Studio: international art (89.1925)

"THE DUENNA"

" donna clara " (miss isobel
maclaren). costume for
sheridan's "the duenna." de-
signed by george sheringham

THE ART OF THE THEATRE:
THE PLAYFAIR-SHER INGHAM
"DUENNA." a a a a

THEATRICAL managers habitually
tell us that they are quite unable to
foresee the success or failure of a play;
that the taste and demands of the public
are unknown quantities and every pro-
duction a venture in the dark. a a
This may or may not be inevitable, but
one thing is certain—a successful pro-
duction grips the audience from the start.
When, for instance, the curtain rang up
on the first night of " The Duenna," at
the Lyric, Hammersmith, last autumn, the
first five minutes spelt success. The play
was not new. Its merits were well known
already. The music also for the most
part was public property. The unknown
quantity was that comprehensive factor
the " production," which Gordon Craig

calls " the art of the theatre," and which
is parallel to the whole gamut of con-
tribution made to the composer by a
violin virtuoso. When the first procession
in " The Duenna " entered, when Donna
Louisa (Miss Elsa Macfarlane) appeared,
deliciously youthful, at one window, and
Don Jerome (Mr. Nigel Playfair) appeared,
deliciously comic, at the other, success we
all felt at once was a foregone conclusion ;
and this instantaneous satisfaction was
born of the immediate knowledge that a
definite unity of design and harmonious
gaiety of colour had taken possession of
the stage and actors. We knew we were
to suffer nothing untidy or accidental.
We sensed instinctively the finished " job
of work." When the first scene ended the
audience asked for nothing better; they
only asked for more. 000
The men responsible for this instan-
taneous impression which heralded the
great success of " The Duenna " were, of
course, Nigel Playfair and George Shering-
ham. Mr. Playfair's system of witty
formalism in grouping and gesture has

THE DUENNA

LYRIC THEATRE

HAMMERSMITH

poster by george
sheringham

71