Eric Bentley's Theatre of Commitment: Is the Drama an Extinct Species?

Eric Bentley’s The Theatre of Commitment

Eric Bentley was born in 1916 in Bolton, England and it was here that he developed his love for performing and the theatre. However it was not until he moved to the USA that he began to receive plaudits for his work as a singer, translator, editor and most famously as a critic. Bentley taught at Columbia University during the 1950s as well as critiquing theatre for ‘The New Republic’, it was here that he developed his style of criticism which many call blunt. In fact Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams both tried to sue him during the 50s before dropping their cases. Bentley also worked closely under Bertolt Brecht during his time in America and is seen as one of the top experts on Brecht having written many books and translated many successful adaptations of his plays. Bentley has also written many books on the Theatre and it is one of these that I wish to review: The Theatre of Commitment.

This book is a collection of essays Bentley wrote between 1953 and 1967 and I will be reviewing each essay on whether it is still relevant today. I will also look at the issues that Bentley raises and how historically these have been faced and whether the situation has improved or got worse. The book was written with America in mind due to that being his base of operations but I believe that issues in the theatre are global and what was happening in America then may be the same today but for the UK.

The first essay was written between 1953 and 1954 and is entitled: Is the Drama an Extinct Species?

This is a question that will never die due to the fact that audience figures have dwindled in theatres over the years and less and less people are writing for the stage. Something that Bentley and I agree upon is that television and film take up the younger and newer writers because there is more money there and potential, there is a market for upcoming writing talent in Hollywood because the big wigs always want the next big thing whether it be story wise or actor wise to keep their profits high. However the backing for playwrights may not be there, Bentley talks about how subjective the idea of a ‘good’ play may be citing the example of George Bernard Shaw and how his plays written in the 1890s were cutting edge plays about social standards but it was only by the 1910s that Shaw was recognised as a genius and his plays became seen as classics. Bentley elaborates on this by saying that Shakespeare and Ibsen are lauded as geniuses of the theatre whilst people like Thomas Dekker and Henry Arthur Jones (contemporaries of Shakespeare and Ibsen) are dismissed or not even discussed due to the lack of coverage of their work. He then makes a bold claim that the same will happen with writers of the ilk of Brecht on the American stage. Bentley was of course right, Brecht in the 50s was definitely not a popular choice for theatre in America due to his communist leanings but as soon as that was not an issue any longer Brecht was lauded as one of the geniuses of 20th century theatre.

After exploring the argument that there exist good playwrights but because they do not get recognition soon enough to reap the benefits of their hard work they are forced to go into another part of the industry for their wage Bentley starts talking about another aspect of literature, authors and poets. Bentley argues that many people who wish to write to express themselves do so through the arts of fiction or poetry, he even surmises that if writers such as Hemingway and Penn Warren could devote a decade to writing for the stage they would give the playwrights of their day a run for their money. He goes on to say that there are not many opportunities for young writers to produce new work and allow themselves to make mistakes and truly learn the craft that is playwriting. This is something that has been greatly addressed in the UK in the past 15 years or so due to the death of rep theatres and the stagnation of our theatre industry. Bentley talks about how the American theatre lacks a place for the playwright to learn because on Broadway a show must be guaranteed to run for a year before it can be invested in. This is interesting to think of because in the UK that is no longer an issue, money can be thrown at a playwright and company who will not get a years run at a top theatre or even a regional tour as long as the playwrights work ticks all the boxes for funding. This is a situation that has caused some fantastic works to be written and has really helped give people opportunities but is also a bit of a double edged sword. When the rep system was active in the UK writers had a chance to have their scripts seen and tried out due to the relative cheapness of hiring a young writer attached to the theatre company, then they could develop their talent no matter what sex, background or experience they had. Nowadays it seems that you get help and backing from the arts councils or developing theatres only if you are some sort of minority, disabled, have an issues based play, want to be experimental or have an offensive subject matter. I am not saying that this is true in every example but it is a very true part of theatre today and it’s sad to think that writers such as Alan Ayckbourn would not get the backing today that he got back when he started writing if he only came along now. This is also something Bentley touches on lightly in that he says that poets and writers would not be able to get themselves on the West End stage on their own terms and that in many ways London will continue to produce renowned geniuses such as Shakespeare over an author or poets work. Of course that’s not strictly true any longer as the West End has opened up its doors to many more types of theatre and performance over the years and a good example of someone who proves Bentley wrong is the acclaimed author Mark Haddon whose first play is to be produced on the London stage in the coming months.

Bentley moves on to discuss the fact that censorship of material can have a massive effect on the production of dramatic work citing the case of the Soviet Union where there was still a great theatrical system with government initiatives for playwrights and good treatment of Soviet artists, however there was a huge amount of censorship from Stalinists and other government bodies. I honestly know very little about the censors laws in Soviet Russia but I can believe that it was detrimental, especially when you think of some of the things the censors in the Lord Chamberlains Office imposed on the theatre such as saying in a 1961 adaptation of ‘Lady Chatterlys Lover’ the male character Mellors was not allowed to be shown onstage with a bare chest, and at the time of the writing of this essay the writers John Osbourne and Keith Tynan were fighting for what would become the Theatres Act of 1968 which abolished censorship of the theatre. In the UK this isn’t obviously an issue any longer.

In conclusion much of this essay is either no longer relevant or the issues raised by it have been changed by positive moves forward within the industry. However saying that the fact is this essay still has resonance 55 years after it was first written due to the death of rep theatre and its force for good in training people to work in the theatre as actors/writers/technical/directors etc. There is still a strong level of work coming out of the UK thanks to theatres such as the Royal Court which has a fantastic new playwrights development system and due to the investment by the government in the arts council, however there is still the issue that writers are generally dismissed until their work is no longer relevant as discussed in the case of George Bernard Shaw. Of course that is changing with the invention of the internet and the fact that media and the arts are global now and what is a failure here in the UK could theoretically pack the houses in Australia or even on Broadway for example. Drama is alive and strong as well due to the fact that more4, BBC4, ITV4 and many of the main television channels within the UK are producing films which are written excellently and this I believe is why drama on the stage is more often than not a restaging of an old favourite. The real issue that Bentley raises, that of the threat of TV and the Cinema is still there, a very real and perilous situation is something we find ourselves in and its one that there is no way out of. Audiences will dwindle until Theatre becomes a niche art form unless something can stem the tide and truly push it once more as the standard bearer of drama in our society.

For more info on Bentley try this link for an audio version of his book Theatre of Commitment:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheTheatreOfCommitmentByEricBentley

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News Round up for Week 20th Oct - 27th Oct 09

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Nine the musical... what is going on?

Nine the Musical is coming out this December but there are a couple of things about this production that make me worried, very worried.

Ok so if I told you that there was a musical that would star Daniel Day Lewis as the lead coming out this year you would probably already know and still be thinking 'What on Earth?'. A renowned Method Actor he is probably the last possible choice I would make for a musical, after all he has no proven track record for singing and was only cast after he sent the production team a copy of him singing. Apparently it impressed because instead of going for the actor who won the drama desk award for his portrayal of the lead on Broadway in 2003, Antonio Banderas, they pick Lewis to replace the burnt out Javier Bardem. The mind boggles at such a casting decision, of course many would argue that Lewis is the leading film actor of our age and as such the reports that he has been using his method technique to immerse himself in the character is a great sign. However whether or not he can carry a musical lead has yet to be seen and it opens him up for a lot of criticism.

The rest of the cast is slightly curious as well, the choices of Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson in particular are interesting to say the least. After all whilst Kidman has had a number one single in the UK and was a massive box office success in Moulin Rouge let us not kid ourselves she is a mediocre singer at best who does not really have the vocal range to pull off a musical. It is probably good then that her role within the film is not too big, Catherine Zeta-Jones pulled out of the project because the director wouldn't expand the role for her, and that she will most likely be able to show off her talent in one or two big numbers and that is all. Kate Hudson I believe has sung in only one film, the romcom 'How to lose a guy in 10 days' and I believe that was only a few bars, she is however an accomplished trained musician playing both Guitar and Piano so maybe she will be fine with her voice. I like Kate Hudson the roles she gets given in films are just archetypes and she plays them well but I hope she is given the chance to expand range a little.

Fergie from Black Eyed Peas will be in this movie portraying a prostitute, her role is a minor one but despite her obviously powerful voice as a non actor I have reservations over whether or not this is a good idea. The rest of the cast reads quite well but its nothing amazing or mind blowing. Judy Dench showing her excellence, Marion Cotillard building on her reputation from La Vie En Rose, the ever talented Penelope Cruz and legendary actress Sophia Loren. The cast in any other film for me would be a smash hit all the way but the fact that its a musical taints it a little for me.

Then we have the subject matter, the original source material for 9 the musical was a film called 8 and a Half by Fellini. A Metafilm this production portrayed a film within a film and was about a director who had creative issues and artistic blocks. Now that theme has carried over into the Musical and having read the synopsis (go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_(musical)) I think there are going to be big issues with this film. Lets be honest musicals are big business right now High School Musical smashed the door open being quickly followed by Hairspray and Mamma Mia all films with a distinctly light tone although Hairspray does try to tackle race relations. Even musicals that had come before including Chicago had a light entertaining feel yet this musical has to me a darker tone. I don't believe there will be many ensemble songs making you want to dance, it won't appeal to tweenagers, teenagers or the younger audience member. I remember having high hopes for the concept that Repo the Opera had but that was misgiven and was a huge flop even though it has gained a cult following.

Now onto my biggest worry, its been delayed. The original date of its release has been pushed back now that can mean only two things really. One that the film is awful and they are attempting to recut it to make it better or some such tactic or two, the film is going to be put up for Oscar nomination and therefore needs to be released at the end of the year. Either way it has made musical fans confused, they have been looking forward to the film and now its pushed back with no explanation.

So just what is going to happen? Well the negatives, it has an unproven (in musicals) lead actor in a film that is not really very commercial in its content. It seems a bit arty to me and whilst that may work in the theatre, when it gets to the big screen you could find yourself alienating your potential audience.

However saying all that the trailer is entertaining, 'Be Italian' the track featured in the trailer and the choreography makes it look top notch. Plus the director's previous musical Chicago stayed very true to the revival of the production so hopefully we will get that with this film and it will be a success as a filmic depiction of a stage play. I think having watched the trailer that the film will be a moderate success and will be a decent adaptation of a musical but if its put into the Oscar chase, which lets be honest is the most likely reason for the setback after all Lewis is VERY picky about what roles he does, it will become a smash hit. It would be good to see an Oscar go to a musical once more but hey lets see what happens come December.

So whats going on? I guess the answer is nobody actually knows and conjecture will get us no where, unfortuanately the people who are losing out in the end are the fans of the play who have wanted to see this film for a while and the fans who love the trailer and want to see the movie who now have to wait longer than before. I personally am now looking forward to Nine and I hope it proves my doubts wrong, but this in my opinion has the potential to be a huge flop which would be a massive shame.