In one or two other cases Ibsen strained the resources of the stage. The
illumination in the last act of _Pillars of Society_ cannot be carried
out as he describes it; or rather, if it were carried out on some
exceptionally large and well-equipped stage, the feat of the mechanician
would eclipse the invention of the poet. On the other hand, the abode of
the Wild Duck in the play of that name is a conception entirely
consonant with the optics of the theatre; for no detail at all need be,
or ought to be, visible, and a vague effect of light is all that is
required. Only in his last melancholy effort did Ibsen, in a play
designed for representation, demand scenic effects entirely beyond the
resources of any theatre not specially fitted for spectacular drama, and
possible, even in such a theatre, only in some ridiculously
makeshift form.
There are two points of routine on which I am compelled to speak in no
uncertain voice--two practices which I hold to be almost equally
condemnable.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101