UNIVERSITY DRAMATIC SOCIETY

Evening Star, Issue 22448, 19 September 1936, Page 12

UNIVERSITY DRAMATIC SOCIETY

• THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST ’ The performance of Oscar Wilde’s brilliant play, ‘ The, Importance of Being Earnest,’ attracted a capacity audience to Allen Hall last night, and was much enjoyed, it appeared, by the players and audience alike. The play was read, but some of the players had memorised their lines, and for the most part the books were unnoticeable. Before the curtain rose the president of the society (Mr Maurice Joel) addressed the audience and pointed out the great difficulties which faced any stage manager and producer in attempting a play in Allen Hall.

These difficulties were fairly obvious, and it was due to untiring efforts on behalf of Mr Russell-Wood (producer) and Mr Russell Reid (stage manager) that the play was presented as adequately as it was, and that the performance ran so smoothly. The honours of the evening undoubtedly went to Mr Ernest Moller, who essayed the part of John Worthing with very definite success. The part was invested with artistry and many subtle touches which made it quite the most polished effort of the evening. As the Honourable Gwendoline Fairfax, Miss Lydia Henderson looked very chic, and spoke her lines with refreshing crispness, although her reading lapsed slightly towards the end of the play. 'The august Lady Bracknell was interpreted with vigour by Miss Joyce Hamer, who looked extraordinarily young for the dowager which she was endeavouring to represent/ A delightful bit of foolery was Dr G. E. Moloney’s reading of Algernon Moncrieff—slightly inclined to burlesque in parts, but immensely amusing throughout. _ Miss Joyce Messent lent charming naivotte to the part of Cecily Carclew, but was not always sure of her lines, and her part could have been more convincingly done. Miss Una Ferry made a success of Miss Prism, an acidulated spinster, her make-up and dressing being appropriate and her comedy highly infections. Mr E. L. Charteris, a newcomer to the society, read Canon Chasuble, D.D., with good effect, although his “ bleat ” was, at times, slightly like that of the stage curate of a former decade. Mr Don Meredith, well made up, did good work as Lane, Algernon’s butler, and the same may be said of Mr Bruce Hay (as Merriman), who, if anything, was more successfully non-communicative and servile than the butler of act 1. After the rending the floor was cleared, and dancing occupied a very pleasant hour.