rmance. The part of Harry Travers, |
|the friend of Mrs. Constable's, was |
|excellently done by Frederick Perry, as |
|was that of Mr. Constable by Herbert |
|Percy. Probably the most difficult |
|character in the play to portray was that |
|of the "woman's rights" woman, Mrs. |
|Alloway, which was most admirably done by |
|Edith Wakeman. |

The word criticism must not lead the reporter to think that, as a
critic, his only function is to find fault. To criticize may mean to
praise as well as to condemn. If the critic is not restricted by the
policy of his paper, he should be as willing to praise as to condemn,
and vice versa. But whichever course he takes he must be ready to defend
his criticism and to tell why he praises or why he condemns. There is
always a tendency to praise a play in return for the free tickets; this
should be put aside absolutely. The critic owes something to the public
as well as to the manager. If the play seems to him to be bad, he must
say so without hesitation and he must tell why it is bad. Too many
really bad plays are immensely advertised by a critic's undefended
statement that they are not fit to be seen. Had the critic given
definite reasons for his condemnation, his criticism might have
accomplished its purpose. In the same way it is useless to say simply
that a play is good. Its good points must be enumerated and the reader
must be told why it is good.

However, criticism must be written with delicacy. If your heart tells
you to praise, praise; if your heart tells you to condemn, condemn with
care. Remember that your condemnation may put the play off the boards or
at least hurt its success, and there must be sufficient reason for such
radical action. The critic's debt to the public is large, but he owes
some consideration to the manager. He must hesitate before he says
anything that may ruin the manager's business. Critics very often
condemn a play for trivial reasons; they feel indisposed, perhaps
because their dinner has not agreed with them, the play does not fit
into their mood and they turn in a half column of ruinous condemnation.
Perhaps they like a certain kind of production--farces, for
instance--and systematically vent their ire on every tragedy and every
musical comedy. They do not use perspective; they do not judge