SHAVIAN ANALOGUES

The Bernard Shaw of twenty years ago, who refused to admit that Shakespeare was worth reading or acting, has mellowed into a genial democrat of the theatre. Quite recently he has concluded that Shakespeare was his equal in ability, and now proceeds to lay down the laws of sound drama according to what "Shakespeare and I" think they ought to be, as expressed in the works of the co-equal stars. "For some years a conviction has been coming over me," says Mr. Shaw, "that Stratford-on-Avon is my birthplace." This is the greatest tribute he could pay to Shakespeare.

With Mr. Shaw, thinking is merely the fore-runner of action. Having concluded that Shakespeare was one of the world's two greatest dramatists. Mr. Shaw has set about the creation of a Shakespeare National Memorial Theatre, but without startling success. In Mr. Archibald Henderson's "Table Talk of G. B. S." he reports what progress has already been made. "After many years of struggle," says Mr. Shaw, "we have had but one subscription. The solitary sportsman who gave it was a Hamburg gentleman. When Germany recovers from the war, we may get another move on. Nil desperandum."

The difficulty, as Mr. Shaw will undoubtedly soon realize, is with the Englishman's innate fear of giving offense. How can the would-be contributor bear to see one great dramatist memorialized in a National Theatre while the other goes unrewarded? Rename it the Shakespeare and Shaw National Memorial Theatre, and contributions will pour in by thousands.