"Strife."

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13892, 1 May 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

"Strife."

REALISTIC*, STKIKE SCENE. An undoubtedly remarkable piece of work, strong,, thoughtful, challenging, informed, invigorating, Mr John Galsworthy's new' play of "Strife'' was produced with, entire success at the Duke of York's, London, recently. An out-and-out labour drama, it is the finest thing of its kind that lias appeared since Hauptmann's "Weavers." Moreover, it holds its interest in spite of the fact that its attitude is almost tantalisingly judicial. It is not a mere " thundering at the gates." A strike occurs at some tin wprks in "Wales. After scenes of really.wonderful power, alike- at a meeting of the strikers and in 'the directors' boardroom, the whole filing ends in the very same compromise: that had, been arranged between a trade union'official and the 'chairman's secretary : before the tronble began. In the; meantime two strong-minded men —the chairman of directors himself on the one hand ; and the leader of the strikers on the other —liavo been "broken" and over-rilled by their weaker comrades. Also, the strikeleader's wife lias:died of heart disease, helped by starvation and cold. And but for personal/antagonism and mere hatred, it might have, been avoided. "Shame on your.strife! Shame on yo\ir strife!" cries a ridiculed old Methodist at' tho strike meeting, and into his mouth, one fancies. Mr Galsworthy means to put the abiding sentiment of the play. > So "Strife" will probably have to forfeit the kind of success that awaits a "bomb-shell" message like that of '■" An Home." It must be content with the possibly less lucrative honours of the peacemaker. But a fine play it remains, and a most hopeful sign of the dramatic times; full, too of intensely interesting unstrained realism and contrasted character drawing. As may be supposed, the two great outstanding characters are those of the strikeleader and the chairman of directors—the latter an iron-willed old capitalist of the old-fashioned school, bulwarked with impregnable 'class-preju-dice, who conceives it his profoundest duty to "stand to his guns" in the fight of capital against labour, and who foresees nothing but confusion and "mobtyranny in the advance of Socialistic principles. He is played with immense, quiet, slow, magnetic force by Mr Norman McKinnel. On the other hand we have in the strike-leader —another brilliant actingsuccess on the part of Mr Fisher White —a passionate sincere, keenly intelligent, invincibly determined "furnace hand." He has given all his savings to the strike-fund, he does not allow even his wife's death to keen him from championing the utmost demands on behalf of the men, in defiance of Trade ITnion advice and of the men's own wishes; yet all the time he is unconscious, in the midst of his idealism, that his zeal is largely a matter of personal exasperation, personal hatred, and personal pride. Around, we have the directors and men, both wishing nothing save the greatest, possible comfort with the least possible trouble, their opinions swayed hither and thither by anyone who happens to, be talking to them, till the final, logical, impersonal conclusion is reached of Trade Union compromise. Besides the board-room and strikemeeting battles and personalities, there are feminine scenes in the strike leader's home and the manager's drawingroom, nil touched with Mr Galsworthy's quiet, faithful, impartial observation.