REGAL REVUE

Evening Star, Issue 23679, 12 September 1940, Page 14

REGAL REVUE

SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION QUEEN CARNIVAL OFFICIALLY INAUGURATED HOW THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT Serving tho dual purpose of inaugurating tlic queen carnival launched by the Otago Queen Carnival Kxeculive for tho purpose of raising £IOO,OOO lor the rehabilitation of the lighting men of this province, and of introducing the throe service queens to the public, the Regal Introductory Revue attracted a capacity house in His Majesty’s Theatre last night. The audience was as liberal with its appreciation of the entertainment offered as it was large, and certain defects apparent at intervals were accepted without comment. It was an audience, moreover, that came to pay homage to the three queens, and the reception given each was such that it would have been difficult to decide if any one was more firmly established already in the hearts of the community than another. The programme was in two distinct sections, the first being primarily of an introductory nature, and the second entirely revue, so that the title adopted for the entertainment had a double significance. Proceedings were opened hy the mayor (Mr A. H. Allen), who commended the carnival to the public, and,

as chairman of the Otago Patriotic Council, trusted that the people of Dunedin and of the province would give until it hurt, and then continue to give, in a truly great cause. The Army, Navy, and Air Force were Britain’s main defences, and New Zealanders were playing their part in those three services. It was .in the interests of those New Zealanders, and others yet to serve, that the rehabilitation fund was being built up. The whole of the £IOO,OOO aimed at would be spent on their behalf and on behalf of their dependents. The money would remain under the absolute control of the Otago Patriotic Provincial Council, and would be devoted only to the welfare of Otago’s men when they returned. During the Great War, said the Mayor, the province raised the sum of £307,069 for patriotic purposes, and £105,009 had been raised by a queen carnival similar to that now being staged. (Rehabilitation grants amounted to £202,000, and many returned men of the last war were still benefiting from the funds. Every case brought before the previous committee was considered fully on its merits. That was the reply to people who criticised the fact that some of the money collected during the, Great War was still in hand. So far during this war the sum of approximately £IOO,OOO had been raised, £40,000 of which had gone to patriotic funds, while £60,000 had been the response to the joint lied Cross and -St. John Sick and Wounded Appeal. Considerably more would be required to build up a rehabilitation fund commensurate with the demands which would be made upon it at a later date. From childhood upwards, the Mayor remarked, people sang ‘Hide, Britannia.’ Was it, he asked, merely lip service when they said “ Britons never shall be slaves,” or was it meant? They had a chance now to prove that it was not just lip service. “ Britons never will bo slaves,” he declared, “ and we are sending our boys to the front to prove that. If we are prepared to let them fight for our freedom we must bo prepared to rehabilitate them on their return.” He concluded by expressing the hope that the objective would be realised when the carnival closed in November. The first item on the programme was the Army tableau, in which the Army Queen (Miss Airini Grenuell) appeared. The incident depicted represented Maoris farewelling a troopship off Pencarrow Heads in May, Miss Grennell, in Native costume, leading in the effective singing of ‘ Ha ere Ha.’ The settings for this and for the ensuing tableaux were simple, but sufficient to put across their message, and each tableau was also accompanied by off-stage singing rendered by members of Mr Ernest Drake’s (Male Choir and by off-stage music played by the Kaikorai Band. The second tableau was rather more pretentious, and brought the Navy Queen (Miss Jessie M'Lennan) into the limelight. She was towed on to the stage in a car pulled by stalwart young men of the R.N.V.R., and from this

made her bow. An interlude in the tableau was provided by the dancing of a sailor’s hornpipe by Misses Nancy and Nonna Stewart. The third tableau was brief, showing tho landing at Tiileri Training Station of the Air Force Queen (Miss Alary Pratt) and her reception by officers of tbc station. Tho three services then combined in an ensemble in which the queens appeared with their countesses and niaicls-of-honour. As matron of honour Miss Bessie Thomson introduced tho queens to the audience, and they were then given over to the care of members of the forces they represented. Officers and men of the forces aided in building up a very effective tableau full of colour and imbued with a pleasantly subdued patriotic atmosphere, which was enhanced by the spirited playing of the Otago Regimental Band. Opening the second half of the programme, which took the form of an after-revue party ” in a Dunedin homo, Mr Stuart Cameron, vice-presi-dent of the executive, gave an address on tho executive’s interpretation of rehabilitation, and this will bo found elsewhere in this issue. The revue part of the entertainment consisted of a wellarranged selection of items as follows: Solos, ‘ The Changing of the Guard ’ and ‘ Shorlnin’ Bread,’ by Mr Barend Harris; cornet solo, ‘ Rose of No Man’s Land,’ by Bandsman lan Bassett, which was backed by a parade of several Red Cross nurses; orchestral selections by the Orphans’ Club Orchestra, old-time favourites, by 4ZB Gaslight Quartet; song, ‘ Tho Volga Boatman,’ Mr 11. J. Laurenson; marimbaphone solos, Air Walter Sinton ; comedy and humour, Air R. Wilson Brown; songs ‘ Indian Love Call ’ and ‘ Love Will Find a Way,’ Miss Dora Drake; ‘ Army, Navy, and

Air Force,’ and ‘ Highland Men,’ Air Arthur Macdonald. The three queens were also among the performers, Miss Pratt rendering ‘ Cam’ Ye By Athol ’ and ‘There’ll Always Be an England,’ Miss Grenncll ‘Roses of Picardy,’ and Aliss M'Lennnn ‘ Mariners of England.’ The performance concluded with a small combined tableau, representatives of the forces standing guard around Britannia, charmingly posed by Miss Norma Gore. By permission of the officer commanding, the Otago Regimental Baud played throughout the night. The accompanists were Mesda'mes Ernest Drake, Arthur Macdonald, and Aliss Rita Holmes. The revue was produced by Air Alacdouald. the stage manager being Mr Bruce Quennell. At the termination of the show the Mayor returned thanks to Mr Macdonald on behalf of the executive, adding that ho believed it was a happy augury of the future success of the carnival.