POETRY AND DRAMA

Evening Star, Issue 23368, 11 September 1939, Page 8

POETRY AND DRAMA

IMPRESSIONS OF SYDNEY EISTEDDFOD MR RUSSELL-WOOD, PRINCIPAL ADJUDICATOR, RETURNS EVIDENCE OF AUSTRALIAN ACCENT Interesting observations on his recent trip to Australia are made by Mr Rus-sell-Wood, who was principal adjudicator in the drama and versespeaking classes at the City of Sydney Eisteddfod. During his visit to Sydney Mr Rus-sell-Wood was tendered a reception by the Speech Association of New South Wales at the Hotel Australia. Mr Lawrence Campbell, doyen of Australian teachers, welcomed the New Zealander, and spoke in the most kindly way of the hospitality he had received in Dunedin many years ago; Mr Bertram Flohm also spoke of his pleasant memories of Dunedin and the good standard of work he had seen tnere long ago. In his duties at the Eisteddfod, Mr Russell-Wood said that the work had been arduous, the hours long, and the places of performances many. He had judged in six different halls, and for the first few days found this a little bewildering. Alfsoven principal judges had the help of most efficient secretaries who not only facilitated their work, but also accelerated the various events.

The much-discussed Australian accent was evident in many cases, especially among the men’s and boys’ classes, said Mr Russell-Wood. A very much better appreciation of vowel values was revealed by women competitors. Choral verse-speaking is a much cultivated art in New South 'Wales, and the finest choirs are to be found in Sydney. There were many good choirs in the competitions. Some were excellently equipped technically, yet lacked freshness and spontaneity. The winning choir of the principal choral sectiop was a boys’ choir of over 50 voices, the conductor, Mr Harry Thomas, having his forces under admirable control. Miss Betty Welch, of Hamilton, won several of the most important tests, being outstanding in the radio voice test, in which 65 appeared. In this section the judge was an officer of the Broadcasting Commission, and the test was not merely the performance of prepared work, but included questions of general knowledge, reading, and impromptu announcing. Miss Welch also won the verse-speaking championship.

Mr Russell-Wood considered that the best individual performances in Sydney were not comparable with those in the advanced sections at Ballarat, Victoria, where the highest standards of both dramatic art and verse speaking were to be found. In the drama festival the work varied greatly. Some plays were not well chosen, and were badly cast; others were badly staged and in most cases the deportment, make-up, and general stagecraft left much to be desired. One performance, however, provided a great thrill to the adjudicator. It was ‘ Rehearsal,’ an experimental drama employing a large male cast and several women. This was presented by the New Theatre League, a most progressive and courageous group of players, who do a great deal of experimental work. Mr Russell-Wood described 1 Rehearsal ’ as a “ most stirring, full-blooded, and artistic piece of acting, excellently produced and put across at a terrific tempo.” _ Another notable performance was ‘ The IRoad of Poplars,’ a play requiring sou'id characterisation and good atmosphere. There were many large groups producing in and around Sydney, but the Independent Theatre stil] had the largest following, and recently the producer, Miss Boris Fitton,* established her own theatre in North Sydney, the opening play being Terence Rattigan’s comedy, ‘ French Without Tears.’ Mr Russell-Wood described the production as excellent, being superior to many New Zealand amateur presentations. Miss Fitton was a fine producer, a true lover of the drama, and fully deserved her continued success.