CRITICS AND PLAYS.

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 19052, 16 September 1933, Page 16 (Supplement)

CRITICS AND PLAYS.

MR A. A. MILNE’S VIEWS. “SEND THE FOOTBALL CRITIC.” With the proauction of his comedy, "Other People’s Lives," at Wyndham’s Theatre recently, Alan Alexander Milne put a period to an absence of over three years from the West End stage (writes Leslie Rees in the Era).

We are apt to think of Milne as one of our most popular authors, yet during that long period he has not been represented on the stage except by his adaptation of a children’s story, "Toad of Toad Hali,” and by a one-night production of “Other People's Lives." “Michael and Mary" was the last Milne play seen in London.

Recently, in the library of his little home in Chelsea, Mr Milne gave me some of bis views on playcraft, critics and other matters.

We began by discussing the inevitable question of the difference between play technique and novel technique. “Of course the chief thing about a play," said Milne, “is that you write it for others; you can write a story or novel for yourself. Every moment you are writing a play you must have your mind concentrated on the great problem of how each line will appeal to an audience. Writing a book you please yourself, while a play must appeal to a large number of people in a mass. j "To young playwrights i should say: Don’t avrlte for an actress or actor; write round a character.” I asked Mr Milne if he himself had ever sinned in the direction we had been discussing. “Only once,” he replied. “I \yrote ‘Belinda’ with Irene Vanbrugh in mind, and of course she played in it, and very suooess'fully, so let’s say I'm forgiven on that score. “Even as a successful playwright, who can be assured of a fairly kind reception, I am afraid I never feel comfortable in my mind —from the time when the last word of a play Is written until the curtain falls on the end of the run. No actors ever express quite what you meant, hard as you may have tried to explain lo them. There is always a conflict between your visualisation of oharao-. ters and their visualisation, even if you feel that you have expressed yourself perfectly on paper. Naturally I am not blaming the actors for this —art is essentially an individual viewpoint. A person who works in a medium wbioh entails Interpreters cannot, I suppose, expeot full selfexpression.

“Critics 1 I feel strongly about critics, quite apart from the question of their attitude to me personally. I don’t think orltlos ought to be allowed to kill a play with derogatory notices. Whatever those reviewers say, the play is at band for people to see and judge for themselves. Bad notices about a play will pull the play off the stage In a night or two, and that’s the end of It for ever. Nobody has the ohanoe of confirming or refuting the orltlos’ opinion. “A play Is not acted on Its flrst night; nine times out of ten it is merely recited. It takes some time for the parts and the performances to be fused and welded together. Moreover, the critic is a bored person as a rule, —that is to say he is much more bored and blase than the aver--age playgoer, and he does not always feel inclined to make allowances for the imperfect state of .the flrst or second performance.” I told Mr Milne I thought he had struck a knotty problem. After all, even assuming that critics were the tiredest people In’the world (and from my observation they are pretty tired) the newspapers must have notices-r----the public must be told about the new plays. “Well,” said Mr Milne, “if I were an editor I should send along any member of the staff of a paper who was at all interested In plays in an ordinary unprofessional way—a normal playgoer. Let the football correspondent or the law court reporter write up the average man’s view. Then, when the play has been going for a month, send the real critic along."

I pointed out that this arrangement would probably meet with the approval of most of the critics; for after the stipulated month there would be so few r plays running that they could lead a practically blameless and untroubled life.

“Strange that a popular author like yourself does not write for the talkies."

Milne said: “No, I am not very interested in films, because films are not an author’s medium. The author is not an important person in films. At the same time, I must say that I did like Victor Seville's version of ‘Michael and Mary.’ "