Flowers Final 28:02:25 - Flipbook - Page 66
on.What his health requires, like many elderly gentleman, is country air. London is entirely hopeless. In
n, mastery has been gained by people who regard the theatre as a fashion, and the play as a necessary evil.
e could say that of the Stratford Theatre. But Stratford wants a new theatre. The memorial is an excellent
g, adapted for every conceivable purpose except that of a theatre!"
speech was quoted in every newspaper in the country. But there was an element of truth in what he was
The theatre had endless disadvantages. It was too small, conditions backstage cramped, dressing rooms
nadequate, the stage itself was tiny, and the technical equipment was old-fashioned and dangerous. By an
irk of fate, the theatre that George Bernard Shaw had attacked, within 12 months, had been burnt to the
. In 1926 the Memorial theatre was completely destroyed by fire, leaving just a shell of the building. But
y next morning after breakfast, Archibald and his artistic director, William Bridges-Adams, visited the site
etched the plans of a major new theatre in the ashes with their umbrella points. During the construction of
w theatre productions were put on in the old Stratford cinema.
