52. ‘The Bill”

A morality play in four acts by Maurice Donnay. German by Anne St. Cerè
Performance at the Neues Theater, Berlin

The new drama by Maurice Donnay "La Douloureuse", with which director Lautenburg opened the season of the Neues Theater, brought together the dizzying hustle and bustle of disgusting moneymaking with the tenderest stirrings of the loving heart in a rather unharmonious way. Donnay is a witty playwright with a fine artistic touch. Unfortunately, he only lacks the ability to devise an exciting plot. People who are only satisfied when as much as possible happens on stage do not get their money's worth with him. The development of the events is slow, the plot flows sluggishly forward.

The sculptor Philippe loves Helene, the wife of the swindler Ardan. Ardan shoots himself at the end of the first act, and Helene's hand is free for her lover. The two could enjoy their fiery love in the most beautiful way if Helene's friend did not stand in the way. She loves the sculptor no less ardently than Helene. He is a weakling and cannot resist the courtship of the rutting woman. She betrays her friend. She reveals to the ardent suitor that Helene's child is illegitimate. Philippe is furious and devastated by this news; Helene is furious and devastated by the fact that Philippe loves his girlfriend. An exciting scene between the two shows the bitterness that two passionate and loving souls can cause each other. A "reckoning" takes place between the two, just as a reckoning took place earlier between the swindler Ardan and "earthly justice". In the end, Philippe and Helena's hearts find each other again. He has forgotten and forgiven her in his loneliness, she in her lively social life. Basically, it is not people but puppets who are involved in this plot. But characterization and action are replaced by the spirit that prevails in the speeches of these people. One listens intently to the intimate things being said and forgets that there is no action because of all the talking. A soft, mature, sweet beauty flows from these speeches. One was always annoyed that an audience with little understanding received this fine, unspeakably beautiful speech with yawns, laughter and hissing. However, the performance was little suited to bring out the wonderful subtleties of the drama. Mr. Jarno played a rotten sweetie instead of the nervous, decadent weakling Philippe; Mrs. Reisenhofer's passion, for all its liveliness, was too coarse to reflect the sensitive love of Helene, which is of such intimate truth that a warm breath must go over one's whole body when it is well portrayed.