Page Four
THE TAR HEEL
Thursday, August 9, 1951
ixperimental Piaysf Set
' ' Nf S - v III' V f.fc
, .... , ,v4' I
I ; . i
-;.;:x . - !
Esme Percy (left), president of ihe Shaw Society of England, and Dr. Archibald Hendenon (right),
president of the Shaw Society of America, are shown holding a portrait of George Bernard Shaw
which was among the ShaTian items on Tiew at the last mering of the Shaw Society in America
in New York recently. Dr. Henderson was also recently elected vice-president of ihe Shaw Society
of Great Britain. ' , ' ' "
Shaw Flop As Novelist: Henderson
(Continued from Page 1)
and the Lion,' 'Heartbreak House,'
'Back to Methuselah,' and 'Saint
Joan."
j Was Poor Critic
jWhy doesn't Henderson consid
er Shaw a great critic?
i"Shaw is either, an advocate
or a prosecutor not a critic at
all," Henderson explains. "Lack
ing the ethics and scholarship of
university training and discipline,
he could never , see indeed,
seemed to be entirely unaware
of any moral obliquity in 'slant
ing' his so-called critical feuille-
tons, whether on art, music,
drama or literature in general.
He always fought for his own
hand. He never tried to be just,
and pooh-poohed the notion that
a critic could possibly be just.
Failure as Novelist )
Explaining his appraisal of
Shaw as a failure as a novelist,
Henderson goes on to say:
"Shaw's novels are amusing, ec
centric, suited, jejune, and filled
with acute but inexpertly ex
pressed observations on life and
art and music and pugilism and
marriage and society and Social
ism. Their failure is the result
of bad timing. Shaw was inex
perienced and immature; and he
lacked inside knowledge of, be
hind - the - scenes acquaintance
with, the society and the indi
vidual social types of the period.
Of his novels, he once remarked
to me, with pawky humor: 'The
best I can say of them is that
neither Dickens nor Trollope
could have written them.' " .
Achieved Lasting Flavor
, Henderson expresses the opin
ion that no writer has ever laid
so long, persistent, and desperate
seige to the capricious goddess of
public favor as Shaw. One of
Shaw's Machiavellian confessions,
duly calculated to deceive the
public, is his soft-trumpeted as
sertion that he was utterly devoid
of amibition. He has declared
that he rose by the sheer opera-
tion of gravitation which, ac
cording to scientific explanation,
would mean that, instead of ris
ing, he would fall with a resound
ing crash. Shaw means, of course,
by this curious turn of phrase,
that his rise to fame came by the
operation of inevitable, natural
law; but without any ambitious
effort whatever on his part The
real truth of the matter is that
he was determined to conquer the
world; and I am of the opinion
that he strove, with all his ex
traordinary powers, to become re
cognized as a rival of William
Shakespeare ... ,
"The conclusion is inescapable.
Shaw's work in the role of the
clown, the buffoon, the harlequin,
the mountebank is a masterpiece
of make-believe, a gorgeous self
portrait in artistic caricature. Was
he a man or a myth? He was
both."
Not Member Communist Party
Henderson regards Shaw as
(See SHAW, page 6)
A summer bill of three origi
nal one-act plays has been select
ed by the Carolina, Playmakers
for production on the evening of
Thursday, August 23, in the Play
makers' Theatre.. . . ;
"Blue Jean Gal" by Lyn Ne'ill,
Roanoke, Virginia, "Dynasaur,"
by John Clayton, Washington, D.
C, and "In August," byJ. P.
Pretlow, Wilmington, are the
dramas which were selected for
production from among those
written in playwnting courses
here.
"Blue Jean Gal" will be direct
ed by John Caldwell, Sewanee,
Tennessee, "Dynasaur," by Al
bert Klein, Council Bluffs, Iowa,
and "In August," by Charles Had,
ley: Statesville. All three are
graduate students in the depart
ment of dramatic art.
Auditions for parts in the plays
will be held tomorrow at 4:00
and 7:30 p.m. in Playmakers'
Theatre, according to Professors
John W. Parker and Thomas Pat
terson, directors of the plavwrit
ing courses.
Samuel Seldori, head of the De
partment of Dramatic Arts, has
written: "For thirty-three years
now the Playmakers have been
writing and producing plays of
native American life. Ten vol
umes of the plays of these young
playwrights have been published.
And they have been received
with enthusiasm on every side."
The performance is open to the
public, free of charge. .
Devotionais
Are Planned
'Midday devotional services will
be held this Saturday in Gerrard
Hall due' to the classes scheduled
for that day, according to Car-
roll Taylor, chairman of the Uni
versity Iriter-faith Council.
Robert White of the Columbia
Seminary, Atlanta, Ga., will lead
the devotional services with Miss
Violet Williams, Atlanta, Ga.taas
organist.
Today's devotional service will
be conducted by Rev. David Yates ;
pastor of the Chapel of the Cross..
Rev. J. C. Henin, pastor of the
Chapel Hill Baptist Church will,
be in charge of the services for
tomorrow.
Red Cross Quota Set
The Chapel Hill Red Cross
Chapter's quote for disaster re
lief funds for victims of Ihe Mis
souri river flood is $525. it is
announced by Rupert Vance,
chapter chairman.
Mr. Vance requests thai con
tributions be mailed to Chapel
Hill Red Cross. P. O. Box 777.
Chapel HilL or they may be
dropped in the Red Cross coin
boxes that have been placed in
the stores.
He said the need is urgent.
The national quota is $5,000,000.
Congratulations
Hospital Saving Association
Eubanks Drug Co.
Dependable Druggists
Since 1892
THE NEW
TAL SAVING ASSOCIATION
BUILDING
Another Progressive Step
v for Our Community
and
An Even Greater Service for
Their Many Members
Our Congratulations!
it 1
V ...
$4
Our Compliments to
Hospital Saving Association
Food SfofB
West Franklin Street