SOURCE: Bentley, Eric. “Theatre.” New Republic (5 December 1955): 21.

In the following review, Bentley unfavorably compares Anouilh's portrayal of Joan of Arc in The Lark to George Bernard Shaw's conception of the Catholic heroine.

In 1890 Shaw complained of Bernhardt as Joan of Arc: “she intones her lines and poses like a saint.” At the time, Joan was hovering uncomfortably between heaven and earth. Subsequently she was split in two: one half sent to heaven by the church and called, indeed, a saint, the other half brought rudely down to earth by our playwrights. It is this second Joan—named “natural man” by Miss Hellman's inquisitor—which Julie Harris has been called upon to play. Who is better qualified? She is the very idea of a modern actress. The Times recently published a photo to demonstrate that, on 42nd street, Miss Harris looks just like one of the crowd. Imagine what...