ART AND MORALITY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 75, 29 March 1934, Page 8

ART AND MORALITY

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Your dramatic critic lias been assailed because he had the courage to protest against the unpleasantness of a certain scene in a play recently produced by the Wellington Repertory Society. In my humble opinion the stand taken by ''The Post" writer should command the enthusiastic support of all clear-thinking men and -women—l nearly wrote "clean"--thinking—to whom the future development of the drama in our midst is a matter of grave concern and serious import. ■...-. Whilst conceding that the stage has a higher mission than merely to entertain and amuse, I cannot agree that any artistic purpose is served by deliberate delving into the garbage-bins of lite'. Though it may at times be necessary for the dramatist to skate over thin ice' he need not court danger by dallying to cut figures of eight. The true function of dramatic art, as I see it; is to reflect the fundamental issues by the. light of idealism. Sordidness, immorality, and squalor should never form the theme of literary or theatrical production; nor be employed at all except to throw artistic beauty into perfect relief: there is no need to bridge the wide gulf between the salacious and the salubrious. ,1 am here reminded of some remarks once made by Sir A. Pinero—the author of that "daring" play, "The. Second Mrs. Tanqueray," whom his later years realised the futility of "outspokenness" and shock tactics: "Ah," you may, smile," he said, "but there are still plenty of playgoers who resent being shocked. I don't deny that once upon a time the public may have been somewhat too . mealyinouthed, but there's no reason to rush to the other extreme. Nowadays a tendency exists in the direction of competition among playwrights to see who can shock the most. I myself have dealt with very delicate situations in my plays, but 1 never wrote anything that made an audience wince—which seems to be the chief aim of many modern plays I could mention." ' From this we gather that Pinero deprecated all utterances from the stage cal; culated to bring a blush into the cheek of the Old Person—for I take it that the young generation ■ today deems itself completely ' emancipated\from the Dickensian risk of facial incarnadining." , ' And I think Pinero spoke for that large majority of playgoers who seek the theatre as a refuge, from the ugly ■ side of life— who prefer,;• with' £>t. Paul, to contemplate—even at a distance-that which"is honest, true, lovely; and of good report.. By all means let the 'Repertory Society adopt as then? goal the .portrayal of truth, but let it be the truth' that knoweth no evil: the eloquence of reticence is far more convincing than the innuendo of licence.—l am, etc., ' L. D. AUSTIN.