The Good Adjudicator

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 51, 16 March 1937, Page 13

The Good Adjudicator

Story of Changed Circumstaqces

J.JE was a very good adjudicator, and was loved as much aa it Is poesible for an adjudicator to be loved, Which is not very much, anyway. But still he was — comparatlvely — loved. And on the xiight before the end of an exceptionally big drama festival— which, aa the papers so truly said, had spread a note of culture and reflnement throughout the county— he stood on the stage, as usual, in his little dinner jacket, and, with a kind smile and a loving voice, said: "The acfcing was, without doubt, eharacfcerlsed by a sense of atmosphere which not infrequently harmonlsed with the spirit of the play; the audibility was perhaps not always entirely satisfactory, but had excellent momente; the gestures possibly lacked due emphasis, bufc were offcen effeciive; the movementa were more or less of a graceful nature, and In at least two and a half cases were well timed. With regard to the last play, particularly good work was shown in the portrayal of Lady Wishbone, despite the slighfc tendency of the actress to address all her remarks entirely to the audience — t.bis, however, is a tendency with which we can all syxnpathise. She was well supported by a casfc that, as a rule, endeavoured to make the most of the opportunities for character studies in which the play abounds. • • • mHE production was not insensitive, and there were®Bistinct evidences of care and thought; ifc had good detail despite a possibly inevitable tendency towards what might almost be described as sustained monotony. Grouping and movement were comparatlvely effectlve, and the spirit of the play was interpreted with some skill considering the many difficulties with which the work might have had to contend. The stage presentation was, on the whole, adequate — a good touch was the bed of geraniums on the right. (Applause.) The makeup also was satisfactory despite a pardonatyle fondness for striping and streaking and spotting. The play is a good example of the telenfc of its well-known author, who selecte what is frequently a staple episode, such as the shelllng of peas or the lacing of boots, and transforms it iqto a moving and beautiful domestie study." • • » COME time after he went to bed and ^ wondered if he had been too severe; there had been some groaning at the back of the pifc afc one time. The next morning at breakfast ihe waiter afc the hotel handed him a lefcter which said briefly: "Your great-uncle Joseph died last Tuesday and we find he has left you all his money. A longer letter follows." At noon came a longer letter confirming the astonlshlng news, and to get over it, instead of writlng his reports, he went for a long walk to consider the fufcure now opening before hta. That night saw the end of the great drama festival which had spread such a note of culture and reflnement throughout the county, and again he stood on the stage, this time in a white waistcoat and tie, because ifc was the last night. And on either side of him in a beautiful half-circle safc a galaxy of important-looking gentlemen, also ablafce with white waistcoats, and on a table beside bm were several enormous silver

cups and a. vast shield on which flfteen scenes from "Troilus and Oressida" frolicked round a central Inacription. And this is what he said: • • * "^pHE acting was characterised by a dullness and lack of inspiratlon incredible to one " who had not »at through dozens of stallar exhibitions. The few words which were heard were frequently naispronounced, the general confusion was so overwhelming that it is a miracle the curtain ever rose at all, or, once having risen, ever descended, although, to be sure, it was usually three or four minutes late and twice engulfed the hero, Words fail me to describe the interpretation of the characters in the plays. "Who was what, God only knows; and, as usual, the men were worse than the women, which is saying a great deal. But the woir„;u could at least move from right to left without knocklng each other over like ninepins, although their movements and gestures suggested a flock'of inebriated seals. But, ladies and gentlemen, have you ever witnessed anything resembling what I take to have been a love scene in the third play to-night? Two icebergs in collision, is the only eflect it achieved, and even icebergs would have shown some wear and tear afterwards. • * * "AND in the old days— that is, the days before this morning— I should have sat and wondered how I could deal with it without causing a riot. But, behold! I need not sit and wonder any more. I can at last tell you not one in a hundred can really act, that Ihe art of the theatre is inflnitely more difficult than you imagine, and that given a choice between a good play and a bad play you inevitably lncline towards rubhisb. And I am glad that for once the attacks of bronchitis in the audience have eeased, and that the entertaining young journalists who have followed me round hoping to trip me up on birthcontrol, oy divorce, or religion, or anything but drama, have at last got some copy which is making them perspire. • • • "T>UT, ladies and gentlemen, although I have never been listened to with such gratifying and ahsorbed attention before, i fear it is the last time I shall claim your attention, for when I was Out for a walk to-day I saw, rising above the haze of fog and'filth which you seem to enjoy, a line of pale, blue mountains, faint, shadowy, like a mirage of heaven upon the plalns of hell — and to those mountains I am going this very mlnute. And perhaps you'd better give all your fcrophies and shields and tasty knickknacks to the team which was second on the programme to-night; it oertainly contains the most ancient and repellent group of leading actoxs I have ever seen. Good night, everybody, good night." He was a very good adjudicator, and now lives perfectly happily amcaig ihe mountains he mentioned. And every year he receives an urgent requesfc from the town he left so hurriedly that night to come and adjudicato at the biggest drama festival ever— fifty guineas, all expenses paid, and a full house guaranteed each evening. But he has taken up knitting. — (By Frank Sladen-Emith in the Manchester Guardian.) %