“THE WIND AND THE RAIN”

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 95, 16 January 1935, Page 3

“THE WIND AND THE RAIN”

A New Zealand Playwright ONCE ON WELLINGTON HOSPITAL STAFF (By H.P.) There ever appears to be a certain reticence on the part of New Zealand people and its Press to give full credit for the achievement of their own people abroad. A very remarkable case in point was that of the late Dr. Cockayne, whose work as a botanist of outstanding merit was recognised on the Continent long before his true status in the fields of botanic research was recognised in New Zealand. It remained for Lord Bledisloe to name/ him as one of the the living residents' of New Zealand whose name was likely to endure; coupling it with that of Sir Truby King and Lord Rutherford. Another instance of this backwardness in giving credit where credit is due is that of Dr. Merton Hodge, the young Patea medical man, who has achieved fame and fortune in uo ordinary measure by writing the play “The Wind and tlie Rain,” which we are to see in Wellington next month. Dr. Merton Hodge received his medical training at the Otago University; six years ago lie was one of the house staff of tlie Wellington Hospital, after which he went to Edinburgh for further study and his degree. It was while there that he wrote this charming comedy o£ medical student life, which the writer had the good fortune to witness recently in Melbourne, played by a Williamson company, headed by that capable intellectual actor, Mr. George Thirlwell. It is the story of a young medical student making his entry into that phase of life for so many years associated with Scotland’s ancient capital. His much-loved mother, proprietress of an antique shop in London, has made sacrifices to send her son to Edinburgh. One of her friends, and incidentally his, is a much younger lady, rather given to the faster kind of life, and always looking for fun. It is this young lady whom the mother has sorted out as her daughter-in-law to be. In chambers at Edinburgh—the whole of the action of the comedy takes place in the common room of a students’ boardinghouse kept by an elderly and garrulous Scotch lady—the student meets several other fellow studentSj. one an honest plodder of good intentions, another who is foolishly fond of beer and the ladies; and a middleaged Frenchman who has made Edinburgh part of his life struggle for a special degree he knows he will never get, yet attached to the place and the life. The latter is a loveable character who gives nothing but the soundest of advice. There is also another young lady, a New Zealander and a student of sculpture, who realises that there is good stuff in the young man from London, and, liking him for himself, does much to keep burning in him the fires of ambition. She he conies to love, but sensitively loyal to his mother's wishes he plays the game. They become great friends. It is the death of the mother in London which precipitates things. Though she does not appear in the play, the mother becomes a real character through the cleverness of the dialogue. Even after that event the young student is worried, by a deep-set loyalty to his mother’s wishes, but when the young lady from London does appear on the scene, and becomes a little tipsy at a dance he does not attend, he is dreadfully concerned. Finally there Is that tense moment when the results of the final exam, are awaited. The student passes with honour. Then the girl who has pushed him on declares tha"t her part is done, and she is returning to New Zealand to marry the man she is half engaged to. But this could never be. The two meet again, and find they are all in all to one another in one of the most charming love scenes extant in modern comedy. A further touch of humour is lent the scene when the beer-loving student finds that, after three or four failures, he has at length passed his final. His surprise is one of the funniest things in the play. Not only has “The Wind and the Rain” been a tremendous success in London, but New York, Sydney and Melbourne have all given it the imprimatur of a peculiarly fresh and stimulating comedy. Referring to the reference to the fact that a prophet never gains honour in his own country, I should mention that soon after the production of the comedy in London, “The Dominion” published a notice of the play, which was brought to Wellington by the late Mr. Vivian Riddiford on the penultimate return trip to the one during which he passed away. This company, playing “The Wind and the Rain,” and “Ten Minute Alibi,” i will commence a tour of New Zealand | in Auckland on Saturday next, and ! will appear in Wellington about the | middle of February.