HONOUR FOR G.O.M. OF THEATRE

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27990, 9 June 1956, Page 11

HONOUR FOR G.O.M. OF THEATRE

(From the London Correspondent of “The Press”) LONDON, June 1. The elevation this week of Edward Gordon Craig to Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours has brought before Europe the circumstances of this man who once dominated the European stages as a designer and producer. His ideas at the outset of the twentieth century were revolutionary at a time when theatre pro duction and design badly needed change, and the theatrical world had to bow to his genius. Now this 84-year-old son, of Ellen Terry lives in near-poverty on a small pension at Vence, near Nice. Most ol his time is spent dreaming of the past, and setting it down in his autobiography, which he hopes will occupy two volumes.

Fame came to him early, for under his famous mother’s guidance he won acclaim on the stage at the age of 13, and later acted with Sir Henry Irving for several years. Ellen Terry despaired when he decided to leave the stage and study theatrical production, but she rejoiced when his genius for this medium brought new space and atmosphere to the old crowded stage. 9 He wrote books and drew sketches to illustrate his theme, and few producers and designers of today can deny that he has influenced their work. He founded a magazine to propound his ideas and. later, his School for the Art of the Theatre, at Florence. His last publication concerned his mother, ‘‘Ellen Terry and Her Secret Self.”