Abstract

Theatre, 1957, June, 22

Ever since 1950, the French stage has seemed to me increasingly disappointing; in many ways retarded and provincial. A certain technical sloppiness, a complacency in ingrained old habits of performance, a determination to be viciously clever or sentimentally hedonistic-generally a lack of freshness or genuine enthusiasm has spoiled for me the always-present talent and tradition that mark the French theatre. This article presents a brief information on the play "An Old Lady's Visit," by the Swiss Franz Duerenmatt--a play written in German and considered to be one of the few plays worthy of note in that language since the war. Another play "The Egg," is written by Marcel Achard. The trouble with "The Egg," as with most others of its species, is that it is too simple-minded. To believe that life is all "bad," that vice always triumphs over virtue, is even more naive-and impractical than to believe that life is all "good."