"HIS HEART IS HERE"

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 59, 11 March 1937, Page 4

"HIS HEART IS HERE"

A visit, to the home of Lord Bledisloe was one of the experiences of Dr. H. G. Denham, Professor of Chemistry at Canterbury College, during his-re-sent trip: to Britain (states "The Press"). "Were it not for his home commitments, Lord Bledisloe.* would come back and live in New Zealand as a private citizen," said Dr. Denham in an address. "His.heart is here-." T ;

in fact, Mr."-' Gielgud might as ■ well never' appear in the great classical parts at all, so long as he could go on finding.modern dramatists to give him part's to fit him. as well as "Richard" did. - ■••'"-■ > But if, as seems- likely, Mr. Giejgud is to take and hold a place among the great actors,., of: our time, it would be madness in him to take notice of what the big public wants. A' great actor may, incidentally,- be a popular favourite; but to be a popular favourite is no' essential part of: his greatness. When actors' reputations are in the making, if is not the quantity of his audiences that counts, : but their quality. '. ' . ..." The easy admiration of the big public is' worth nothing at ■ all to " a great actor," except to flatter his vanity and fill his pocket. His reputation depends entirely on the small public which goes to the theatre for something more than entertainment—the public which really cares for acting, and has standards to judge by. LIKE TO "SHOW OFF." Mr. Geilgud's. reputation was origin" ally made at-the-Old Vie. His work there was seen: by a relatively- small number of people, but they were-the people who mattered. They .'.were people who knew that what is true of boxers and Rugby footballers is also true of- theatrical parts—a. good. big ■'un is better than a good-little.'un; that an actor who does, well as Hamlet, as Macbeth, and as- Romeo is showing what he is made of, whereas an actor who scores a huge success in a slighter part may merely be "showing off." Great- actors ■ often like to showoff in second-rate parts. Irving, they say, loved doing "The Bells" and "The -Lyons Mail." -Gar-rick had half a dozen lightweights among his favourite parts; and besides, he had a pet parlour imitation of a man going mad, with which.he used to scarify the notables of the eighteenth century in their fashionable drawing-rooms until-the very hairs in their powdered wigs stood on end.

- Several of Bernhardt's greatest parts were in plays that are not in themselves good enough to escape the dust of the top shelf. Forbes-Robertson spent, years- of his life playing in a cloying piece of religious sentiment called "The Passing of the Third Floor Back," wljich was artistically speaking a complete -waste of his time. , These examples could be multiplied with ease, and they all go to prove that very often the actor is no more concerned with art than is his public. To him as to the public, the part is apt to be more than the whole. Euclid once remarked that this is absurd— and so it is. But then actors are sometimes very absurd people.

In the final analysis, though, few of them are so absurd as to. forget that the only absolute test of great acting is the great play. Garrick knew this. Irving knew it. John Gielgud knows it..- Weumist hot. forget it. .-;.-,.^-w.