Drammi Per Voci by Giovanna Capone (review)

104 MODERN DRAMA May ... deals with the plight of dope addicts." "His marriage formed the subject of [Arthur Miller's] play After the Fall." "Pinter's first full-length play was The Birthday Party (1958), a tale of mystery and horror which followed naturally on his earlier works, though without their element of the supernatural." "Tiny A.lice (1964), with Gielgud and Irene Worth, caused much controversy, and was declared to be incomprehensible by six New York theatre critics." In each case, this is the whole of the comment. Miss Hartnoll, your provincialism is showing. Provincialism is the pervasive failing of the editor's entries. The Companion is heavily, almost chauvinistically, Anglo-American; we learn about every award of the British Empire, but we learn too little about the vaster empire of theater. Insularity is social as well as theatrical: no suggestion is ventured as to why Piscator left Germany in 1933; coyly obscure is "The date, place, and manner of [Meyerhold's] death, and that of his wife, are at present unknown (but see John Mason Brown's As They Appear, 1950)." And in spite of Sterling Brown's excellent article on the "Negro in the American Theatre," there is inadequate explanation of the short-stopped careers of Charles Gilpin, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, and there is no entry at all for Canada Lee or Langston Hughes. The final form of provincialism is style. Though this review may not look like proof, I am an Anglophile-particularly when it comes to today's theater and today's prose style. But the Companion exudes a nineteenth century aroma in both domains; the book deals mainly with defunct theaters and actors, and of the latter we read such vapid phrases as "was a child of his age," "had the faults of his age," "had no peer," "at his best was extremely good," "had his faults without his virtues." Any number of actresses could and do fit variants of the following: "A superb actress and a beautiful woman, she has a particularly lovely voice, with a warm vibrant quality which adds to the impact of her personality." What do we know after reading such rhapsody? Or such morality: "In spite of high spirits, no scandal attaches itself to her name." But I don't mean to leave the impression that the Oxford Companion is a scandal in itself. Most of the national theaters are competently treated (though the entries are sometimes oddly divided), and many reputable scholars present their specialties with economy and precision. I couldn't even guess at what percentage of the whole they represent, but with present inflated book prices, fifteen dollars does not seem excessive for their contributions, the photographs, and the bibliographies. As for the rest, there's a laugh a page, if your eyes can stand up to the execrably small print. RUBY COHN San Francisco State College DRAMMI PER VDCI, by Giovanna Capone, Casa Editrice Prof. Riccardo Patron, Bologna, 1967. $4.00. "Dramas for voices"-Giovanna Capone has chosen a wonderful title for her book. If she had limited herself to indicate that she is only writing about a few radio plays, there would be less interest about her book. The radio play is in fact dying in the United States (most critics say it has been dead for a long time). On the contrary, it is still alive and thriving in England, Germany and Italy. 1969 BOOK REVIEWS 105 Giovanna Capone chooses to write only about English "dramas for voices," and she reminds us diligently that the radio drama holds remarkable possibilities for the poet. In fact it has a more flexible structure, more flexible and variable than any other medium. She accordingly reminds us that there is still a place-even in the United States-for "dramas for voices." She first introduces us into the poetic world of Dylan Thomas. His Under Milk Wood (first broadcast in 1954) is intelligently analysed. Dylan Thomas proves in it a new love for the language, a love for the word, for the sound. Even too much. In fact, in his description of the life of a Welsh village, the language "altogether swamps the subject." Giovanna Capone...