THE THESPIANS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 136, 10 June 1937, Page 14

THE THESPIANS

CROSS AND DOUBLE-CROSS

"No. 17". was the play produced by the Thespians at the Concert Chamber last night to a large and interested audience. The play is a thriller and furnishes excellent material for cinema purposes. It was well done in the matter of acting" and mounting, and, at times, achieved its purpose of sending a shiver down the spinal cords of many in the audience. The Thespians have put on better shows than "No. 17," but few more amusing or, rather, entertaining. The play is by J. Jefferson Farjeon, a skilful spinner of knotty yarns that take some unravelling before straightened out and made all clear at the end. What the end of "No. 17" may be would not be fair to the players and the audiences who will attend during the season to disciose.

After preparatory music from i "Tosca" the curtain rose on the lrorit of "No. 17," wnich might be anywhere in London, bui oniy vie iront coor ana snaaowy outnaus of tne nouse ara visiDie ana a street lamp outside H Qoes not make tnem any clearer. The lact is everything is obscured by a ivondon iog, similar to mat so accurately and rmely descrioea in tne opening oi "iileak house." As tnougn a i_,onaon log were not chillingly ■ een« enougn, a mysterious moving tight appears in the lanlignt over tne of Wo. 17. Ghosts? Who knows, not the poor little London lad wno has tumbled out or the house in terror pnly to be gripped by a stalwart passer-by with a oent tor solving mysteries oi crime. What does the lad know? He answers frankly in his own picturesque language. He has seen a corpse in the house and it is enough. What was'he doing there? He went there, he said, because it was an empty house and he had nowhere else to go; nor had he any food. Very well, nere was a real mystery, and the muscular inquirer had made up his mind to solve it, so back into No. 17 he drags the unwilling lad and then the fun begins. There is nothing in it to interest the Society for-; Psychical Research, but the strong man, the solver of criminal riddles who calls himself Gilbert Fordyce, is quite certain that the empty, house is a house of call for'crooks, a sort of Clapham Junction for criminals clearing to the Continent. Moreover, the theft of a duchess's diamonds, apprai:;ed at £50,000, has to be cleared up, and Gilbert Fordyce knew more about that affair than he disclosed at the beginning of the play. No matter, the job had got to be done; Scotland Yard was hot on the scent and the crooks knew it. .

So the play proceeded with, strange noises and uncanny rumblings (the house was over a railway tunnel), and doors that slowly open and, cjuickly close of themselves. The love interest was introduced but was not obtrusive. It was all very well done.

The cast was rather uneven, but marked by an admirable spirit of unity with the obvious intention of every member to pull his and her weight. Mr. Selwyn Toogood appeared to thoroughly enjoy, his part of Gilbert Fordyce, set on bringing the crooks to their appointed end. He was supported by Mr. H. A. Painter, who represented Ben, the poor lad who burst out of the corpse-cumbered house into.. the stout arms of the relentless Fordyce Mr. Painter's acting and accent were to the life. Mr. H. Norman Hannah as an arch-criminal and a passionate lover was excellent along the lines laid down in the play. His was a vividly coloured picture of the fictional crook. As Brant, another crook, Mr. L. M. Schneideman gave a good representation also along the line,s laid down in the play. Miss Ola Neilsen, as a female crook, "fed up with the life," was admirable. Miss Constance Bradstock was allotted a small part which she played with ability.' Other members of the cast in lesser parts were Messrs. Eric Evan-Young, W. M. Willis, and George Aldridge.

The mounting of the play called for some ingenuity, for there were four scenes, but all went smoothly with no waste of time. Mr. Evan Harrowell was the producer. Incidental music was furnished by Mr. Leon and Madame de Mauny and Mr. Claude Tanner.

"No 17" is good entertainment because it keeps the audienc in suspense, and if there are gruesome moments in it there are also many bright spots of comfdy by way of relief. The play will be on all this week.