REPERTORY THEATRE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 137, 6 December 1929, Page 7

REPERTORY THEATRE

IN THREE ONE-ACT PLAYS

Three little plays were produced at the Blue Triangle Hall last night as proof of the good work carried on by the National Repertory Society, and they were dramatic, idyllic, and farcical, in that order. Their titles were "The Little Stone House," by Scarfe Calderon, of which the dramatis personae and the scene were Russian, the time being before the Revolution; "The Constant Lover," by St. John Hankin; and "Playgoers," by Pinero. The first was a play written, it seems, with the object of demonstrating the superiority of ideals over men. Mme. Praskovya, a needy boardinghouse-keeper, had a son, whose father was a nobleman, a son for whom she pinched herself to send him to the gymuase. where, as she believed, he studied with earnestness, but was murdered by a Pole. Before the Ikon 111 her home, with its little lamp burning perpetually, was the photograph of her son. At this domestic shrine she prayed in faith that she might have communion with her son in a little stone house, a kind of oratory to be built in the cemetery. To build it she had saved and denied herself for some twenty years. But when her object was in sight of achievement a stranger came to her house. This altered all her plans, and there was a deeply moving scene, and the poor woman fell prostrate before the shrine. The solution of the mystery of Mme. Praskovya's great sorrow is unravelled for the benefit of the audience by the typically "permanent ' boarder (who once, he confessed, cherished ideals), and the Stranger. The characters were:—Mme. Praskovya, Miss Louise Hall; Astery, the "permanent," Mr. L. I. Maule; Porna, a young and sceptical student, Mr. John Bown; Spiridion, who was to build the house, Mr. E. S. Baldwin; Vavara, a serving maid, Miss Agnes Page; a stranger, Mr. W. S. Wauchop; and a corporal, Mr. H. N. Burns. Most of the emotional-weight of the play was carried by Miss Hall, and next in importance to her with an admirably delivered speech on ideals, by Mr. L. I. Maule, whose finished worth it was a joy to watch; and the Stranger, whose strongly dramatic part received adequate treatment from Mr. W. S. Wauehop. The performance showed that the members of the cast were well chosen and acted well together.

Coming as a -welcome relief from the rather melancholy subject of "The Little Stone House," was the amusing trifle, "The Constant Lover." Its two characters were He, Mr. A. D. Priestley, and She, Miss Hazel Wells. Both had names, of course, but they were a pair of stocksize lovers, anyway. Miss Wells and Mr. Priestley were never in the least self-con-scious, their acting was spontaneous, fresh, convincing, and artistic in the fullest meaning of that word. "The Constant Lover," slight as it is, must surely rank with the successes of the society's 1929 season. Then came the Pinero farce, which was like a once famous cocoa, "grateful and comforting." What happened in this so-called domestic episode was that a newly-married and over-al-truistic wife of a stockbroker conceived the preposterous idea of buying seats at the theatre for her five domestic servants, not counting the Odd Man. The proposal was first sniffed at, then resented, then grudgingly accepted with certain stipulations. It is all meant to be ridiculous, and was so represented by the admirable cast; but there was a perfectly good motto in the play, and it was not hard to discover. The cast was as follows:— The Lady, Miss Mavis Halliday; her husband, Mr. R. E. Pope; the Cook, Miss Eva Butts; the Kitchenmaid, Miss Coralie Smythson (and between these two some clever "business"); the Parlourmaid (very haughty), Miss N. Dudley; the Housemaid, Miss M. Willcocks; the useful and tearful maid, Miss Stackerand the Odd Man, Mr. 0. N. Gillespie. It was an admirable cast, and appeared to have been well grounded in its parts, each member entering whole-heartedly into the spirit of the jest. The society, in this its latest performance, more than justified the brightest hopes of its founders.. Mr. Wauchop was producer, and had reason to be proud of his efforts. Pianoforte selections were played by Mr. T. Fisher. Lady Alice Fergusson and suite were present. There will be a repetition this and to-morrow evenings.