ZILLAH BATEMAN.

Grey River Argus, 2 March 1927, Page 2

ZILLAH BATEMAN.

A CHARMING PERSONALITY. IDOL OF GALLERY' GIRLS. in one of those little dressing rooms at the theatre in which actors and actresses are doomed to spend so much time, an “Argus” reporter met Miss Zillah Bateman (the leading lady of the delightful Loudon Comedy Company face to face, so to speak. And closer acquaintance than was possible with whole rows of stalls between but deepened the impression of charm that is gained from the auditorium. A SUN WORSHIPPER. Miss Bateman is a sunworshipper, anil loves to sit in its warming rays, and she smilingly admitted that she appreciated the beautiful weather she had experienced on the Coast and remarked “Oh, what a wonderful country you have; positively one of the most beautiful in the world. ’ ’ A party from the company motored from Christchurch to Greymouth last Saturday, and were ’enraptured with the scene which burst upon them as they approached Greymouth. But right throughout their tour they have all been struck with the marvellous scenic attractions of the Dominion.

“And isn’t it all so English?” said Miss Bateman, and Mr Joseph Cunningham, who was present, agreed. “It is just like coming Home to be in New Zealand,” added the little lady. The company, it may be added, has been away from England for three years, having toured South Africa , twice and Australia once. It returns to Melbourne in April, opening with 'The Unfair Sex.’ Mr Cunningham here interposed to inform the interviewer that the comedies which have been staged by tl.e company are all thoroughly tried, up-to-date plays. In ‘Eliza Comes to

I Stay, ’ Miss Bateman has a big corned} part which she particularly loves, and What is more, she Las an opportunity to sing. Can Miss Bateman singl Well, she has sung ‘La Tosca’ at •> Halle concert under M. Henri Verbrugghen; she has sung in musical comedy, and in grand opera. She is a soprano, and her song in the “Eliza” play is ‘ Annie Laurie. ’ THE WONDERFUL GALLERY' GIRLS. A letter was handed to Miss Bateman while we sat there. “I know wiio this is from,” she said; “it is one of my girl admirers.” Wires and letters and little gifts from gallery girls follow Miss Bateman everywhere. In Melbourne particularly she was tue idol of these discerning theatregoers. Parties of them would come to see Her, bringing flowers and other offerings- “ And they are so loyal, these admirers of mine,” smiled Miss Bateman. “They never forget us.” One day »n Melbourne Miss Bateman and Mr Cunningham entertained nearly fifty gallery girls and boys at their flat at Clcvedon Mansions; and what a time they had! Afternoon tea tasted a thousand times nicer there than it Would have deno at a cafe. One boy Was so keen to accept the invitation that, knowing he would not be allowed leave, he “took suddenly ill” at his work during the morning—“fainted” and fell off the ladder. “I had to work it somehow,” he explained to his hosts. WANTS TO BE A WRITER Miss Bateman loves her work, ana loves travel. But she also longs to be a writer, to express herself in the written word as well as in the spoken word. And some day, she hopes, she will write her memoirs. Her elder sister, by the way acted for some years before the war as special foreign correspondent for the New York ‘Herald.’ She had many adventures among the Arabs, in Hungary, and in other countries. She wrote under the nom de plume of ‘ ‘ Lily White. ’ ’ A GREAT PLAY. Both Miss Bateman and Mr Cunningham speak in high terms of ‘Outward Bound,’ which has been described as the most remarkable play ever written, and which was actually the subject of a leading article in the London ‘Times.’ Once seen this play is never forgotten, it would appear, and as a proof of this Mr Cunningham mentioned the case of a stranger who met the company as they disembarked at Wellington and asked anxiously whe ther they were putting on ‘Outward Bound.’ He had seen it in London, and would travel any distance, he said, to see it again. There is a mystic touch about the play, and a human touch, that is tremendously appealing. The corn jiany intends returning on Friday and playing ‘Outward Bound,’ and will probably stage it in Dunedin later. ‘ ‘REHEARSAL PLEASE 1 ’ ’ Just here came a voice from the, stage, “Come along, please.” And Miss Bateman and Mr Cunningham remembered that there was a rehearsal. So the interesting interview ended all too soon for the interviewer, who went away carrying the impression oil a pair of sparkling blue eyes, a viva.cions manner, but, deeper than that, an interesting, intelligent, and dtto-' gether charming personality.