CANTERBURY COLLEGE DRAMA SOCIETY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19168, 26 November 1927, Page 5

CANTERBURY COLLEGE DRAMA SOCIETY.

"THE CAT AND THE CHERUB." The Drama Society is concluding what is undoubtedly the most active year in its history by the production of 0. B. Fernald's drama of San Francisco's Chinatown, "'The Cat and the Oherub." Starting this year with a revival of the perversely Shavian comedy, "The Devil's Disciple," set in America of the War of Independence, they passed to the high, devout tragedy of Hasefield's poetic masterpiece of the Crucifixiontime, "Good Friday,'.' a production which critics agreed was as near artistic perfection as it was possible to realise. Fresh from their triumphs, they have now turned their attention to this masterly little play of modern times, but modern only as permitted by the strange exotic setting of the piece, in the Oriental squalor of the Yellow quarter of 'Frisco, comparable to the sinister atmosphere of Limehouse. Such a play might easily prove a. mere sensational "thriller"—"The Cat and the Cherub," though it might be described as a "thriller," is definitely far above the order of the cheap orgies of blood and thunder that ordinarily take that name. It Is definitely a melodrama, but it is a melodrama with a gripping, logical plot, singularly observant characterisation, dialogue that has hardly an unnecessary word (though it is enriched with wit and tenderness), and situations that are tense and thrilling to a high degree. The plot concerns one Chow Fang, the villainous keeper of a gambling den. His crooked, cruel actions involve the little son of Hooking, a wealthy Chinese merchant; Ah Toi, his daughter, and her lover, Sun Nuey, the son of the cynical and learned doctor. Wry Shee. The plot which knits these characters into a concise whole is an unusually fine one, giving rise to situations which at times transcend the merely dramatic and rise to heights almost of pure tragedy. In short, it is definitely a good play of its class; for the production, the names of Professor Shelley and Miss Nets Billcliffe will be guarantee to all those who saw the finished technique and the artistic conception of their presentation of "Good Friday." For the cast, the Society, with the producers, Miss Winifred Smith, and Messrs Prime, Neale, and Baker, in the chief parts, should be sure to maintain the high standard expected of a "Little Theatre" production. All seats for the production (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 28th, 29th, and 80th, at 8 p.m.) may be reserved at the School of Forestry, Canterbury College.