1937-12-18 — Page 8

THE CHINA ARAL

EXCITING FIRST NIGHTS

I

AM never sure whether it i

to standard text-books

due

red and with Gerrard encou

It affords ing out all

did not seem to be either leades self for as long as he Punch, and Judy

the work of Val Gielgud, quette or to national mental laziness liked without rhyme or reason as was

permutations and combination that the first conversational gambit the best entertainment management, drama director of the BBC after an introduction in London in writers, and company could provide It is a picture of Ruritania in offered by two pair of sweethearts

1937, ruled by Dictator Bernard in the spirit of fantastic farce variably is "Have you been to any for any hypothetical audience. new plays lately?"

The public greeted the second first Hentzau (nephew of Rupert of). It A GIDDY COMEDY

This is a giddy comedy, which This week that question avokes night with cheers instead of jeers, is a light satire on Dictator-run or- something more than a perfunctory the Press which had been justly ridden States, probably not

answer. I have been to four first harsh waxed sentimentally benevo- enough to please their encaustic may very well reach Australia, and

nights recently, and they have all been remarkable almost to the point- of sensationalism.

By Denzil Batchelor

could hardly fail to delight it, but its own intrinsic merit was not the most exciting thing about its first, night I had, curiously enough, a day or two before, been talking to Lionel Hale, the critic and drama- comforts One was booed and hissed loudly

veteran theatre Tent

tist, about the creature afforded by a London that afforded enough to remind

a choice of over forty flesh and goers of the ancient glories of Du blin in the Golden Age, when every-

Those who believe that Sydney, with a population of a thing from abuse to bullets was hur-

emillion and a half, found it hard to led at the stage during the first amid a fanfare of publicity as the that under dictators no private life night of The Playboy of the West- first offering of the Vandeville Thea can be private (or more than an ex- support two theatres, and that to a ern World Barbara Blair and Gene tre in its new career as "The House istence) must have welcomed the great extent drama-lovers in Aus- Gerrard were the stars of "Take it of Laughter" The play chosen, ironic twist to the plot: instead of tralia were dependent on the efforts Basy" They lived up to the show's "Punch and Judy" ran for a week, parenthood being prohibited to cer- of amateur companies. Lionel Hale title, and the audience refused to, and is to be replaced by a revival of tain citizens, in modern Ruritania it seemed to think that in that case

is compulsory to all and gave it as gruelling a reception Fosen's "Ghosts, not generally con- as I ever knew a play to get. sidered to be in the category of live hardened playgoer was surprised to derstaking heroic risks, at least un- As a result, after eight days the ly farce. I commented on this to a see furnish the reason for the down- til I assured him that these ama- piece finished, and was presented a dramatic critic, who replied acidly fall of the dictatorship. In spite of teur companies had performed both second time with a plot completely that in the public's opinion its pre often sparklingly gay dialogue in his plays, "The Mocking Bird" and spite of the national reputation" of "She Passed Through Lorraine," to

and the new show ran for frolic enough to satisfy these esca

pologists who go to the theatre spe- six nights. "HOUSE OF LAUGHTE

cifically in order

The second first night was staged their newspaper to avoid reading blood theatres. I explained to him

which no Australian drama-lovers were un-

Val Gielgud (whom I watched for Sydney audiences. years as an actor in a provincial re- We agreed, however, that profes- pertory theatre); in spite of the sional productions were vitally im heroic efforts of Carot Goodner and portant to set off drama at its best, Frank Cellier, the Vaudeville Thea since the least amateurishness in tre, "The House of Laughter," has production can shatter that perfect had to fall back on Ibsen's "Ghosts" sense of illusion which hypnotises an audience into believing that the after a week of this good, clean, but stage is reality and real life does

not much, fun.

not exist. In a professional pro- My third first night, though sen- duction such a lapse from perfect sational, was successful; and that illusion can never happen.

is something which nowadays seems And then, on the first night of to be rarer on the stage than in real "Yes and No," a play much more life, though, of course, it is not yet than adequately professionally pr as rare as it is in journalism. Ken- duced, I saw something happen neth Horne's "Yes and No" is the which I have never seen in the hum-- third play now running in London blest of Sydney's Little Theatre. to play tricks with the dimension The curtain came down on the firs of Time: Acts IL and I are Act L act amidst salvoes of applause. A lived all over again not in the fu- habel of talk broke out, the au ture but still in the present tense. dience poured out into the foyer, With Mr Priestley's plays, "Time upon which architectural featurn and the Conways" and "I Have the English- theatre and its popu- Been Here Before," this devie (Continued on Page 9)

EVERYBODY'S SAYING THE

"What a really

perfect Gin!"

THEY'RE RIGHT-

IT'S

SEAGERS

Sole Agents:

GIN

OBTAINABLE EVERYWHERE

H. Ruttonjee & Son

WORLD GOES BY By “ ULYSSES”

world is never

No si

Fleave any that sure contests clear the water of its

only the

really

nded take their Let it have a wild rollicking boil tea, for instance,– “Just as it and no nonsense! comes.

Anyone above the

level

After four minutes infusion, the amount of flavour decreases, and. of a women's clubent 183 After infusion the tea should the proportion of tannin increases. aware that tea falls into three always be strained into a second) classes black, oolong and green pot, previously scalded like the

and that there are wariations. first.

amongst these three that stretch The serious tea drinker takes milk from perfection itself to plain with black teas, lemon with rotgut

Further, we are well aware that the rising price of tea is tending to cause the addict a sharpish pain in the tummy.

green

teas and his oolong with neither.

It is untrue that strong tea in reasonable quantities is bad for the heart.

The heart has suffered for years No longer can you and I afford from bad publicity. Neither coffee our Lapsang soochong

indulged in black tea

and

that fine, nor tobacc on its chest madly, afer favour of Further

exe

dears that we ing.

Carskadon, up

Voice of

the

effect

.

that lively

He ret

heart means danger.

important

over

Milton

of course to the pure

ly medical angle.

*