Studio: international art (82.1921)

THE ART OF THE THEATRE

to work on his drawings and to superintend
their progress on the painting screens.
In two minutes he can be in the wardrobe
where his costume designs are being
carried out by the wardrobe mistress and
her staff. Everything is compact and
efficient. There is no time for chaos.
The stage is fitted with a " Dome " and
the Fortuny system of lighting. Here
alone in England can one test the method
that has been adopted by all the advanced
theatres of the rest of the world, a 0
As to the actual stage work. As regards
decoration the theatre is lucky in finding
in Mr. Barry Jackson, its founder and
guardian spirit, a stage designer of more
than exceptional merit. His excellent
taste leads him in the way of dramatic
simplicity and a healthy severity of line
and form. His temperament leans towards
the architectural, and his effect is gained

in scenery by a background that forms a
dramatic foil to his characters and depends
on them for its full point. Wisely he
avoids making a picture of the stage and
instead he makes of it drama. He rarely
drawns his scenes, and it is, therefore,
difficult to show his work to its fullest
advantage in reproduction, as a photo-
graph of stage scenes is not so satisfactory
as the artist's drawing. a a a
Mr. Paul Shelving, who now shares the
onus of the stage decoration, is more
frankly dependent on colour in his work.
He shows a sure touch and a keen eye
for the dramatic value of a strong palette.
One feels that he is aware of the con-
temporary work in England and on the
Continent, but he is by no means deriva-
tive. He is stimulated rather than in-
fluenced by the Russian and all other
elements of the advanced movement in