"THE SIGN OF THE CROSS."

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10999, 31 December 1897, Page 3

"THE SIGN OF THE CROSS."

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir.—ln your criticism of "The.Sign of the Cross", to-day you say :" The argument on ths other fide, of course, is lhatno rhatterhow reverent may be the intention, Ihere mn'fc always be something irreverent in the result vvhich is achieved when tpistle, and Gospel, and prayer, and hymn are laid under direct s.r.d liberal rontribution for. the purpose of the pl'a'jwriEht." May I. in a perfectly honest spirit of inquiry, ask why ? The subject i« wide. Ie is irreverent to listen to Sr. Paul's epistles ieuderly and toQchingly read under the f *thomle.«s vault of night wbilst the lovely stats, the forget-m'e-nota of the nngels, are glaising their faces in the blue tranquillity of the river, but ■not irreverent to witness Stijtgins thumpirg his Bible oh his deal pulpit and making his whitewashed walls ring with dimuatory animadversions upon all who do not endorse the particular, brand of .religious opinions in favour at Little Bethel; or to see the R<-V. Algernon Altiirc'oth mount his perch, genuflect, and mumble through hi 315 minutes by the clock. It is irrevsreut to hear " Shepherd of Souk " beautifully eung by perfectly trained eboriuters. It is not irreverent to lisleu, as I have done, to children in church singing the fbl'owing doggrel: —

"I should like to die," said Willie,'"if my papa

could coiiie too ; . But he says he isn't rea<iy, cos he's got so much to

do. So I'll tell the angel kindly, when I meet him at

the door, . Hp must please, excuse ray papa, cos he's bu3y at the store."

Let us be.honeßt with our own sslves. It can never b^ irreverent when ons h&s found the Pearl of Great Price to give it a beautiful setting. I. tbiuk one of the moat frequent errors that men of t&ste and cnU.ure fall into is this : Strong in their own prolific imagination, they can reincarnate Ezekiel's valley of dry bones; but they forget that the great mass of the people, not being so superlatively blevsed with poetic imaginations, are very slad indeed of the aids to such imaginations which they get at the theatre in the shspe of scenery, mu«ic, action, and ihe hundred and oneenhaneemetitg of a well-plajed drama.—l am, &c. : Caleb Porter.

TO THE KDITOH.

SiK,—Like nisny others, attracted the preliminary puffa and opinions of gentlemen holding-high-portions in the clergy and laity as to the moral standing of Wilson Barrett's play "The Sign of the Cross," I went to the theatre on Monday night for the first time in many years, and let me say at odcb tbat I regret the fact of having dona so exceedingly. I am not a lover of the stage nor of nuything connected with it. I cannot help but think that for an sctor or actress to personate all ths worst passions of human nature—and to do so succf ssfully they must try to feel what they .act— (demoralisation seems really inevitable. Now *<i to the drama " The Sign of the Cross/ ■Will it do good ? That it has certain elements of good in it I at once concede, but these .are a small- part, and. not the prime attractions by any means. If this drama were 'stripped of all that is voluptuous, sensual, and of an unspiritual v worldly nature, it would not draw as many as * street corner preacher. The worldly, sensual influence will predominate, and the ultimate result will be that a number of well-intentioned but superficial persons will be decoyed to the theatre to see what ie. called "a religious drama" in which the religious element is .more than neutralised by the -sensuous and voluptuous, and they will in many instances probably continue to attend when the J plays are resumed wherein religion is derided, morality scofied at, and even common decency outraged.—l am, &c, * Not a Hypocrite.,

TO THE EDITOR.

Ere, —In your account of W ; edneM»j'B matinee performance of "The Sign of the Cross" you "mention that the matinee was attended by a number of clergymen. I can only express the deepest regret that a number of clergymen could be found in Danedin who would thus leud their patronage to the theatre. Granted that this particular play—to use the words of Williamson and Musgroye in their letter of invitation—inav havea re fining influ.ehce on all whoicome.within its, achera of action, but "what about the -inany^other"LpUyi^hose' .icflnence is notoriously in the opposite direction? Whether a clergyman would be justified it witnessing the production of any play in the present stage of the stage is at least doubtful. Bat there is no doubt at all in my mind—l, am Sot a clergyman—that, a clergyman is not justified in witnessing or defending the production of such a play as "The Sign of the Cro3s." The comic drama of the Restoration was too foul to be endured for long by a healthyminded natiorj, and it well deserved its fate. But Congreve and Wycherley were, at least, honest in their depravity. They were accused, and rightly, accused, of everything but hypocrasy. Their audience was therefore limited ; they wrote for Civaliers and took no trouble to conciliate the Ronndheads.i:

Mr Wilson Barrett has changed all that. He has conceived the happy idea of appealing at once to the most pious and the most sensual in ■ the- community. He endeavours, by a judicious mixture of" Holy Scripture and very unholy dancing, to cater both for the saint in the stalls find tbe aatyr in the pit. In one tce'ne.a port.ion of the "Sermon on the Mount" is declaimed in the usual theatrical style by an actor 'Those fitness to take such words on his lip 3 I do mot in the least question, but it is at the least doubtful-if it is seemly that such words should be declaimed in the usual theatrical style. The next.scene is one which cannot be described withoutindecency, or thought of without nausea. The juxtaposition ot two such scenes is the highwater mark of profanity. ; ■ If a clergyman hag a partiality for the ballet by all means let him go and see Mr Barrett's play; but one does not admire his inconsistency any more than one admires the/dramatic taste of those who think "The Sign of the Gross" ia ({reat drama. —lam, &c, . * December 31. C. B.