Abstract

Drama

The article focuses on the play "The Wild Duck," produced by Arthur Hopkins. One striking characteristic of Hopkins's play is its strain of genuine humor, to which intellectuals and philistines pay equal tribute in laughter. Mysticism, symbolism, and all implied philosophy of life are relegated to their proper place in the background, while this satiric tragi-comedy stands forth as an amazingly good acting play. By his intelligence and insight, the producer has effected a balanced whole, harmonizing the performance and developing the dramatic action so clearly that the meaning of the play ceases to be bewildering. In the hands of his company all the principal roles and most of the minor ones are consistent interpretations, not merely superficial renderings of stage types.