SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 July 1939, Page 14

SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS

“NOT FOR CHILDREN.” LONDON, June 3. Mr John Gielgud, Shakespearian actor, told City of London School boys yesterday that he was against boys and girl's seeing performances of Shakespeare too early in life. He did not enjoy Shakespeare when he was at school, he said .and one of his most painful experiences was playing :Shakespeare to a party of children at a matinee at the Old Vic. .

The children rustled their programmes like Autumn leaves, fidgeted and were “bored stiff.’’ They would probably never enjoy Shakespeare. His advice was that Shakespeare’s plots should be read at the age of 16 or so. But in the theatre things were different, for the plots wo -, e obscured by strange language and jokes which made them difficult to appreciate. Shakespeare, like most ni:e things—even beer and oysters—was >n acquired taste, and there was always hope that some day one would like it belter.

Children should see Shakespeare when they were older, in the company of a more experienced audience. In that way they might get hold of something they would remember. Mr Gielgud presented the Beau toy and Mortimer prizes at the school for the study of Shakespeare and English literature. Mr Frederick Youldon, chairman of the City of London School Committee of the Corporation of London, presided, and gave a luncheon in the school library.