DOI issue:
No. 344 (November 1912)
DOI article:Fraser, Claud Lovat: The art of the theatre
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21393#0230
THE ART OF THE THEATRE
" MEDEA AND HER CHILDREN " SCENE
FROM THE " MEDEA " OF EURIPIDES
AS PRESENTED AT NEW YORK
BY MAURICE BROWNE
the highly successful series of matinees
of the " Medea " of Euripides, given at
the Garrick Theatre, New York, last year.
We have on various occasions dwelt upon
the fact that most of our modern pro-
ducers pay little or no heed to the
emotional qualities of lighting on the stage.
By a series of ingenious experiments,
Maurice Browne has developed these
emotional qualities into one of the most
powerful factors in his scheme of stage
presentations. " What I have tried to
do," he told the writer, " is to make
light serve the same purpose as an
214
obbligato musical accompaniment. Light-
ing is not in itself an art, but I am inclined
to believe that it is a strong subsidiary
element in the art of the theatre, and as
experiments in lighting prove effective,
light will gradually supplant scenery to
a large extent." In lighting " Medea " he
has made an attempt to suggest its chang-
ing moods. The sudden changes in the
lighting indicate quick transition from
mood to mood in the play. For instance,
where a scene changes from comparatively
tranquil suspense to violent action, a
correspondingly sudden change in the
" MEDEA AND HER CHILDREN " SCENE
FROM THE " MEDEA " OF EURIPIDES
AS PRESENTED AT NEW YORK
BY MAURICE BROWNE
the highly successful series of matinees
of the " Medea " of Euripides, given at
the Garrick Theatre, New York, last year.
We have on various occasions dwelt upon
the fact that most of our modern pro-
ducers pay little or no heed to the
emotional qualities of lighting on the stage.
By a series of ingenious experiments,
Maurice Browne has developed these
emotional qualities into one of the most
powerful factors in his scheme of stage
presentations. " What I have tried to
do," he told the writer, " is to make
light serve the same purpose as an
214
obbligato musical accompaniment. Light-
ing is not in itself an art, but I am inclined
to believe that it is a strong subsidiary
element in the art of the theatre, and as
experiments in lighting prove effective,
light will gradually supplant scenery to
a large extent." In lighting " Medea " he
has made an attempt to suggest its chang-
ing moods. The sudden changes in the
lighting indicate quick transition from
mood to mood in the play. For instance,
where a scene changes from comparatively
tranquil suspense to violent action, a
correspondingly sudden change in the