ALLAN WILKIE SEASON

Evening Star, Issue 20134, 26 March 1929, Page 7

ALLAN WILKIE SEASON

A NOTABLE REPERTOIRE When Allan Wilkie opens his season at His Majesty’s Theatre next _ Saturday night in ‘ The Merry Wives of Windsor,’ ho will have completed tho tenth year of his Australasian tour with the plays of Shakespeare, during which time he has presented twentysix plays out of the entire Shakespearean repertoire of thirty-seven. Whilst none of the .remaining eleven is to bo presented during the coming season, Mr Wilkio is to give us four productions not previously seen here, ‘King Lear,’ ‘Much Ad« ) About Nothing,’ ‘ Coriolanus, and ‘ All’s Well That Ends Well.’ Both tho plays were staged during Mr Wilkie;s phenomenally successful season of six months in Sydney, and the spectacular ‘ Coriolanus ’ was one of the outstanding triumphs of Ids record-break-ing run of fourteen weeks at the Majestic Theatre, Newtown. Mr Wilkie’s company as at present constituted is by far the strongest ho has presented in New Zealand. Many of the thirty players under his banner have appeared in Shakespearean productions in England. Mr Wilkie himself was a member of the original Sir Herbert ’free Shakespearean Repertoire Company. It is not, however, in strength of personnel alone that an advance will he noted. Where elaborate staging and spectacular effects, are necessary Mr Wilkie now supplies them as is demonstrated by tho fact that ho now travels with upwards of 120 tons ol scenery, costumes, and effects. In spite of these developments the actor-manager proposes on this occasion to cut prices to tho finest point commensurate with an adequate return, makihg his concessions to students and school children in accordance with the cuts in tho public admission prices. In this way ho hopes to attract the full houses which in turn create the same atmosphere of enthusiasm as that which marked the uerformances during his Sydney season!"’ ,The cast for the initial production of ‘ The Merry Wives' of Windsor ’ will include Allan Wilkie as Sir John Falstaff. Miss Hunter-Watts as Mistress Ford, Lorna Forbes as Mistress Page, Alexander Marsh, a well-known English actor, who will make his Dunedin debut as Master Ford, Arthur Keane as Slender, John Cairns as Cains, Dennis Barry as Fenton, and Mildred Howard as “ Sweet Anne Page.” During the season a total of eighteen plays will be presented.