THE 'OLD VIC"

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22307, 22 January 1938, Page 2

THE 'OLD VIC"

DEATH OF MISS LILIAN BAYLIS

WOMEN'S SERVICE TO THE THEATRE

lßy ANNE PAG-E.l Must people are well enough aware of the notable services which women actors have rendered to the development of the drama in England. It is not so generally realised that on the business and managerial side women have also shown outstanding ability. What prompted me to this reflection was to read in the English papers which arrived by the last mail of-the death of Lilian Baylis. Miss Baylis was a niece of Miss Emma Cons; and the association of these two women with the "Old Vic" constitutes one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the English theatrical industry during the last 100 years. Miss Emma Cons Like so many great ventures this one started in a small, almost inconspicuous, way. The eighties were the period when the English middle classes were beginning to worry themselves about "the condition of the masses"; it was the golden age of Beatrice Webb and social reform. Outstanding among the philanthropists was Miss Emma Cons. For a time she worked with Miss Octavia Hill in slum clearance schemes. When they parted it was said that Miss Cons was not strict enough for Miss HiJl—that she always had a soft spot for the undesirables and the "ne'er-do-well." On I one point, however. Miss Cons was inflexible. This was the evil of strong drink. So she turned her energies to the founding of coffee taverns. Taverns such as "The Cat and Comfort" in Drury lane, supplying cheap food and non-alcoholic drinks, soon became very popular. It was the success of the taverns which inspired Miss Cons to a still more ambitious project—that of organising a temperance music hall. In 1880, with capital subscribed by her friends, she purchased the Old Vic, which was known as one of the most disreputable music halls in the country. The task Miss Cons undertook was supremely difficult, especially for a woman. Performances were repeatedly disturbed by hooliganism <>■■ drowned by cat calls: and at the end of the first year bankruptcy seemed inevitable. Friends, however, rallied round. The Prince and Princess of Wales attended a performance; and gradually the place became popular. Miss Lilian Baylis Towards the end of the century Miss Cons persuaded her niece. Miss Lilian Baylis, a professional violinist, to help in her work. Then in 1912 Miss Baylis took over the general management from her aunt. To her is largely due the present character and the high standard of the performances whicli have made the Old Vic so much more than just a local entertainment centre. Miss Baylis's first experiment was the production of opera. As admission prices had to be kept very low this was done in the simplest possible way. . Yet almost at once il was received with enthusiasm by the people of the East End. Then came the moving pictures. Miss Baylis shrewdly realised that they would be the successors of the music hall programmes. So the Old Vic became cne of the earliest picture palace?. As such it surprised even the manager by returning a profit of a £IOOO a year. When picture palaces tet;an to crop up everywhere and the early vigour of the films changed to sentimentality. Miss Baylis decided to forgo her profits, and stage plays. In 1914 she collected a company to produce Shakespeare. Ten years la*"r the Old Vic achieved the distinction of being the first theatre in the world to produce all the first folio plays. Miss Baylis's last great venture was the opening of a companion theatre at Sadler's Wells, in north London, as a centre for opera. At the Old Vic she continued to produce Shakespeare and other classical plays. Every New Zealand tourist in London goes to the Old Vic. First of all they go because it is one of the sights. But many, especially the impecunious ones, return again and again. Here some of the best actors can be seen in plays much more entertaining than the ordinary drawing comedies, for which the charge is at least four times as much. For instance, in 1931 I saw Dame Sybil Thorndyke in "The Knight of the Burning Pestal" for a shilling. She was magnificent, and the enthusiasm and amusement of the audience knew no bounds. After seeing several Shakespeare plays, I realised that this was almost their ideal setting. The large, unconventional theatre was packed with an audience determined to have a good time, and thoroughly to enjoy itself. They were not afraid to laugh uproariously, but they followed the plays with the keenest interest- It was a very different experience from seeing Shakespeare played in a theatre where half the seats are blocked off for school children who have been bribed to go by being "let off prep.," and the other half mostly occupied by people feeling that one ought to see Shakespeare, but wishing the company had cut more drastically. Before going to the Old Vic I thought I had an average knowledge of Shakes- | I peare. But between the acts I found myself drawn into discussions in ] which I felt lamentably ignorant. It I was obvious that my neighbours had I only been to elementary schools, yet as habitues of the Old Vic thev had an amazing knowledge of the plays, j It is perhaps typical that England! has no national, state-subsidised the- j atre. Yet thanks to Miss Cons and Miss Baylis. the Old Vic has practically become such an institution. It is to be hoped that there will be worthy successors to carry on this great work. (The series of articles on the economic status of women will be continued in the next article.)

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