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LETTERS IN CANADA: 1937 Those popular themes of our novelists, northern adventure, murder, and cheery romance, 'reappear in the short story. But in addition one does find some observation of the local scene, some i"nterest in contemporary life, some concern with the problems of industria! civilization, some awareness that normal human experience is both a fine and an exacting subject for fiction, and in general more variety, freshness, and concentration on total effect than is common in the Canadian novel. This is all to the good. III. DRAMA W. S. MILNE - The dramatic material for 1937 is smaller in bulk than in any year since the inception of this survey. As last yeaes stock of plays was considerably less than that of the year preceding, it would appear that there is less Canadian drama being written at present than there was three years ago. One suspects, however, that there is another explanation. The first year of this survey brought to the editors a perfect spate of scripts, many of which were the work of some time back, whose authors jumped at the chance of receiving. belated recognition outside their own dramatic group. This condition has more or less exhausted itself, and the body " of plays at present to be considered probably represents more faithfully the actual volume of work 'now being produced. As to quality, the general level of technical accomplishment is perhaps a little higher than heretofore, although there are still fe~ enough plays that can be considered important contributions to dramatic literature. Much of the best dramatic writing has been done for the' radio, a fact which seems curious, but is explicable when one remembers that there is a commercial market for radio scripts. There is as yet no commercial market for the one-act play, and little for the futi-Iength play, unless i~ happens to suit the vague but exacting requirements of the Broadway theatre. Of the published plays, two by John Coulter have already attracted some atten tion. The House in the ~uiet Glen is a slight character-study of Irish country folk} the plot of which is a simple incident; its racy dialogue and vivid characterizations are its chief charm. Charm it undoubtedly has, and when played by experienced actors it has proved a delight to its audiences. It won the Bessborough Trophy in the Dominion Drama Festival of 1937) and the 361 362 LETTERS IN CANADA: 1937 an exercise in joint creative expression by a drama class of Mr. Sterndale Bennett"s pupils; a small-town comedy by the present writer, The Failure, winner of a Women's Cal'!adian Clu~ prize; and Kathryn Colquhoun's farce, A Run for His Money. This last is a merry bit of entertainment, centring in the doings on a frog-farm. AU the preceding, with the exception of Mr. Coulter's Family Portrait, are one-act plays, which arc stiU in the majority. Of the full-length vehicles, "The Last Cave-man" deserves special mention, for it is that rare bird, a native three-act comedy. The humour is robust, the dialogue sure. Like MerriH DeniSQn's most character_ istic work, it deals with the fu n incidental to mixing up city types with primitive backwoods squatters of the hill-billy sort. A love interest and some pacifistic ideas are stirred into the concoction,·to make a well-constructed field-day for good character-actors. Its author) Elsie Park Gowan, is to be congratulated all a delicious bit of work, well sustaining throughout the exacting requirements of the full-length form. "The Other Half," by John Rae, is a survival of the " well-made play" school, but is perhaps none the worse for that. Its chief defect seems to be a passion for making long-lost people turn up at the right moment. The dialogue is fair, the characterization more of the stage than from observation. It would make a rather long evening. Another full-length pJay of merit, at least as far as good entertainment and dexteri ty of construction go, is a recent dramatization by Alice Chadwicke, of the perennial favourite, Anne of Green Cabies. In amazingly 6ght compass, the dramatist has managed...

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