Welsh Journals

tion has deepened their disillusionment with poli- tics. The struggle to live on a pittance has strang- led hope, weakened faith, and embittered the spirit. The man who retains his job is somewhat better off in the slight amount of his goods but his sense of powerlessness is no whit less than that of his un- employed neighbours. The shop-keeper, next door, has the feeling that he is being hounded from his means of sustenance by the chain stores and the overwhelming burden of rates, until he is compelled to pull down his shutters with the bitter sense of grievance that he has not had "a black man's chance." The handsome incomes of doc- tors and lawyers have also dwindled. Indeed, practically the only group in the areas that has thus far succeeded in retaining its standard con- sists of local government employees of all kinds and the staffs of banks and colliery offices. And social energy has not emanated from this quarter. This is a sad story in which the part played by the Great War has been ignored. Much in the present situation can be attributed to its effects, THE first issue of the "Welsh Outlook" appeared at a time when a fresh impetus was being given to Welsh drama. The movement cannot be said to have begun then, since Beriah Evans, Elphin and others had written plays before that date. Round about 1913, how- ever, a totally different kind of Welsh play-a group of half-a-dozen or so-made its appearance, different in theme, different in technique and very different in the authors' attitude towards life. These plays were very definitely a criticism of the life they presented. The authors were enthus- iastic, and whatever their shortcomings, they could not be charged with insincerity. And they dealt with Welsh life not merely by the fact that the scene of their action was laid in Wales, but in that they seized upon some phase of Welsh life which was the outcome of a traditional way of being, doing and thinking, or else they dealt with the clash between tradition and more recent cir- cumstances and forces. Moreover, the impress of Welsh life upon these men had resulted in an obvious urge to write. There is not much evidence of preliminary fum- bling on their part for a subject or topic. They are clearly boiling over with something to say. They may, often, have said it badly, incoherently, but it was always with some force and conviction. but they were implicit in the circumstances of pre- war days. It is, however, at the present time that social amenities are struggling to make their be- lated appearance. The Local Authorities and Welfare Schemes are attempting parks, playing fields, clubs, institutes and pithead baths, while much hearty voluntary effort goes in the same dir- ection, but, in the minds of some people, Ichabod might suitably be inscribed upon their gates and foundation stones. It were fitter to regard them as the symbols of a new and more generous age. To regard them otherwise would be to accept de- feat. At this very moment a listlessness may be brooding over "the Industrial Valleys." "Ai terfysg Hafddydd yw ai storm yr hwyr, Tragywydd ai tros amser." When one recalls the traditions of enthusiasm ability and courageous action that come from the past and knows that they are still fostered in these most baffling times, the only worthy reply is "ter- fysg Hafddydd, dros amser"-the passing of sum- mer's thunderstorm. DRAMA by D. T. Davies The advance in technique was distinct, as com- pared with what had appeared before in Welsh drama. The authors revealed a closer acquaint- ance with the limitations of drama as a literary form, with the necessary conventions enforced upon it by the theatre, and a greater skill in work- ing effectively within those limitations and sub- ject to the conventions. Purely as pieces of crafts- manship, in relation to the demands of the theatre, there is not much the matter with "Change" by Mr. J. O. Francis, or with almost any play by Mr. Berry. The sheer carpentry, at any rate, is sound. Immediately upon the appearance of these plays Welsh drama became very popular. Amateur companies sprang up everywhere and play-pro- duction became almost a national pastime. A tribute, which has never been fully paid, is due to the people of Wales- Although most of the plays were highly critical of Welsh life and some of them, without being hostile, were certainly mordant, and at times just a wee bit acid, and although, too, a traditional objection to the theatre and play-acting still existed in the land, the plays were welcomed and given a free and fair hearing. It may be that the left wing of Welsh thought led the way and influenced the others, but it is probably juster to think that the spon-