THE ONE-ACT PLAY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 43, 13 November 1937, Page 9

THE ONE-ACT PLAY

The Little Theatre. Society 's secoa'd series of one-act plays given during this year were played last Tuesday, and proved to be excellent entertainment. I say "Little Theatre Society," but one play of the series was by the ' Napier Bepertory ' Society. This was particularly- gratfying, ' as reciprocal f eeling between the two societies can only help the amateur . movement, and I sincerely hope to spe the day when it will be possible for plays produced in Napier or. Hastings to be played in the sister town. The three. plays given provided good variety for the programme. Tho first, •"Everybody's -Husband," by Gilbert Cannan, a fantastic drearn .play, was effectivo and at times affecting. Miss Nicholson-Miller, who played the lead, has charm and ..youth to hclp her, but she would do better to use her natural voice, and forget her elocution. There was a tendency to elocute throughout ' tho play, and this gave the production a sense of falsity. It must be "remem* bered that, though the ideas expressed in a fantasy are unreal, yet, paradoxically, the people in it must appear to the audience to breathe the same air as they themselves are breathing. Miss Beynolds was inclined to be too fussy. She .would h'ave been, more satisfaetory had she let the character depend more on the words themselves . than try" to- emphasise them with . repeated gestures. . Gesture should establish an idea or mood; once that is done any repetition is ..quite unnecessary, and .only: fogs • the general outline. Apart.fr.om this, Miss Reynolds showed that she could be truly moving when the part demanded tit. Miss Eochfo'rt played the part of what might be termed 'the crinolined counterpart of a - " tough guy" with

assuranca and humour. Miss Cassin seemed to bring a completely new atmosph'ere into the play, raised the whole- performance to a higher level. She will do something bigger some day. Miss Phil Davies and Mr. Donald Davies dealt satisfactorily with very small parts. These are presumably some of the society 's younger players, • and apart frdm the individual performances, they deserv^ cnention for the team-work — the general give-and-take in the play. The setting was excellent. The second play, "Joint Owners in Spain," by Alice Brown, was a joy all through. I was particularly pleased to see that Miss Margaret Nutter had produced another play, and gratified to find that my faith in her as. a producer was not misplaced. Here, with good imaginative material .to work upon, she showed what she can do. In a way I was sorry that Miss Nutter was taking a part herself, even though she made it both alive and amusing, as I f eel that she, as a spectator, would have altered soine of the detail. But this is beside the point. The play was well produced and played. Concerning, as it did, the eccentricities of the inmates of . a home for old women, it 'might easily have degenerated into farce — Miss Nutter kept i.t on the level of comedy, and her performance left one with the conviction that one had cnet a • truly hard-boiled ancient. Miss Frances Nutter presented a quite admirable foil. Her performance in "Mrs. Biddlecombe" led one to suspect that she had a lot to give, and her "Miss Dyer" proved it. Miss O 'Neill 's quiet. voice and easy manner made one believe at once that she really loved these troublesome, turbulent old women. I was surprised when she lost touch-for

a moment" toward3 the. end. . The sudden welling of sympathy for the two a old ladies was not convincing enough; One of the performances of the evening was that of Mrs. Potter as one of

the ancients of the home. From the rise of the curtain she was on the stage for possibly five minutes, and in that short time she caught the imagination of the audience, and held it, and created a complete, life-size character. A thoroughly good entertainment. The final play, "All in a Day's Work," by L. N. Jackson, was played by members of "the Napier Bepertory Society, and I may as well say at once that Miss Macdonald's was the best amateur performance that I have ever seen. There was something in it of the quality of steel — clean and sharp. It had a glitter that was real, arising from the fundamental character of the person she was creating. The weakness, if any, lay, I believe, in the play itself. I could not bring myself to believe that even a neurotic being like Lady Constance could be so easily tricked into thinking that she had been poisoned, and the fact that Mr Madigan kept his performance quiet tended to emphasise the weakness. Not that this was a fault on the part of Mr. M«adigan. Far froin it. Quiet, purposeful acting was essential from him to give contrast to the nervous exciting performance of Miss Macdonald. Mr. Louis Sweeney played a minor Joeves with sincerity. But Miss Macdonald ruled and led the play. She, I believe, possesses the qualities demanded of an actress by tho writers of the Bestoration; and in all sincerity I hope it may he my fortune to see her play Mistress Millament one of theso days. If the opportunity arises I shall, I know, come, and see, and appreciate. A great evening. If this is a samplc of the future, tlien the Little Theatre Society is going to provide some fine theatrieal fare for the ensuing season. JEREMY COLLIER JHNIOR.