PRAISES ANDREYEV'S "THE LIFE OF MAN"

The immortal Andreyev was a Russian because he spoke no thought that was not coloured by a memory. He differed from our Shakspere because no impulse was edited in its utterance. His was the uncensored utterance of the psychology of his soul. He made no apologies. He left much to guess at and work out. But if you have the courage and the perseverance to discard the ever obvious, you find and will continue to find yourself free from the character-racking conventionalities of our useless modern civilization. His greatest admirers were his worst defaulters. Tolstoi, Gorki, etc. filched his work and vulgarized it, as did our very original, potent-seeming Bernard Shaw. But who cares for the fabric of a well monogramed kerchief?

Written in New Methods of Theatre

"He Who Gets Slapped" grew out of the vulgar misappropriation and misinterpretation of "The Life of Man". Andreyev saw no hope for man in the present state of civilization. He said so in "The Life of Man". His "The Life of Man" was a fine piece of writing, written in the newer means and methods of the theatre, written with the power and vigor that satiric truth and penetration can alone bring. It was written before "He Who Gets Slapped", and the unacknowledged adaptations of his "The Life of Man" that were used on other continental stages, coupled with domestic unhappiness, made him retire from the world to write "He Who Gets Slapped".

"The Life of Man" is a splendid and courageous production for the Dramatic Club to undertake. It brings the same spirit of intelligent contribution to the smaller experimental theatres that "He Who Gets Slapped" brings to the professional stage. It offers, as does "He Who Gets Slapped", limitless opportunities to all the cooperative artists of the theatre.

Spoke in Satire and Tragedy

Andreyev spoke of his belief in tones of satire and of tragedy--an impulse coloured by memory. Reading and experience had laid its hand heavily upon him. The coordination of his pen hand, and his brain knew no compromise. His was the utterance of impulses turned as of water into wine by memories and always uncensored. He will live beyond this generation to a better understanding by the next, because his was romance unbiased by the influence of Freud. "Give me back the image of my beautiful Goddess" as Andreyev says in "He Who Gets Slapped", was not the cry of a crass materialist. His cosmic dream was to see the time when our civilization would be saved. He taught and believed unfailingly that life is love.