Mr. Dunkley says further: A few
word® about the Out-Door Players
may be of Interest at this time when
the Little Theatre Ls being started in
Birmingham. I had the pleasure of
attending one performance of the
Out-Door Players, this summer, dur
ing my sojourn at the MacDowell
colony. The play give nwas ‘Sakun
tala," written about 1,600 years ago
by India’s great poet, Halidas, the
English version having been prepared
by Lawrence Binyon. It was given
in a woodland dell, a little st&eam
dividing the players from the audi
ence. Most, if not all of the actors,
except William Towne, were ama
teurs, and the performance was a
splendid example of what can be |
done by amateur talent under good
direction.
The director of the play was Mr.
Oliver Hinsdell, who built up the
Little Theatre in New Orleans to the
great success which it is, and who
is to be .in Dallas this winter. Mr.
Hinsdell has on two occasions ad
dressed the Drama League of Bir
mingham. "Sakuntala’’ is a very
beautiful drama, and one 'marvels
at the dramatic skill displayed by
that ancient poet. Halidas. Goethe
is quoted by Rabindranath Tagore as
saying that "Sakuntala" contains the
history of a development—the de
velopment of flower Into fruit, of
earth into heaven, of matter into
spirit."
Peterborough, with its various col
onies, has, in the last few years, be
come a center of much artistic en
deavor, during the summer months,
according to Mr Dunkley "First ii\
importance," he says, ‘is the Mac
Dowell colony, devoted entirely to the
creative side of the various arts.
