' engagement, he will have to serve a further period equivalent to the length of his furlough before he becomes pensionable. V. When a member of the Theatre has become pensionable (as provided in Rule III.) he shall be entitled, on permanent disablement from further service, to a pension consisting of a percentage of the salary he is then earning, such percentage to be calculated upon the following basis : — 20 per cent, in consideration of the qualifying term of ten years, and an additional i| per cent, for each further year of service at any salary under ;!^6oo, and 2 per cent, for each further year of service at a salary of ^600, presumed (for the purposes of the Pension Fund) to be the highest salary paid in the Theatre. More- over, a bonus-percentage shall be added for every fifth year of con- tinuous service (after the qualifying ten years) on the following scale : For the fifth year an additional i per cent. ; for the tenth year an additional 2 per cent. ; for the fifteenth year an additional 3 per cent. ; for the twentieth year an additional 4 per cent. ; and so on. But in no case shall the sum total exceed two-thirds of the salary on which it is calculated. VI. A furlough (as in Rule IV.) is not held to break continuity of service, but the period of the furlough does not count in the reckoning either of ordinary percentages or of bonus-percentages. VII. Pensions are to be calculated on fixed salaries alone, not on total incomes — i.e., salaries plus acting-fees. VIII. When a male member of the Theatre ^ shall have reached the age of sixty, or a female member the age of fifty-five, it shall be at his or her option to retire, or at the option of the Director to retire him or her, on the pension then accruing to him or her under Rule V. Should the Director think it advisable to retain the services of a member beyond the ages stated, his or her pension shall continue to increase, as above provided, with every further year of service. IX. Should a pensionable member of the Theatre leave its service voluntarily before attaining the age of sixty, he remains entitled at ' It would be at the discretion of the Trustees to relax this rule in the case of members of the General Staff; while the Director might relax it in the case not only of actors and actresses, but of other employees. But in no case could either the Trus- tees or the Director overrule an employee's wish to retire at the superannuation age. PENSION FUND 139 sixty or disablement to whatever pension he may have earned at the date of his leaving, minus all bonus-percentages to which, by his voluntarily leaving the Theatre, he forfeits all claim. Should he return to the service of the Theatre, the ordinary percentage due to him shall increase year by year from the date of his return on the scale provided in Rule V., and he shall be entitled to a bonus- percentage for every fifth year of continuous service, reckoning from the date of his return. X. Should the services of a pensionable member of the Theatre be dispensed with by the management before he attains the age of sixty, he shall be entitled on reaching that age (or on disablement) to the pension which he had earned at the date of his leaving the Theatre, without any additional percentage for subsequent years, but with whatever bonus-percentages he may have become entitled to during his period of service. XL An actor or actress who has left the Theatre shall not be entitled to claim a pension at the age of sixty or fifty-five, unless he or she shall then have retired from the stage — i.e., shall have ceased to appear for money.^ XII. The Pension Board shall decide all questions as to whether a member of the Theatre is or is not disabled from further service. Should a dispute arise, the member in question may claim to be examined (at his own expense) by three doctors, one appointed by himself, one by the Director, and one by the actors' representatives on the Board. The Board is not bound to act upon the report of the doctors or of a majority of them ; but should they decline to do so, the member may then (but not till then) appeal to the Trustees. XIII. On pain of forfeiture, no pension or allowance shall, under any circumstances, be mortgaged or assigned. XIV. All expenses of administration of the Pension Fund shall be borne by the fund itself. • It may be thought that a pension once earned is earned, and ought to be paid whether the artist is or is not still in active employment. But one main purpose of the Pension Fund is to prevent an actor or actress from lingering too long on the stage ; and to suppress Rule XI. would be to defeat that purpose. APPENDIX C SUBSCRIPTION AND BOOKING SYSTEM It is felt that the German Abonnement system, whereby the " Abon- nent " secures a special seat or group of seats for a definite series of performances — one or more night in each week or fortnight, or what- ever the arrangement may be — though probably practicable in the Municipal Theatres of provincial towns, could scarcely be introduced in a National or Central Theatre. The vast size of London, and the multipUcity of a Londoner's engagements, would render it inappUcable. It would be desirable to have one Special Subscription evening in the week, like the " Mardis " of the Theatre-Franc^ais, for which seats or groups of seats should be rented for the whole season or half the season — at any rate for a definite series of performances. The subscribers to this special series would thus make of the Theatre, on the evening set apart for it, a social rendezvous where they would be sure of meeting once a week the members of their " set." Ultimately, perhaps, two evenings a week, or one evening and one afternoon, might be devoted to such subscription series ; but at first it would be sufficient to try the experiment of one evening a week. As a rule, of course, a different play would have to be presented on each evening of the series. Apart from this Special Subscription, an ordinary subscription system should be introduced, having for its basis the common principle of " a reduction on taking a quantity." Every one buying ten places at a time should save from is. 6d. to 6d. on each place. What he would actually buy in the first instance would be a block of ten coupons, which he could afterwards exchange for numbered seats, one two, three, or more at a time, on whatever dates he pleased — provided of course that there were seats disengaged to meet his application. These blocks of coupons should be purchasable at the Theatre itself and from certain accredited agents. We beUeve it would be convenient for all parties that the exchange SUBSCRIPTION 141 of coupons for numbered seats should, for the most part, be conducted by post, and have fi-amed the following set of rules on that assumption. In order that the system may work successfully, it is necessary that all the seats in any given part of the house should be (as nearly as possible) equally advantageous, so that subscribers may be willing to leave the booking-clerks to allot them whatever seats may be available, confident that in no case will they have to put up with an imperfect view of the stage or an otherwise undesirable position. RULES FOR SUBSCRIPTION (Abonnement) (i) Subscription seats are purchasable in blocks of ten coupons at the following rates : — Ordinary Price Subscription Block of Ten per Seat. Price. Coupons. Stalls, Section A (Pront Rows) . . 7s. 6d. 6s. £z „ „ B (Back Rows) . . 6s. 5s. 2 10 Circle, Section C (Front Rows) . . 63. 53. 2 lO „ „ D (Back Rows) . . 5s. 43. 2 Second Circle, Section E (Reserved) 43. 3s- I 10 Second Circle, Section F (Unre- served) 23. 6d. 2S. I Third Circle, Section F (Unre- served) 2s.6d. 28. I Holders of Series F coupons are admitted on presenting them, like money, at the pay-box. All other coupons must be exchanged for numbered seats before they become available. There is also a shilling gallery for which no subscription coupons are issued.^ (2) The Director reserves the right to declare the subscription suspended on a maximum of 60 performances in each season. For these performances coupons will be available only if accompanied by a supplement bringing their price up to the full price of the ' For the sake of the Special Subscription evenings (see Rule 4), if for no other reason, the Theatre ought, if possible, to have a certain number of well-placed private boxes ; but until the design is prepared, it is of little use to discuss their prices or the conditions under which they would be let. 142 NATIONAL THEATRE seats, i.e., on each coupon of Section A, a supplement of is. 6d. ; on each coupon of Sections B, C, D, and E, a supplement of is.; on each coupon of Section F, a supplement of 6d. On the back of each coupon is printed the amount of the supplement necessary to render it available for these performances. (3) The Director further reserves the right to give a maximum of fifteen performances in each season at reduced prices (Stalls — Section A, 4s. ; Section B, 3s. First Circle — Section C, 3s. ; Section D, 2s. Second and Third Circles — Sections E and F, is. Gallery, 6d.). For these performances coupons of Sections A to E inclusive shall not be available at all. Coupons of Series F shall be available without supplement for the back rows of the First Circle (Section D seats on ordinary occasions). (4) Thursday evening in each week is or may be set apart as a Special Subscription evening, devoted, that is to say, to subscribers who rent (at full prices, with no reduction for quantity) one par- ticular seat or set of seats for every Thursday evening throughout a definite series of not less than ten weeks. On these evenings only the seats not secured by Special Subscribers will be available for ordinary subscribers. (5) In all the reserved parts of the house one row of seats in every three is devoted to purchasers at ordinary rates ; but seats not secured by purchasers at ordinary rates before midday on the day before a given performance may be allotted to subscribers ; and con- versely, seats not secured by subscribers before midday on the day before a given performance, may be allotted to purchasers at ordinary rates. (6) Every subscriber on first purchasing coupons shall place his or her name and address on a register to be kept at the Theatre. To this address all communications (except as provided in Rule 10) shall be directed ; and the Theatre will not be responsible for any delay or inconvenience arising from the subscriber's failure to give notice of a change of address. (7) Every Wednesday evening a notification of the repertory to be presented during the week beginning ten days later will be posted to the registered address of subscribers (except to holders of Section F coupons), accompanied by a form of application for seats, and an (unstamped) envelope bearing the printed address of the Theatre. SUBSCRIPTION ■ 143 Subscribers desiring seats will then fill in the appUcation-form and return it, with the requisite coupons, to the booking-office before the following Monday at midday. Until that day and hour no applica- tion-form will be examined, nor can any personal application by subscribers for seats during the week in question be entertained. At midday on the Monday all application-forms will be opened, not in the order in which they reach the Theatre, but at random, the principle being that up to that hour no subscriber shall have priority over another. This principle, however, is subject to the exception set forth in the following rule. (8) Any subscriber who by sending in a previous application-form along with his current form shows that he has already applied unsuc- cessfully for seats for a particular play, shall have priority over those making then first application for seats for that play. Two unsuccess- ful application-forms give priority over one only, and so forth. (9) Seats allotted to subscribers, or the notification that they cannot be allotted, will be posted so as to reach subscribers (in London) by the first post on the Tuesday morning. (10) Subscribers who have not made application for seats in the way and at the time indicated in Eule 7, may apply for seats per- sonally or by letter any time after the booking-office opens (for ordinary as well as subscription booldng) on Tuesday morning ; but their chance of finding seats available is obviously less than if they apply as above prescribed. (11) Subscribers may at any time secure any ordinary-price seats not already disposed of by paying in coupons along with the supple- ment necessary to bring their price up to the ordinary price of the seats. (12) The notification of the week's repertory will be sent only to the registered address of the subscriber. Tickets, &c., will be sent to Avhatever address is given on the application-form. The Theatre will not be responsible for any delay occurring in the post, or through the chance misdirection of any letter sent to an address other than the registered address of the subscriber. (13) Subscribers who claim priority as provided in Kule 8 should write in the upper left-hand corner of the envelope enclosing their application-forms the word " Priority." The Theatre does not under- take to rectify any failure to grant priority arising through neglect of this rule. 144 NATIONAL THEATRE (14) Subscribers may apply for seats by ordinary letter, and not on the forms provided by the Theatre ; but such applications, as entailing additional w-ork to the staff, will be postponed to those made in the prescribed form, and are therefore the more likely to be unsuccessful. (15) Subscription-coupons are transferable in so far that they, or the tickets issued in exchange for them, may be presented, or even sold, privately and as between acquaintances. But every subscriber, on first placing his name on the register, will be required to sign an undertaking not to traffic publicly in them, to expose them for sale in any shop, bar, restaurant, or public place, or to hawk them, or transfer them to any one who shall hawk them, on the street, in the environs of the Theatre, or elsewhere. All coupons held by any one who shall infringe this undertaking shall thereby become null and void, and the Theatre may strike his name oflf the register and decline to sell him any further coupons. (16) When dates for the performances of a particular play can be fixed for more than a fortnight ahead (for instance, when it is found possible to determine that such-and-such a play shall be given, say, every Tuesday and Friday evening for the next six weeks), this will be announced in the notification of the repertory, and seats for these performances may be applied for on the application-form accompanying the announcement, or on any subsequent application-form. (17) Coupons of all Sections from A to E inclusive are issued for one season alone ; but unused coupons may be exchanged for coupons of the following season on payment of a fee of 2d. per coupon, or will be bought back by the Theatre at a discount of 25 per cent, on the price paid for them. Coupons of Series F are not restricted to one season and cannot be bought back. (18) The Management in no case guarantees the appearance of any individual artist, though his or her name may have been included in the official announcements ; nor does the unavoidable substitution of one front-piece or after-piece for another imply the cancelling of seats allotted for that performance. But when the principal play of the evening (or afternoon) has to be altered, seats will be trans- ferred, or money returned, at the choice of the holder, and every effort will be made, by early and prominent notification of the change, to obviate inconvenience and disappointment. [Specimen NOTIFICATION OF REPERTORY to be Posted to SUBSCEIBERS EACH WEDNESDAY EVENING, ALONG WITH BlAXK FoBii OF Application for Seats.] NATIONAL THEATRE Wednesday, February i8, 19 — The Repertory for the week March 2 to March 7 will be as follows : — Monday, March 2. — The Critic, by R. B. Sheridan. (Messrs. Tower Hill, Cornhill, Finsbury, Gracechurch, Clement Dane, Bethnal Green ; Mesdames Dalmeny, Mentmore, Alnwick.) And Sweethearts, by W. S. Gilbert. (Mr. Savile Rowe, Miss Chatsworth.) Tuesday, March 3. — Hamlet, by WillLam Shakespeare. (Messrs. Kingsway, Wimpole, Holborn, Knightsbridge, Smithfield, PaU-MaU ; Mesdames Hatfield, Blenheim.) Wednesday, March 4 (afternoon). — The Liars, by Henry Arthur Jones. (Messrs. Bryanston, Smithfield, Lothbury, Ludgate, Clement Dane ; Mesdames Wahner, Alnwick, Chatsworth, Arundel.) (Evening) The CounteSS Cathleen, by W. B. Yeats. (Messrs. Wimpole, Finsbury, CornhUl, Fenchurch, Lothbury ; Mesdames Tin- tagel, Pevensey, Knole.) Thursday,^ March 5. — Special Subscription Evening — Hamlet. (Cast as above.) /Wday, 1/arcA 6.— First Production of The Chiltem Hundreds,^ by . . . . (Messrs. Aldwych, Langham, Mark Lane, Savile Rowe, Gracechurch, Finsbury, Tower Hill ; Mesdames Elcho, Mentmore, Tintagel, Knole.) Saturday, March 7 (afternoon). — Hamlet. (Cast as above.) (Evening) The Chiltem Hundreds.^ (Cast as above.) N.B. — The Chiltem Hundreds- will be repeated on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 11, and the evening of Thursday, March 12, for which dates seats may be secured. The Casts above stated are subject to alteration. 1 For the Special Subscription (Thursday) Evenings of the present season, no Series A seats are available for ordinary subscribers, andionly a few Series B, 0, and D seats. ^ For all these performances of The Chiltem Hundreds the subscription is suspended. Coupons are available only if accompanied by a supplement bringing their price up to the ordinary price of the seats (see back of each coupon). Supplementary payments up to Three Shillings, but not above that sum, accepted in postage stamps. 145 K EXTRACT FROM SUBSCRIPTION RULES The Director reserves the right to declare the subscription suspended on a maximum of 60 performances in each season. For these performances coupons will be avail- able only if accompanied by a supplement bringing their price up to the ordinary price of the seats. On the back of each coupon is printed the amount of the supplement necessaiy to render it available for these performances. The Director further reserves the right to give a maximum of 15 performances in each season at reduced prices. For these performances coupons of Sections A to E inclusive shall not be available at all. Cou- pons o£ Series F shall be available without supplement for the back rows of the First Circle (Section D seats on ordinary occa- sions). Thursday evening in each week is or may be set apart as a Special Subscription even- ing. On these evenings only the seats not secured by Special Subscribers wUl be avail- able for ordinary subscribers. In alljthe reserved parts of the house one row of seats in every three is devoted to purchasers at orilinary rates ; but seats not secured by purchasers at ordinary rates be- fore midday on the day before a given per- formance may be allotted to subscribers ; and conversely, seats not secured by sub- scribers before midday on the day before a given performance, may be allotted to pur- chasers at ordinary rates. Every Wednesday evening a notification of the repertory to be presented during the week beginning ten days later will he posted to the registered address of subscribers (ex- cept to holders of Section F coupons) accom- panied by a form of application for aeats, and an (unstamped) envelope bearing the printed address of the Theatre. Subscribers desiring seats will then fill in the applica- tion-form and return it, with the requisite coupons, to the booking-office before the foUovring Monday at midday. Until that day and hour no application - form will be examined, nor can any personal application by subscribers for seats during the week in question be entertained. At midday on the Monday all application-forms will be opened, not in the order in which they reach the Theatre, but at random, the principle being that up to that hour no subscriber shall have priority over another. This principle, however, is subject to the exception set forth in the following rule. 146 Any subscriber who by sending in a pre- vious application-form along with his cur- rent form shows that he has already applied unsrmcssfuUij for seats for a particular play, shall have priority over those making their first application for seats for that play. Two nnsuocessful application - forms give priority over one only, and bo forth. Subscribers who claim priority shonid write in the upper left-hand comer of the envelope enclosing their application-forms the word "Priority." The Theatre does not undertake to rectify any failure to grant priority arising through neglect of this rule. Seats allotted to subscribers, or the notifi- cation that they cannot be allotted, wiU be posted so as to reach subscribers (in London) by the first post on the Tuesday morning. Subscribers who have not made applica- tion for seats in the way and at the time above indicated, may apply for seats person- ally or by letter at any time after the book- ing-office opens (for ordinary as well as subscription booking) on Tuesday morning. Subscribers may at any time secure any ordinary-price seats not already disposed of by paying in coupons along with the sup- plement necessary to bring their price up to the ordinary price of the seats. Every subscriber on first purchasing cou- pons shall place his or her name and address on a register to be kept at the Theatre. The notification of the week's repertory will be sent only to the registered address of the subscriber. Tickets, &c., will be sent to whatever address is given on the applica- tion-form. The Theatre will not be respon- sible for any delay occurring in the post, or through the chance misdirection of any letter sent to an address other than the registered address of the subscriber. Subscribers may apply for seats by ordi- nary letter, and not on the forms provided by the Theatre ; but such applications, as entaUing additional work to the staff, will be postponed to those made in the prescribed form, and are therefore the more likely to be unsuccessful. Subscription-coupons are transferable in so far that they, or the tickets issued in exchange for them, may be presented, or even sold, privately, and as between ac- quaintances. But they must not be pub- licly or systematically trafficked in. [Por fu/rihcr d-ctails see fvU copy of RvUi iisued to every Subaoriber.^ S -x H w CO Pi c Eh H &5 ■a ° "I ^ 1 5! 3 ^ 09 € 1 ^ s 5 g o ** § , &p 2 ^ ^ g o o e >> "i -2 1 1 S ^1 1 03 d a,' 1 p^ ^ a •^ <« ^ I ^ {^ *i ^ §* ej 1 S o ^ ^ f 1 ■8 s ^ 00 « ». ^ ■8 1 1^ o > .— Cfl ^ M C fc. ;^0 < !; 1 1 II ^ i ae to = O^ S*' a 1 5 2 m f*) M N » a i :s t ^ s Iri Z3 2 a m m M M «3 3 a ,-^ ^ . 1 o 1 il .« H 1 Cs, .c c i r 1 1 i ^ 1 II 1 s 1 1 si 1 ^ t 4 s ^ •3 a OB'S _-- ' O K °0 sis « 147 [Remarks on the Specimen Notification of Repertory AND Specimen Application-Form for Seats. Both the Notification Leaflets and the Apphcation Forms would be larger than they are here shown — the Application Form three or four times the size. It would probably be advisable to indicate by the use of a special type the plays which are given with the subscription suspended. The Application-Form may at first glance seem complex and difficult to understand; but after using it two or three times sub- scribers would find it quite simple, and would be able to fill it in rapidly and with ease.] 148 APPENDIX D CASTS OF PLAYS SHAKESPEARE: "KING RICHARD II." Richard II. . . Mr Kingsway Abbot of WestH (_ ivr^ -r Buke of York . JJ Throgmorton minster . i Duke of Lancaster n Ludgate Lord Marshal . . „ F. Bolingbroke )) Wimpole Exton . . . „ Tower Hill Aumerle . . . Ji Hyde Park Scroop . . . „ G. Duke of Norfolk ti Fenchurch Welsh Captain („ Temple 1 Barre Duke of Surrey ») Euston Salisbury a Longacre ist Gardener . „ Pall MaU Lord Berkeley . >J A. 2nd Grardener . . „ H. Henry Percy J» L. A Groom . . „ I. Ross . . . n Paternoster A Servant . . „ J. Willoughby . )> D. A Keeper . . „ K. Bushey . . »» Finsbury Bagot . . . »» B. Queen . . . Miss Elcho Green . . jj C. Duchess of Gloster ,, Hatfield Fitzwater J) Knights- Duchess of York Mrs. Pevensey bridge A Lady to the Miss M. Bishop of Carlisle )) Farringdon Queen . . . Twelve per 'ormances. SHAK .ESPEARE: "KIN G HENRY IV.," Part I. Henry IV. . . Mr Wimpole Earl of Worcester Mr. Euston Henry, Prince o Wales . . . ■)•■ Aldwych Earl of Northum berland . . > ,, Lothbury Prince John n F. Hotspur . . . „ Kingsway Earl of Westmore jj Smithfield Earl of March . „ Hyde Park land Archbishop ol },, A. Sir Walter Blui at )) Paternoster York . . . '49 ISO NATIONAL THEATRE Earl of Douglas . Mr. Knightsbridge Owen Glendower ./" Somerset 1 House Peto Bardolpb . . Francis .... Mr. E. „ Pallmall ,, G. Sir Richard Ij^^g Vernon ■ . J ist Carrier . . . 2nd Carrier . . . „ H. FalstafF . . . . „ Barbican Sir Michael . . . „ C. Chamberlain . . „ J. Poins Finsbury Gadshill . . . . i " I^ethnal I Green Lady Percy . Lady Mortimer Mrs. Quickly . . Miss Walmer „ Blenheim ;, Knole Twelve performances. SHAKESPEARE : " KING HENRY IV.," Fakt IL Henry IV. . . . Mr . Wimpole Bardolph . . . . Mr Pallmall Henry, Prince of 1 Wales . . . . / " Aldwych Pistol .... l» Fenchurch Poins .... H Finsbury Duke of Clarence . ,, B. Peto .... • )* E. Duke of Lancaster ,, Paternoster Shallow . . . >) Throgmorton Humphrey of Glou-) cester . . . .) " C. Silence . . . »» Cornhill Davy .... ») Longacre Earl of Warwick . ,, Knightsbridge Fang .... ») J. Earl of Weetmore- ) land . . . . f " Smithfield Snare .... >J K. Mouldy . . . »» Tower Hill Gower , F. Shadow . . . * ») D. Lord Chief -Justice „ Euston Wart .... ») F. Ear! of Northum- ) berland . . / " Loth bury Feeble . . . •{■• Bethnal Green Scroop, Archbishop ( of York . . . j " A. Bullcalf . . . . » Temple Baixe Lord Mowbray . . „ G. First Drawer . »» L. Lord Hastings . . „ H. Lord Bardolpb . . ,, White Hall Lady Northumber ■|m iss Hatfield Sir John Colville . „ E. land . . Travers , I. Lady Percy . . , Walmer Morton . . . . „ Farringdon Mrs. Quickly . ■ , Knole Sir John Falstaff . „ Barbican Doll Tearsheet . , Alnwick His Page . . . Master X. Five performances. CASTS OF PLAYS 151 "SHAKESPEARE: "KING HENRY V." Henry V. . . Duke of Bedford Duke of Gloucester Duke of Exeter Earl of Salisbury Earl of Westmore land Archbishop of Can terbury Bishop of Ely Earl of Cambridge Lord Scroop Sir Thomas Grey Sir Thomas Erping ham ... Gower Fluellen . Macmorria Jamy . Bates Williams . Pistol . . Mr. I- [.. Aldwych I. D. Lothbury 0. Smithfield Somerset House A. E. B. 0. E. Farringdon Mark Lane Tower Hill F. G. Ludgate Fenchurch Chorus Nym Bardolph .... Boy Charles VI. . . . Lewis the Dauphin Duke of Burgundy Duke of Orleans . Duke of Bourbon . Constable of France Rambures . . Grandpr6 Mont joy .... Governor of Har- fleur . . . . French Soldier . . Mr. Longacre „ Pallmall Master X. Mr. Finsbury ,, Hyde Park „ Euston ,, H. „ A. „ Knightsbridge „ L. „ K. „ White Hall }n J- ., B. Isabel, Queen of France Katharine . Alice . . . Mrs. Quickly I Mi.ss Inveraray . . „ Blenheim Longleat Knole Miss Haddon Hall Ten performances. A. W. PINERO : " THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT." Claude Emptage . Sir Fletcher Port wood . . . . The Bishop of St. Olpherta . Eraser of Locheen John AUingham . Denzil Shafto . . Peter Elphick . . Mr. Clement Dane Horton .... Mr. B. Cornhill Farringdon White Hall Langham Paternoster A. Quaife . . Mrs. Emptage . Justina Emptage Theophila Eraser Mrs. Cloys Olive AUingham „ C. . Mrs. Dalmeny „ Chatsworth „ Mentmore . ,, Carnarvon . „ Tintagel Twelve performances. 152 NATIONAL THEATRE HENLEY AND STEVENSON: "BEAU AUSTIN." Beau Austin . . Mr. Kingsway John Fenwick . . „ Knightsbridge Anthony Musgrave „ Savile Rowe Menteith . . . ,, Throgmorton A Royal Duke . . „ A. Seven performances. Dorothy Musgrave Miss Elcho Miss Evelina ) Mrs. Pevensey Foster .... J ^ Barbara Ridley . Miss Alnwick SAINT CECILIA. Mr. Bryanston Mark Lane Somerset House Tower Hill Fenchurch Ludgate Farringdon Bethnal Green. Longacre Mr. Temple Barre Miss Belvoir ,, Arundel „ Longleat Mrs. Penshurst Miss Haddon Hall ,, Wahner Forty-one performances. W. S. GILBERT: "TOM COBB." Colonel O'Fipp . . Tom Cobb . . . Whipple . . . . Mr. Effingham . . Bulstrode Effing- ham . . . . Sir Sampson gend Valentine Scandal . Tattle . . Ben . . Foresight Jeremy Trapland . Le- Mr. Holborn „ Gracechurch „ White Hall Throgmorton Clement Dane. }" Footman Mr. A. Matilda O'Fipp . Miss Inveraray Mrs. Effingham . Mr.s. Penvensey Caroline Effingham Miss Walmer Biddy „ M. Six performances OONGREVE: "LOVE FOR LOVE." Buckram . . . . ■ Mr. Fenchurch ,, Langham „ White Hall „ Mark Lane „ Savile Rowe „ Throgmorton „ Farringdon Snap Mr. A. „ B. Miss Belvoir „ Knole „ Inveraray ,, Alnwick Nurse Mrs. Penshurst Angelica . . . Mrs. Foresight . Mrs. Frail . . Miss Prue . . Temple Barre Jenny Miss M. Nine performances. CASTS OF PLAYS 153 HADDON CHAMBERS: Mr. Parbury . . Mr. Aldwych Mr. George Gun- ) _ Q^^^y,^^], ning .... J Colonel Armitage . „ Ludgate 'TYRANNY OF TEARS." Mr. A. Miss Arundel „ Walmer Evans . Hyacinth ward . Mrs. Parbury Wood- Four performancea MOLlfiRE: "DON JUAN." Don Juan . . Mr Langham Sganarelle . . )j Mark Lane Gusnian . . ») A. Don Carlos . . jj Euston Don Alonso . . I) Lothbury Don Louis . . >» Wimpole Francisque . . ,, B. Pierrot . . )) Pallmall The Statue . . . )} Fenchurch La Violette . . . Mr. C. Ragotin . . . . „ D. Monsieur Dimanche „ Cornhill La Ram^e . . . ,, E. Elvire Miss Tintagel Charlotte Longleat Mathurine • . . „ Alnwick Seven performances. "THE FLIGHT OF THE DUCHESS." Miss Elcho Mentmore Chatsworth Hatfield Carnarvon Inveraray Ten performancea OSCAR WILDE: "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST." Mr Kingsway Hyde Park Savilc Rowe Clement Dane White Hall Holborn Paternoster Tower Hill Worthing, I j^^g^j^j^g^j^ John J.P Algernon MoncriefF Rev. Canon Chas- uble, D.D. . . Merriman . . . Lane Gracechurch Throijmorton A. B. Lady Bracknell . Mrs. Dalmeny The Hon. Gwendo- \ -Kr- -r, ■, ■ „ . . > Miss Belvoir len iairrax . . J Cecily Cardew . . „ Alnwick Miss Prism ... „ Hatfield Five performances. 154 NATIONAL THEATRE SHAKESPEARE: "THE TEMPEST.' Alonso . . . Sebastian . . Prospero . . . Antonio . . , Mr. Lothbury „ Wimpole „ Kingsway ,, Euston Trinculo . . . Stephano Master of Ship Boatswain . . . Mr. Throgmorton . „ Barbican . „ Longacre . „ Pallmall Ferdinand . . „ Hydo Park Ariel .... ■ „ X. Gonzalo . . . Adrian . . . ,, Ludgate „ Finsbury Miranda . . . . Miss Bleinheim Francesco . . . Caliban . , . „ Knightsbridge J „ Somerset 1 House Iris Ceres .... Juno .... • „ M. . ., N. . « 0. Thirty-one performances. LABIOHE AND GRUNDY : Gold- A PAIR OF SPECTACLES." Benjamin finch . Uncle Gregory Percy . . Dick . . . Mr. Lorimer Joyce . . . ':} Mr. Tower Hill. „ Farringdon. „ A. „ Savile Rowe. „ B. „ C. Bartliolomew, a Shoemaker Another Shoe- maker .... i Mr. D. I Mrs. Goldfinch I Lucy Lorimer Three performances. Miss Arundel. „ M. SHAKESPEARE: "THE TAMING OF THE SHREW." A Lord . . Mr. Lothbury. Tranio f Mr. Bethnal ■ \ Green. Christopher Sly . „ Pallmall. Hostess . • • . Miss M. Biondello Grumio . . „ B. . . „ Mark Lane Baptista . , , . Mr. Ludgate. Curtis . . „ c. Vincentio . . . ,, A. Pedant . . . . „ D. Lucentio . . . „ Finsbury. Tailor . . . . . ,. E. Petruchio . . ,, Fenchurch. Gremio . . „ Cornhill. Katharine . . . Miss Tintagel. Hortensio • • . „ Paternoster. Bianca . . Widow . . . . ,, Longleat. . . ,, N. Thirteen performances. CASTS OF PLAYS 155 Vogelreuter . . George von Hart wig. . . . Pastor HafFke . Plotz .... SUDERMANN : '• JOHANNISFEUER. . Mr. Holborn. }■ Smithfield. Throgmorton. CornhUl. Frau Vogelreuter . Mrs. Pevensey. }•■ Elcho. TruJe Miss Blenheim. Marikke (Heim- chen) . The Gip.sy . Mrs. Penshurst. Housekeeper . Miss M, Maidservant . . „ N. Four performances. "THE BACKWATER." Mr. Langham. „ Bryanston. „ White Hall. ,, Clement Dane. Miss Walmer. „ Arundel. „ Inveraray. ,, Carnarvon. Four performances. SHERIDAN : " THE CRITIC Sir Fretful Plagi- ary .... Puff .... Dangle eer .... Under-Prompter Mr. Hopkins Mrs. Dangle Lord Burleigh . Governor of Til- bury .... Earl of Leicester . „ A. Sir Walter Raleigh „ B. Mr. Tower Hill. „ Cornhill. „ Finsbury. „ Gracechurch. „ J. By the Prompter. Mrs. Dalmeny. j Mr. Clement I Dane. Wimpole. Christopher ) j^^ ^ atton . . . i } Sir Hatton Master of tht Horse ... Don Ferolo Whisk erandos Beefeator Justice Son ... . Constable . . Thames . . . Tilburina . . ConfiJaut Justice's Lady . ist and 2nd Niece \ D. Bethnal Green. „ E. „ F. „ G. „ H. „ I- Miss Mentmore. ,, Alnwick. „ M. Misses N. and O Nine performances. 156 NATIONAL THEATRE W. B. YEATS: "THE COUNTESS OATHLEEN." Shemus Rua Teig, his son Aleel . . . Maurteen, a dener 1st Demon . 2nd Demon . Herdsman . 1st Peasant . 2nd Peasant Sheogue . A Steward . 3rd Peasant gar Mr. Wimpole A. Finsbui-y Cornhill Fenchurch Lothbury B. 0. D. E. H. 1. 4th Peasant . . . Mr. J. Tho-Countees Oath- leen ... Oona, her foster- mother Maire, wife Shemus I st Peasant Woman „ M. 2nd Peasant Woman „ N. A Sowlth .... „ O. A Thivish P. I Miss Tintagel ) > Mrs. Pevensey ° i Miss Knole Six performances. HENRY ARTHUR JONES: "THE LIARS. Colonel Sir Chris- topher Dering . Edward Falkner . Gilbert Nepean George Nepean Freddy Tatton . . Archibald Coke Waiter .... Gadsby .... Taplin .... > Mr. Bryanston Mr. Smithfield „ Lothbury „ White HaU „ ClementDane „ Ludgate „ A. „ B. „ C. Footman . Mr. D. Alnwick Lady Jessica N^ I Miss Walmer pean .... J Lady Rosamond ) Tatton . . . . i Dolly Coke ... ,, Chatsworth Beatrice Ebernoe . „ Arundel BIrs. Crespin . . „ M. Ferris N. Nine performances. SHAKESPEARE: "HAMLET." Claudius . Hamlet . Fortinbras Horatio . Polonius . Laertes . Mr. Wimpole „ Kingsway „ Hyde Park „ Knightsbridge „ Holborn „ Smithfield Rosencrantz . Guildensteru Osric . A Priest . . Marcellus Bernardo . Mr. A. „ B. ,, Savile Rowe „ 0. ,, Euston „ D. CASTS OF PLAYS Francisco. . . Reynaldo . ist Player . . 2nd Player . . ist Gravedigger 2nd Gravedigger . „ H. Mr. E. „ F. „ Thrc^morbon „ G. „ Pallmall Ghost . . Queen Ophelia . 3rd Player Mr. Bryanston Miss Hatfield „ Blenheim „ M. Nineteen ^ performances. Mr. Aldwych ,, Langham „ Maik Lane „ Savile Rowe ,, Gracechurch ,, Finsbury "THE CHILTERN HUNDREDS." Mr. Tower Hill Miss Elcho ,, Mentmore „ Tintagel ,, Knole Forty-three performances. Gracechurch Marquis de River- ) ^^ ^^ olles . . . . j Lucien de River- 1 olles . . . . / " Stanislas de Gran- I , , , , \ „ Aldwych dredou . . . . ) Hemi de Simeux . „ Finsbury DUMAS FILS: " FRANCILLON." Celestin . . . Jean de Carillac ,, Pinguet . . . . I " Tower Hill Bethnal Green Francine de River olles ... Th^rese Smith . , Annette de River- olles Elisa . . Mr. A. > Miss Belvoir ,, Inveraray ' > ,, Chatsworth . . „ M. Ten performances. T. W. ROBERTSON: "CASTE." George D'Alroy Captain Hawtree Eccles . . . Sam Gerridge . Dixon .... Mr. Smithfield „ Bryanston ,, Mark Lane „ Tower Hill .. A. Marquise de Maur . . Esther Eccles Polly Ecclea St. ) Mrs. Dalmeny Miss Arundel „ Mentmore Seven performances. 158 NATIONAL THEATRE SHAKESPEARE: "ROMEO AND JULIET." Escalus . . . . Mr. Euston Balthasar . . Mr. 0. Paris .... . „ Knightsbridge Sampson . „ D. Montague . . . „ A. Gregory . . „ E. Capulet . . . ( ,, Somerset ' 1 House Peter .... Abraham . . „ Pallmall Romeo . . . . ,, Hyde Park An Apothecary „ Longacre Mercutio . . . ,, Throgmorton Benvolio „ White Hall Lady Montague Miss M. Tybalt . . . . „ Smithfield Lady Capulet . „ Knole Friar Laurence „ Ludgate Juliet. . . . „ Tintagel Friar John . . „ B. Nurse .... Mrs. Penshurst Thirteen performances. BRIEUX: "LA ROBE ROUGE." Mouzon . . . . Mr. Fenchurch Yanetta . . . . Miss Elcho Etchepar . . . . „ Throgmorton The Mother . . . Mrs. Pevensey Vagret . . . „ Finsbury Madame Vagret . Miss Carnarvon, The Procureur . . „ A. Madame Buzerat . ., M. The President . . „ Longacre Bertha . . . . „ N. Mondoubleau . . „ CornhiU Oatialena . . . „ Chatsworth Ardeuil . . . . „ White Hall Seven performances. BEN JONSON : " EVERY MAN IN HIS HUMOUR." Knowell . . • Mr Tower Hill Justice Clement . Mr. Barbican Edward Knowell >> Smithfield Roger Formal . . „ B. Brainworm . 11 Temple Barre Servant . • ,, c. Master Stephen )> Savile Rowe George Downright JJ Euston Dame Kitely . Miss Walmer Kitely . . . ti Lothbury Mistress Bridget . „ M. Thomas Cash . )) A. Tib .... . Mrs. Penshurst Captain Bobadill >1 Wimpole Master Matthew {■■ Bethnal Green Prologue . . . . Mr. D. Oliver Cobb . . {■■ Somerset House Seven performances. CASTS OF PLAYS 159 "HODGE AND THE VICAR." Mr. Mark Lane Pall Mall Barbican Holborn Gracechurch Cornhill Clement Dane Lothbury Mr. Farringdon Miss Mentmore „ Knole „ Haddon Hall „ Arundel ,, Alnwick Eight performances. R. 0. CARTON: "LADY HUNTWORTH'S EXPERIMENT." }•■ Captain Dorvaston Mr. Bryanston Rev. Audley Pil- ) ,, Bethnal lenger . Rev. H. Thoresby Mr. Crayll . Gandy . . . Newspaper Boy Green „ A. ,, Tower Hill „ B. Master X. Miss Hannah Pil- lenger . . . . Lucy Keziah . . . . Caroline Rayward Miss Hatfield ,, Alnwick „ M. ,, Belvoir Seven performances. SHAKESPEARE: "AS YOU LIKE IT." Banished Duke Duke Frederick Amiens . . . Jaques . . . Le Beau . . . Charles . . . Oliver. . . . Jaques de Bois . Orlando . , Mr »> »j »> ») n Finsbury Lothbury X. Kingsway Bethnal Green Paternoster Euston A. Aldwych Wimpole B. Touchstone . . ist Lord . . . . Sir Oliver Martext Corin Silvins William . , . . Rosalind . . . . Celia Mr. Barbican „ Knightsbridge „ C. „ Farringdon „ Hyde Park „ Pallmall Miss Haddon HaU Loneleat Phebe ., Walmer Adam .... Dennis . . . Audrey . . . . Hymen . . . . ,, Alnwick Nine performances. i6o NATIONAL THEATRE A. W. PINERO: "TRELAWNY OF THE WELLS." Theatrical Folk. James Telfer Augustus Colpoys Ferdinand Gadd Tom Wrench . O'Dwyer . . . . Mr. Wimpole ,, Longacre „ White Hall „ Savile Rowe „ Tower Hill Mrs. Telfer . . Avonia Bunn Rose Trelawny . Imogen Parrott Miss Knole „ Ohatsworth „ Blenheim ,, Mentmore Non-Theatrical Folk. Vice-Chancellor Sir W. Gower Arthur Gower Smithfield Bethual !• Mr. Ludgate „ Smithfi( ( ,, Bethua] Captain De Foenix J. Green J) Mr. Ablett Chai'lea . Pallmall Clement Dane Trafalgar ) ,, _ > Mrs. Pevensey Miss Gower Clara De FoenLx . Miss Alnvick Mrs. Mossop . . Mrs. Penshurat Sarah Miss M. SLx performances. MAETERLINCK : " PELLEAS AND MELISANDE." ist Servant {•• Yniold Pelleas .... Mr. Hyde Park Golaud ....,, Knightsbridge Arkel „ Farringdon Temple Barre Doctor , A. Six performances. Queen Genevieve Melisande . . Servants . . Mr. X. Miss Hatfield ,, Longleat f Misses M., N., ) 0., P., Q. BULWER LYTTON : " MONEY." Lord Glossmore Sir John Vesey Sir Frederick Blount Stout . . . . Mr. Lothbury I „ Somerset ( House Graves > „ Finsbury Barbican Bethnal Green Evelyn . . . . Captain Dudley Smooth . . . Sharpe .... Toke Franz, a taUor . Tabouret, an up holsterer . Mr. Aldwych > ,, Bryanston „ Longacre „ A. ,. B. :}•• c. CASTS OF PLAYS i6i MacFinch, a jewel- (. -sr . -p) ler ) MacStucco, an ) architect . . . i " Kite, a horse- dealer . ':}» Crimson, a por- ) trait-painter . . f " Grab, a publisher . „ E. F. G. H. Patent, a coach- ) , , _ builder An Old Member Lady Franklin . Georgina Vesey Clara Douglas Two performances. /■ ■{ „ Temple Barre , Miss Knole „ Walmer ,, Arundel W. S. GILBERT: "SWEETHEARTS." Mr. Spreadbrow . Mr. Savile Rowe f „ Temple ' ( Barre Wilcox Miss Northcott Ruth . . . . Miss Chats- worth „ M. Maurteen Bruin Shawn Bruin Father Hart W. B. YEATS: "THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE." Bridget Bruin . , Miss Hatfield Maire Bruin . . ,, Longleat Fairy Child ... „ X. ..{ Mr. Temple Barre ,, Knightsbridge „ Holborn Count Federigo Filippo . . . .| " TENNYSON : " THE FALCON." Monna Giovanna . Miss Elcho Elisabetta . . . Mrs. Pevensey Mr. Aldwych Temple Barre King Rene . Count Tristan Sir GeoflFrey Sir Almeric . Ebn Jahia . HERZ AND WILLS : " lOLANTHE." Mr. Holborn Bertrand . . . Mr. C. Aldwych Martha .... Miss M. Haddon HaU B. Cornhill lolanthe { " FREDERICK FENN : " JUDGED BY APPEARANCES." Arthur Denison A Burglar . . Mr. Grace- church ,, Euston A Constable Helen Denison Mr. A. Miss Arundel L i62 NATIONAL THEATRE "THE SPARTAN." Mr Langham Mrs. Dalmeny )) Clement Dane Miss Inveraray n Gracechurch „ Carnarvon )) Paternoster "AT THE DOCK GATES." Mr Holborn Miss Mentmore >» Bryanston „ Haddon HaU 1) Pallmall Mrs. Penshurst 11 Cornhill Miss Carnarvon PARTS PLAYED BY PRINCIPAL MEMBERS OF THE COMPANY. Mr. KixGswAY. Richard II., Hotspur, Beau Austin, Prospero, Hamlet, Jaques. Part in one New Play. (loo performances.) Mr. Aldwych. Prince of Wales (Henry IV., Parts i and 2), Henry v., Mr. Parbury (Tyi-anny of Tears), Orlando, Alfred Evelyn, Count Federigo (The Falcon), Tristan (lolanthe). Part in one New Play. (75 performances.) Mr. Langham. John Allingham (The Benefit of the Doubt), Valen- tine (Love for Love), Don Juan. Parts in three New Plays. (83 performances.) Mr. Mark Lane. Fluellen, Tattle (Love for Love), Sganarelle (Don Juan), Grumio, Eccles (Caste). Parts in three New Plays. (138 performances.) Mr. LuDGATE. John of Gaunt, Williams (Henry V.), Colonel Armi- tage (Tyranny of Tears), Gonzalo (Tempest), Baptista (Taming of the Shrew), Archibald Coke (The Liars), Marquis de Riverolles (Francillon), Friar Laurence, Sir William Gower (Trelawny). Part in one New Play. (149 performances.) Mr. WiMPOLE. Bolingbroke, Hemy IV., Don Louis (Don Juan), Sebastian (The Tempest), Governor of Tilbury (The Critic), Shemus Rua (Countess Cathleen), Claudius (Hamlet), Bobadil (Every Man in his Humour), Adam (As You Like It). (123 performances.) CHARACTER LISTS 163 Mr. Fenchurch. Duke of Norfolk (Richard II.), Pistol (Henry IV., Part 2, and Henry V.), Sir Sampson Legend (Love for Love), Statue (Don Juan), Petruchio, ist Demon (Countess Cathleen), Mouzon (La Robe Rouge). Part in one New Play. ( 1 1 o performances.) Mr. Barbican. FalstafF, Stephano (The Tempest), Justice Clement (Every Man in his Humour), Touchstone, Stout (Money). Part in one New Play. (74 performances.) Mr. Bryansto.v. Sir Christopher Dering (The Liars), Ghost (Hamlet), Captain Hawtree (Caste), Captain Dorvaston (Lady Huntworth's Experiment), Dudley Smooth (Money). Parts in three New Plays. (100 performances.) Mr. HoLBORN. Colonel OTipp (Tom Cobb), Vogelreuter (Johannis- feuer), Polonius, Father Hart (Land of Heart's Desire), King Ren^ (lolanthe;. Parts in three New Plays. (74 performances.) Mr. Somerset House. Owen Glendower, Archbishop of Canter- bury (Henry V.), Caliban, Capulet, Oliver Cobb (Every Man in his Humour), Sir John Vesey (Money). Part in one New Play. (116 performances.) Mr. Pallmall. 1st Gardener (Richard II.), Bardolph (Henry IV., Part I , Part 2 ; Henry V.), Pierrot (Don Juan), Boatswain (Tempest), Sly (Taming of the Shrew), ist Gravedigger, Peter (Romeo and Juliet), Mr. Ablett (Trelawny). Parts in two New Plays. (156 performances.) Mr. Tower Hill. Exton (Richard II.), Mouldy (Henry IV., Part 2), Macmorris (Henry V.), Benjamin Goldfinch (A Pair of Spec- tacles), Sir Fretful Plagiary (The Critic), Jean de CarUlac (Francillon), Sam Gerridge (Caste), Knowell (Every Man in his Humour), Mr. Crayll (Lady Huntworth's Experiment), O'Dwyer (Trelawny). Parts in three New Plays. (170 performances.) Mr. Savile Rowe. Anthony Musgrave (Beau Austin), Ben (Love for Love), Dick (A Pair of Spectacles), Osric, Stephen (Every Man in his Humour), Tom Wrench (Trelawny), Mr. Spreadbrow (Sweethearts). Parts in two New Plays. (112 performances.) Mr. Gracechurch. Tom Cobb, George Gunning (Tyranny of Tears), Algernon Moncrieff (Importance of being Earnest), Sneer (The Critic), Lucien (Francillon), Denison (Judged by Appearances). Parts in three New Plays. (loi performances.) i64 NATIONAL THEATRE Mr. Clement Daxe. Claude Emptage (The Benefit of the Doubt), Bulstrode Effingham (Tom Cobb), Burleigh (The Critic), Freddy Tatton (The Liars), Charles (Trelawny of the Wells). Parts in four New Plays. (72 performances.) Mr. Throgmorton. Duke of York (Richard II.), Shallow, Menteith (Beau Austin), Mr. Effingham (Tom Cobb), Foresight (Love for Love), Chasuble (Importance of being Earnest), Trinculo, Pastor Haftke (Johannisfeuer), ist Player (Hamlet), Mercutio, Etche- par (La Robe Rouge). (118 performances.) Mr. Hyde Park. Aumerle, Earl of March (Henry IV., Part i), Dauphin (Henry V.), Ferdinand (The Tempest), Fortinbras, Romeo, Silvius (As You Like It), Pelleas (Pelleas and Melis- sande). Part in one New Play. (130 performances,) Mr. CoRNHiLL. Silence, Sir Fletcher Portwood (The Benefit of the Doubt), M. Dimanche (Don Juan), Gremio (The Taming of the Shrew), Plotz (Johannisfeuer), Puff (The Critic), Mondoubleau (La Robe Rouge), Ebn Jahia (lolanthe). Parts in two New Plays. (82 performances.) Mr. White Hall. Lord Bardolph (Hem-y IV., Part 2), Montjoy (Henry V.), Eraser of Locheen (The Benefit of the Doubt), Whipple (Tom Cobb), Scandal (Love for Love), George Nepean (The Liars), Benvolio, Ardeuil (La Robe Rouge), Gadd (Tre- lawny). Parts in two New Plays. (9 1 performances.) Mr. Bethnal Green. Gadshill (Henry IV., Part i). Feeble (Henry IV., Part 2), Tranio, Don Ferolo Whiskerandos (The Critic), Pin- guet (Francillon), Matthew (Every Man in his Humour), Rev. Audrey Pillenger (Lady Huntworth's Experiment), Le Beau (As You Like It), Graves (Money). Part in one New Play. (131 performances.) Mr. Smithfield. Westmoreland (Henry IV., Part i , Part 2 ; Henry v.), Worthing (The Importance of being Earnest), Hartwig (Johannisfeuer), Edward Falkner (The Liars), George D'Alroy (Caste), Tybalt, Edward KnoweU (Every Man in his Humour), Arthur Gower (Trelawny). (97 performances.) Miss Elcho. Queen (Richard II.), Dorothy Musgrave (Beau Austin), Marikke (Johannisfeuer), Yanetta (La Robe Rouge), Monna Giovanna (The Falcon). Parts in two New Plays. (9 1 perform- ances.) CHARACTER LISTS 165 Miss Belvoib. Angelica (Love for Love), Gwendolen Fairfax (Impor- tance of being Earnest), Francine de RiveroUes (Francillon), Caroline Rayward (Lady Huntworth's Experiment). Part in one New Play. (72 performances.) Miss Mentmore. Theophila Eraser (The Benefit of the Doubt), Til- burina (The Critic), Polly Eccles (Caste), Imogen Parrott (Tre- lawny). Parts in four New Plays, (i 06 performances.) Mrs. Penshurst. Nurse (Love for Love), The Gipsy (Johannisfeuer), Nurse (Romeo and Juliet), Tib (Every Man in his Humour), Mrs. Mossop (Trelawny). Parts in two New Plays. (89 perform- ances.) Miss KxoLE Mrs. Quickly, Mrs. Foresight (Love for Love), Maire (Countess Cathleen), Lady Capulet, Mrs. Telfer (Trelawny), Lady Franklin (Money). Parts in two New Plays. (78 perform- ances.) Mrs. Dalmexy. Mrs. Emptage (The Benefit of the Doubt), Lady Bracknell (Importance of being Earnest), Marquise (Caste), Mrs. Dangle (Critic). Part in one New Play. (41 performances.) Miss Inveraray. Isabel (Henry V.), Matilda (Tom Cobb), Mrs. Trail (Love for Love), Therese Smith (Francillon). Parts in three New Plays. (57 performances.) Miss TiNTAGEL. Olive (The Benefit of the Doubt), Elvira (Don Juan), Katharine (Taming of the Shrew), Countess Cathleen, Juliet. Part in one New Play. (94 performances.) Miss Walmer. Lady Percy, Caroline (Tom Cobb), Mrs. Parbury (Tyranny of Tears), Lady Jessica (The Liars), Dame Kately (Every Man in his Humour), Phebe (As You Like It), Georgina (Money). Parts in two New Plays. (99 performances.) Miss Blenheim. Lady Mortimer, Katherine (Henry V.), Miranda, Trude (Johannisfeuer), Ophelia, Rose Trelawny. (82 perform- ances.) Miss Longleat. Alice (Henry V.), Charlotte (Don Juan), Bianca (Taming of the Shrew), Celia, Melisande, Maire Bruin (The Land of Heart's Desire). Part in one New Play. (94 performances.) Miss Haddon Hall. Chorus (Henry V.), Rosalind, lolanthe. Parts in three New Plays. (87 performances.) Miss Arundel. Hyacinth (Tyranny of Tears), Mrs. Goldfinch (Pair of Spectacles), Beatrice Ebernoe (The Liars), Esther Eccles, Clara i66 NATIONAL THEATRE Douglas (Money), Helen (Judged by Appearances). Parts in three New Plays. (86 performances.) Miss Carnarvon. Mrs. Cloys (The Benefit of the Doubt), Madame Vagret (La Robe Rouge). Parts in four New Plays. (52 per- formances.) Mrs. Pevensey. Duchess of York (Richard II.), Miss Foster (Beau Austin), Mrs. Effingham (Tom Cobb), Frau Vogelreuter (Johan- nisfeuer), Oona (Countess Cathleen), The Mother (La Robe Rouge), Miss Gower (Trelawny), Elisabetta (The Falcon). (64 performances.) Miss Alnwick. Doll Tearsheet, Barbara Ridley (Beau Austin), Miss Prue (Love for Love), Mathurine (Don Juan), Cecily Cardew (Importance of being Earnest), Confidant (Critic), Lady Rosamond (The Liars), Lucy (Lady Huntworth's Experiment), Audrey, Clara (Trelawny). Part in one New Play. (81 performances.) Miss Chatsworth. Justina (The Benefit of the Doubt), Dolly Coke (The Liars), Annette (Francillon), Catialena (La Robe Rouge), Avonia Bunn (Trelawny), Miss Northcott (Sweethearts). Part in one New Play. (70 performances.) Miss Hatfield. Duchess of Gloster (Richard II.), Lady Northumber- land, Miss Prism (Importance of being Earnest), Queen (Hamlet), Miss Pillenger (Lady Huntworth's Experiment), Queen (Pelleas and Melisande), Bridget (The Land of Heart's Desire). Part in one New Play. (72 performances.) APPENDIX E THE THEORY OF THEATRICAL ENDOWMENT: EXTRACTS FROM SPEECHES AND ARTICLES. John Hare : Speech at the Royal Academy Banquet, April 30, 1904. And now, Mr. President, may I be forgiven if I take this oppor- tunity to make one little plea on behalf of the Cinderella of the Arts — the Drama. True, her sisters have not been either haughty or unkind, but she still awaits her fairy prince to take her by the hand, to raise her from the basement, and give her the privileges enjoyed by those more favoured. In the presence of so many distinguished members of the Legislature I would venture to express a hope that on some fair spring afternoon when, free from the graver cares of State, their minds may lightly turn to thoughts of love — to love of the arts (cheers) — they may help us to the fulfilment of our legitimate aspirations, the endowment of a National Theatre — a theatre which should uphold the noblest traditions of the British stage, where the best and worthiest dramas of British authors should be performed, and to which a sound school of gratuitous dramatic teaching should be attached. (Cheers.) Such an institution would at once raise the dignity of the drama to the level it occupies in other great nations of the world, and would help to check those malignant growths which are poisoning and undermining our very existence, and making our stage a byword and reproach. (Cheers.) A. W. PiNERO : Speech to the Pen and Pencil Club, Edinburgh, February 25, 1903. Of course it is the case that every theatrical season does not pro- duce a masterpiece ; well, this country is not alone in that respect. A fine play is the rarest product of any country. But where other coun- 167 i68 NATIONAL THEATRE tries are ahead of us — at least, I hold so — is that when a fine play is produced they do something for it. They preserve it ; they take a reasonable amount of pride in it ; they do not allow it, when it has once been seen and admired, to lie neglected, forgotten ; they take good care that, from time to time, it shall be displayed as evidence of what they can do in that particular department of art and literature. And there you have, in a nutshell, one of the great uses — I do not by any means say the only use — of a theatre which, whether established by the State, or by a municipal corporation, or by private munificence, shall be independent of the purely commercial conditions which too frequently govern the drama in Great Britain. Yes, but you will ask — Have we existing in Great Britain sufficient material to stock such a shop ? I think we have. I think you would find that, given the shop — given a National or Repertory Theatre — you could make, even at the start, a highly respectable show. In short, I believe firmly that, under the more favourable conditions I have indicated, it would be discovered that the maligned British drama is a thing not to be so very much ashamed of after all. Henry Arthur Jones. " The Recognition of the Drama by the State." Nineteenth Century, March 1904. And now at last we have come to the moment when it is plain to everybody that the system is not working, and cannot be got to work ; and that if the EngUsh drama and the English stage are to be kept alive in our midst, if all the golden leisure and evening hours of the English people are not to be wasted in the emptiest, tawdriest tomfoolery, if this is to be avoided, " something must be done ! " But what? . . . We have made great progress towards a National Theatre during the last few years, or at least we have made very great progress towards the necessity for a National Theatre. We have made such progress that we seem to be irresistibly and instinctively moving towards it, drawn by hands that we cannot see, and called by whisperings from a future not very far away. I am sure that the establishment of a National Theatre should be the fervent hope, the object of every actor's, and every dramatist's, ambition. And if we can once get our root idea to catch fire and blaze, a National Theatre THEORY OF ENDOWMENT 169 must follow as the night the day. I believe it is coming. Our great care must be to see that no abortive or premature attempt is made to start it on wrong lines, or under wrong management, or without sufficient security. A false step made at this moment, an unworkable scheme started in a crude way, blundering along for a few months or years to certain disaster, would be the greatest misfortune that could just now befall the English drama. Sydney Lee : " Shakespeare and the Modern Stage." Nitieteenth Century, January 1900. It is a tradition of the modern stage that every revival of a Shakespearean play at a leading theatre must exceed in magnificence all that went before. , . . The natural result is that Shakespearean revivals in London are comparatively rare; they take place at un- certain intervals, and only those plays are viewed with favour by the managers which lend themselves in their opinion to ostentatious spectacle. . . . Until Shakespeare is represented constantly and in his variety, the spiritual and intellectual enlightenment that his achieve- ment offers to Englishmen wiU remain wholly inaccessible to the majority who do not read him, and wiU be only in part at the com- mand of the few who do. Nay more : until Shakespeare is repre- sented on the stage constantly and in his variety, EngHshmen are liable to the imputation not merely of failing in the homage due to the greatest of their countrymen, but of falling short of their neigh- bours in Germany and Austria in the capacity of appreciating supremely great imaginative literature. H. Hamilton Fyfe : " A Permanent Shakespearean Theatre." Fortnightly Revicxv, May 1900. . . . We have gradually come to think that, in the greatest city in the world, there is no chance at all for artistic enterprise. Every time we visit a Continental capital, even a small Continental town, we feel a prick of amazement and regret ; but the practical person is generally not far off, and we have to be content with his pronounce- ment, in a hard tone of absolute finality, that " this sort of thing wouldn't pay in London." ... As to the desirability of " organising lyo NATIONAL THEATRE the theatre," I take that to be admitted. No one whose opinion has been formed by knowledge of the conditions of the drama has even contended that long runs, costly mounting which makes long runs necessary, nervous endeavour to meet every momentary change of mood on the public's part, are healthy conditions. Even if this were not so, there are plenty of theatres which will continue on the present lines. Can we not try at least one theatre of the other kind ? Brander Matthews : " The Question of the Theatre." North American Review, March 1902. The experience of history seems to show that it is unwise to leave any art wholly at the mercy of the money-making motives. Even in the English-speaking countries, where more is abandoned to private enterprise than is thought advisable among the Latin races, galleries have been built for the proper exhibition of the works of living painters and sculptors ; and concert-halls have been erected for the proper performance of orchestral music. In New York, for example, and only a stone's-throw from each other, stand the Carnegie Music Hall and the Vanderbilt Gallery (of the Fine Arts Building), visible evidences of the aid willingly extended by the wealthy to the other arts. In Carnegie Hall, in the course of the season, concerts are given by three or four different symphony-orchestras, the continued existence of which is conditional upon a large subscription or on a guarantee fund, substantially equivalent to a subsidy. And during the same winter months, a series of performances of grand opera, in Italian, in French, and in German, is given at the Metropolitan Opera House — performances made possible only by a very large subscription from the box-holders, and by a reduction of the rental from the figure which the owners of the building would demand if they sought simply for a proper return on the money invested. If men of means had not chosen to sink their money in the Metropolitan Opera House and in Carnegie Hall ; if Major Higginson were now to withdraw his support from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and if the pubUc-spirited music-lovers of Chicago and Pittsburg were to refuse any further subsidy to the orchestras of which they are justly entitled to be proud ; if music were to be deprived of all artificial assistance and forces, to depend for existence THEORY OF ENDOWMENT 171 solely upon the working of purely commercial motives — then, music would be exactly in the same position in which the drama is now. Much has been done for music ; just as much has been done in other ways for painting, for sculpture, and for architecture. Nothing at all has been done for the drama. It is wholly dependent upon the law of supply and demand, and so long as this is the case, the manager will naturally seek to produce the kind of play likely to please the most people. He will perform it continuously, seven or eight times a week, for as many weeks as possible. He will proclaim its merits as vehemently as he can ; and he will advertise it very much as a circus or a sensational novel is advertised. The manager has to present the kind of play which is calculated to please the largest number of possible spectators, and he will be likely to shrink from the kind of play which would appeal to a small public only, which cannot be forced into a long run, and which does not lend itself to circus-methods of booming. In fact, the conditions of the theatre being what they are now in New York and in London, the wonder is that the level of the stage is not lower than it is actually, and that the more intelligent playgoers ever have an opportunity to see anything other than spectacle and sensation. That we have a chance now and then to behold more plays of a more delicate work- manship and of a more poetic purpose, is due partly to the courage and the liberality of certain of the managers, and partly to the honourable ambition of certain of the actors and actresses, seeking occasion for the exercise of their art in a wider range of characters. 'o^ Thus the drama is at a grave disadvantage as compared with the other arts, owing to the absence of all outside aid. There are public libraries for the preservation of the masterpieces of literature, and there are public galleries and public museums for the proper display of the masterpieces of painting and of sculpture. There is no public theatre where the masterpieces of the drama are presented for our study and for our stimulation. It is true that we can read the great plays of the great dramatists ; we can read them by ourselves at our own firesides ; but how pale is a perusal compared with a performance, how inadequate, how unsatisfactory ! Perhaps a mere reading may 172 NATIONAL THEATRE enable us to appreciate some of the purely literary beauties of tlie play ; but it will hardly help us to apprehend its essential dramatic qualities — the very qualities which give the play its true value, and which stand revealed at once when the play is presented in the theatre. William Archer : " The Case for National Theatres." Monthly Review, July 1902. . . . We contend for a principle and a system : the principle that the acted drama of the English language ought to rank high among the intellectual glories, and among the instruments of culture, of the nation, or rather of the race ; the system of securing this end by giving public (not necessarily official) recognition and support to theatrical art. Is there any reader who cavils at the principle I have laid down ? If so, let me beg him to consider the facts. In every city of the United Kingdom, of America, of Australasia, there are from one to thirty or forty theatres, open seven or eight times a week, and many of them crowded night after night with audiences hungry and thirsty for the enjoyment, the stimulation, afforded by what is beyond all doubt the most fascinating and popularly attractive of the arts. Many people, of whom I speak with all respect, " disapprove " of the theatre altogether — not, as matters stand, without some reason. But their disapproval is absolutely impotent. To disapprove of the theatre is simply to disapprove of one of the most universal and ineradicable of human instincts, which leads men to take pleasure in the mimetic reproduction, idealisation, or caricature of their own characters, manners, and passions. Year by year theatres multiply. There is very good reason to believe that not only the absolute number of those who frequent them, but the relative number in proportion to the whole population, is steadily increasing. Can it be doubted that, for good or evil — or rather for good and evil — they exercise an enormous influence ? Can it be doubted that their in- fluence for good, as places of intellectual recreation, stimulation, and invigoration, might easily be far greater than it is ? And is not this end worth taking some trouble to attain. ... If there were but one playhouse in each of the great cities of the English-speaking THEORY OF ENDOWMENT 173 world where the poetry and humour of the past, the thought and aspiration of the present, were enabled to attract to them the better elements in the public — now scattered and unorganised for want of any artistic rallying-point — can it be doubted that the theatre would be, what I have said it ought to be — a potent instrument of culture, and one of the intellectual glories of the race ? But I must guard against the ambiguity which lurks in the expression " the theatre." Used in this sense it does not, of course, include all theatres, any more than the word " literature " includes all books. The most admirable system of National Theatres would not supplant or abolish the ordinary commercial playhouses. National Theatres would help the better order of commercial theatres by training actors for them, and by augmenting the numbers of the intelligent public ; but the lower class of playhouses they would leave practically untouched, or, at any rate, would atfect no more than would any other institution tending to raise the general level of intelligence. The dramatic amusements of a people, taken as a whole, will always answer to their lower as well as to their higher instincts ; just as the noblest efforts in poetry, philosophy, and fiction do not prevent the bookstalls from being crowded with trash. The defect of the English theatre — as distinguished from English litera- ture and from the theatres of other great nations — is that while it ministers amply to the lower instincts of the race, it answers very imperfectly to the higher instincts. It is this quite needless inequality that the supporters of the National Theatre idea aim at correcting. In considering the merits of any system, one naturally looks for concrete examples of it in operation. And here let me point to a significant fact. The great nations of Western Europe are five : France, Germany (which, for literary purposes, includes German- speaking Austria), Italy, Spain, and England. In two of these countries the theatre — as a home both of the national classics and of the drama of modern life — ranks high among the intellectual glories of the people. In three the theatre is rather a national reproach than a national glory, though two of these nations have in bygone centuries produced dramatic literatures of marvellous wealth and splendour. The two countries in which the theatre nobly fulfils 174 NATIONAL THEATRE its functions are France and Germany ; the three countries in which it leaves its highest functions almost wholly unfulfilled are Italy, Spain, and England. Now, it cannot but seem, to say the least of it, a curious coincidence that France and Germany should be the countries in which the drama receives, and has for long received, all sorts of public recognition and support, while Italy, Spain, and England are the countries in which it has been left entirely in the hands of individual speculators. Is it altogether rash to divine some relation of cause and effect between these phenomena ? Can it be a pure coincidence that, throughout Western Europe, wherever the drama is regarded as a matter of pubUc concern — national or local — it flourishes : wherever it is given over entirely to private enterprise, it more or less obviously falls short of the requirements of even the most modest ideal ? People try to get round this argument in several ingenious ways. Some contend that the superiority of the theatrical organisation of France and Germany is illusory, pointing to the attacks that are frequently made by French and German critics upon the Th(5atre- Franqais and the German Court Theatres. This argument we may at once put aside. No human institution is flawless and unassailable. The criticisms which are levelled against the French and German theatres are, many of them, just enough ; but they involve the application of an incomparably higher standard than can be possibly applied to the English stage. If the English theatre escapes such criticisms, it is only by not rising into the region where they come into force. Wherever it does rise into that region, it is open to ten times severer criticism than any competent and candid critic can urge against the leading French and German theatres. To argue that we should be content with the English theatre as it is, because French critics are sometimes discontented with the Th^atre-Francais, is simply to argue against all progress on the ground that absolute perfection is unattainable. More plausible, at first sight, is another argument not infrequently advanced. " We English have no theatrical endowments," it is said, " because we are not a theatrical race. The excellence of the French and German theatres is not due to their endowments ; on the con- trary, the existence of these endowments is due to the fact that the French and the Germans are people of inborn theatrical proclivities, THEORY OF ENDOWMENT 175 who, taking a profound national interest in the theatre, are naturally willing to give it national support. No endowment will instil into a race a non-existent theatrical instinct." There is a certain spacious- ness in this position, until we look into the facts, which are as follows : This wholly non-theatrical race has produced the greatest dramatist of modern times, and one of the richest of dramatic literatures; for a century and a half (1660 to 18 10, or thereabouts) its theatre rivalled the French theatre in excellence ; it produced one actor (Garrick) who was acknowledged by all Europe to be the most universal genius in his art that the world had seen, and countless actors and actresses of unquestionable greatness ; it not only possessed a rich and vigorous theatrical life for nearly two centuries before the Germans had anything worthy of the name, but it at two different periods fecundated the German drama, feebly in the early seventeenth century, potently and decisively in the latter half of the eighteenth : even so lately as 1827 it gave the final impulse to the romantic movement in France; and at this moment it manifests a passion for the theatre not inferior in strength to that of the French or German public, however inferior in intelligence and enlightenment. The truth is that this idea of an inherent disability for theatrical art in the Anglo-Saxon race is a superstition of very recent origin, begotten of the deep depression which overtook the theatrical life of the country in the middle years of the nineteenth century. It followed on the breakdown of the monopoly system which had since the Restoration (however imperfectly) performed the function which, in France and Germany, is now performed by endowments. We have in the past century fallen behind France and Germany in theatrical art, not because of any innate incapacity, but because, at a critical moment, we omitted to take any reasonable measures to keep abreast of them. It may be asked why " commercialism " should require to be " mitigated " by endowment in the case of the drama, and not in that of literature. The answer is very simple. It lies in the enormously greater capital required for the production of a play than for the pro- duction of a book. If the conditions of the publishing trade were such that no publisher would issue a new book, or new edition of an old book, that did not seem likely to find at least 50,000 purchasers in 176 NATIONAL THEATRE the course of three months from the date of pubHcation, -we should certainly have either to endow literature or to see it shrink into nothing but shop-girl romance and vulgar chromo-illustrated editions of some half-dozen popular classics.^ As a matter of fact, books can be so cheaply produced, and the book-market is so wide, that no work of the slightest merit fails in the long run to find a publisher, and the highest forms of literary art, old and new, freely co-exist with the lowest and vulgarest, each form seeking out its elective affinities. Not so in the commercial theatre. There no play is ever produced (except by mis- take) which does not seem likely to find, at the very least, its 50,000 spectators in the course of three months. A play is allowed no time to seek out its elective affinities. If it does not " catch on " in the course of two or three weeks, its fate is sealed. It cannot, like a novel, bide its time, for its continued existence means continued outlay. Quite apart from the great initial expense of mounting, the sum which it costs a West-End manager to " take his curtain up " every evening is about equal to the whole cost of production of an ordinary novel. If, in order to place a novel by Mr. Meredith or Mr. Hardy before the world, a publisher had to incur an initial outlay of from ^lOOO to ;^3000, and then to publish, so to speak, a fresh edition every day at the cost of ^i 20 or so, how many novels of Mr. Meredith or Mr. Hardy would ever have seen the light ? Their works, indeed, would never have been written. They would have despaired from the outset of the hopeless task of reaching the public under such conditions. William Archer : " What can be done for the Drama ? " Anglo-Saxon Review, March 1900. . . . That there are difficulties to be overcome in the starting of such an enterprise I have freely admitted. But the main difficulty lies, not in any external conditions, but in the national character, with its instinctive shrinking from anything that savours of idealism. . . . The imagination of the average man — even of the average literary man — is very slow to take fire. His instinct is to suggest and exaggerate ^ It is needless to enter here upon the reasons why the stage has not absolutely sunk into this condition. It is the condition towards which, under the long-run system, it neces- sarily tends ; though the tendency may, at certain points, be intermittently and imperfectly coanteiacted. THEORY OF ENDOWMENT 177 difficulties, instead of resolving to overcome them. He cannot see that the only insuperable difficulty — if, indeed, it be insuperable — lies in his own infirmity of purpose. Most of the practical objections he urges are met in advance by the experience of other nations. It is alleged, for example, that an endowed theatre would necessarily be a hotbed for backstairs intrigue, favouritism, and jobbery. Human nature being as yet imperfect, it is probable enough that ideal justice might not always hold sway in the counsels of the enterprise. But there is no reason to suppose that an English theatre would be more dishonestly managed than a French or German theatre ; and it is found in France and Germany that, whatever the imperfections in their work- ings, endowed theatres are on the whole advantageous, nay, indispens- able, to sound theatrical art. The checks upon favouritism in a public institution are certainly greater than in a private enterprise. But even if that were not so, how foolish the inertia which says, " Because we cannot devise an ideal instrument for a great end, we will have no instrument at all, and leave the end unattempted ! " Other objectors point to the comparative poverty of the contemporary drama, and say, " Why trouble about a theatre until you have the plays to act in it ? " In other words, they make the very state of things that calls for remedy an argument for not remedying it. The contemporary drama is not what it ought to be, granted. If it were, there would be the less need for a Repertory Theatre, though it would still be extremely desirable for the due cultivation of the classical drama. But the contemporary drama, with all its shortcomings, is sufficiently vital to chafe at the restrictions imposed on it by the present system of commercial manage- ment. Surely, then, it is the height of inconsequence to make the depressing effect of these restrictions a reason for not attempting to remove them. M UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. JAN 3 1955 JAN 1 8 1355 WAR 2 1 1957 '■»< -^ gBBfEWAL JAN m-^ ¥• liti^^ .tistti 141963 QftA Form L9-25m-9,'47(A5618)444 THE LIBRARY OWVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS AN^BLES Hf.,^?."I"E'"' REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY """"""" IIIIIIIIU lllllllllll D 000 840 785 o I PLEA«^ DO NOT REMOVE THIS BOOK CARD 1 s^tL:eRARY6k University Research Library z w to ..•/- ,«> €>