Dr. Doyle as Dramatist
Dr. Doyle as Dramatist is an article published in The Sketch on 14 june 1899.
Dr. Doyle as Dramatist
Of course, "Halves" is not Conan Doyle's first venture as dramatist. We have already seen the little Waterloo piece immortalised by the fine art of Sir Henry Irving, to say nothing of "Foreign Policy"; but these were only one-act sketches, and "Halves," originally produced at Aberdeen, and now presented at the Garrick Theatre, is a serious affair in three acts and a prologue. The promise of the earlier works caused a woeful disappointment — at least, from the critic's point of view — for the audience seemed to be pleased by the commonplace, old-fashioned work now offered to it. Dr. Conan Doyle does not do his work by halves, and, having made up his mind that his subject did not deserve artistic treatment — in which view he is quite correct — has indulged himself to the full in antique asides and soliloquies, to say nothing of ancient stage effects. The memory of the oldest critic can hardly tell him of anything more painfully artificial than the misunderstanding from silence on which the play rests. It begins with two brothers, who snake a vow — a fairy-tale vow — that after twenty-five years they will meet on a given day and pool their fortunes. One, William, saves a little money, chiefly through the self-sacrificing efforts of his wife; the other, Robert, snakes a hundred thousand pounds. Robert comes to see William, a country doctor, on the appointed day, and, with a view of testing him, pretends to be penniless. William resolves to hold to the compact; but the idea of giving up half the savings of twenty years out of a sense of honour is too much for the wife, and she leaves her husband's house rather than consent to the sacrifice. For three days, William, the husband, lives apart from his wife, because he has resolved to carry out his promise, and Robert, fully alive to all the facts, watches the torture of the brother whom he pretends to love. In the end, the wife's love for her husband prevails, and she comes back prepared to make the sacrifice. After dragging out her agony for a long while, Robert discloses the fact that he is rich, and agrees to share his money with them. Up to the last, I hoped against hope that the author would make amends for much that was paltry, and give a humorous turn to his play by causing William to kick the contemptible Robert out of doors when he found that his wife and he had been tortured as a test. However, they took Robert and his money-bags to their hearts, and made one thoroughly sick of the whole contemptible collection. This disappointing play had the advantage of a performance far better than it deserved, for Mr. James Welch gave us a delightful piece of unforced acting in the part of William, while Mr. Brandon Thomas played the part of Robert with skill and a fine sense of character. Miss Olliffe, as the wife, distinguished herself by an admirable piece of acting, and Mr. Sheldon not only was funny in the comic scenes, but went through the stale business of the old servant who offers his little fortune to the master whom he believes to be ruined with a surprising air of sincerity. Capital work, too, was done by Mr. Charles Troode and Mr. Fitzroy Morgan.
E. F. S.
