CURRENT PLAYS AND FAILURES IN LONDON

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 160, 24 July 1937, Page 10

CURRENT PLAYS AND FAILURES IN LONDON

An interesting review of cuvreat plays and iilms in London is contained in a letter written by Mr A. L. Sutro, of Stocketts Manor, Oxted, Surreyt and f ormerly of Hastings, to a f riend in Hastings. Mr Sutro writes:— There have been a lot of theatrical failures these last few inonths. I went to the first night of Merton Hodge's piay "The Orchard Walls," and it se'emed ineonceavable that it could have Ueen written by the man who wrote "The Wind and the Ilam." It ran only a few nights. The most outstanding failure, in a way, was Barrie 's* " The Boy David." It was withdrawn after six weeks, yet in its last week it played * to' capacity. Many people think it could hafvo beeii nursed dnto success. It is very . difficult in the theatre to know when to cut your* losses. e "Balalaika, " a musical comedy about pre-war Eussia, I thought one of the most delightful mnsical comedies I had ever seen, yet it was on the verge of being withdrawn. Suddenlyit tooki the public 's faney, and it is now doing extremely well. ; ! June 20 wa® the anniversary of Queen Victoria's . accession, and on the 21st, "Victoxm Regina" was produced for the first tiipe publicly in England. It was most beautifully staged and produced — the same production as I saw in New York with Helen Hayes as the Queen. Here Pamela Stanley took the part. She was mueh better as the old Queen than in the younger yeaTS. I confesis I thought Helen Hayes was

better. I am told they wanted her to play it here} bu't she was unable to. The Hcensing of this play for public performance was one of the last aets .of Edward VIII. before his abdication. . Most of you who read these notes will have read the plays, and you will remember how in many of thern Houseman has sly digs at the Queen. These were received here with much more laughter than in New York, where in a isense the Victoria legend is taken much more sacredly. In. the last scene of the play, the diamond jubilee, King Edward VXE. and King George V. do not appear on the stage as in the New York production. Houseman came to write these plays in a eurious manner. He was an intense admirer of Disraeli and wrote a play called "His Eavourite Elower," in which he h'imself played the part of the statesman. It was while dolving into the history of Disraeli^ that he became so interested in Queen Victoriaj then he wrote that long series of plays about her. . "Judgment Day," at the Strand, is one of the finest plays now on. I went to the first night, and though first-night applause does not necessarily mean much it seemed that this must be a success, as it is. It is a melodrama by Elmer Rice, who wrote "Street Scene," and deals with political injustice .as it happens to-day in trials in the European countries living nnder dictators. I don't tliink That the Eussian, German or Italian Ambassadors vvill go to see this play. Tho cast" is very large but more or less unknoivn. Again it shows that a good play will suceeed without stars and that stars alone will not make a run, as John" Gielgud showed when his last play ran only ten performances. Of films} by far the finest I have seen for many a day was "The Good Earth, ' ' with Paul Muru and Luise Eainer. There is a scene of a swarm of locusls far moro tcrrifyiug than anything I have over seeu boforc. This is a liiiii no-ono must miss. "Storm in a Tea-Cup," from the play, is quite good. Vivien Leigh, whom I thought exceedingly good in "Dark Journey," agaiii lias the lead, and Scruffy, tho dog who was bought for 10/-, and wliom I once showed to the Film Society .;.n a short, is now a slar, and a very unspoilt one^ too.

Charles Boyer spent an hour and a half daily building up his nose for the Napoleon role in "Madame Walewska."

George Eaft lacerated his right ear while indulging. in his latest hobby, craclcing a bull whip.