Letter: Artistry and ideology

Sir: Adrian Noble may well be right in his strictures on the poor speaking of verse (4 February). He is wrong, however, to place the blame mainly on the drama schools. These schools reflect both the world around them and current professional practice.

One of the more unfortunate consequences of the Sixties was a refusal by many students to learn traditional methods of voice production, which were considered 'an assault on the personality'. The notion that a text might have a structure and an inherent musical pattern was dismissed as 'bourgeois oppression'. This reaction was experienced in theatre schools all over the world, not just in Britain.

The students did not invent the notions they were expressing; they were the victims of a general attack on the notion of a body of knowledge - another 'bourgeois' concept. In the forefront of this assault were many young directors who were long on ideology and short on a knowledge of the nature and functioning of language.

If Mr Noble gives a lead, I am sure he will find a response among those concerned with the artistic education rather than the ideological exploitation of young actors.

Yours sincerely,

JEAN-NORMAN BENEDETTI

President

Theatre Education Committee

London, NW6