MARIE NEY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 6 December 1927, Page 6

MARIE NEY

TO PLAY IN SHAKESPEARE A trip to CAIRO GOVERNMENT’S INVITATION. London, October 22. Miss Marie Ney, the talented New Zealand actress who has done so well in the Mother Country, has been chosen to play the lead in a three weeks’ season of Shakespeare which is to be given, in Cairo by a British company which has been specially inivited by the Egyptian Government'. Mr Robert Adkins, the well-known producer, for so long associated with Shakespearean presentations at the Old Vic., will be the producer on the occasion of the Cairo tour. Miss Ney deservedly won high commendation for her Shakespearean work when she. too, appeared in the Old Vic performances shortly after her arrival in the Mother Country. Miss Ney’s repertoire will consist of Portia (“Merchant of Venice”), Desdemona (“Othello”), Ophelia (“Hamlet”), Viola (“Twelfth Night”), Isabella (“Measure for Measure”), and Katharine (“Taming of the Shrew”). “Measure for Measure,” it.may be noted, is not often staged. When Mr Adkins produces it this time he will be proud in his knowledge that he has produced all the plays of Shakespeare. Other members of the company will include Messrs Ernest Milton. Wilfred Walters. Speight, Anthony Eustral, and Grace Allardyce. Among the minor characters there is much youthful material of promise. For Anthony Eustral a good future seems assured. It may be surmised that the Cairo season has been arranged as one result of the visit of King Fuad to England. His Majesty spent considerable time in -travel and in entering into the life of the country at the conclusion of his* State visit to King George and Queen Mary during the past season, and he seems to have a nigh regard for Britain and the British.

TIME BEATS TRANSPORT.

But—why is there nearly a but?— thrilled as Miss Ney naturally is at her selection to play the lead throughout the approaching tour, she is disappointed, too for she has had to decline an engagement to appear m a special performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” . hich will be given in London on November 3, in the presence of the King and Queen, the Prince of Wales, and th e Duke and Duchess of Y’ork. This presentation, on behalf of funds for the Anglican Church which is to be built at Delhi, will be a very beautiful production. It is being arranged after true tradition by Italia Conti, who is past-mistress in this connection. Regarding the part of “Helena,” Italia Conti left the matter open for a week to see if Miss Ney could possibly arrange to appear. But, even allowing for a quick overland journey and its completion by aeroplane to Cairo, it was calculated that the time limit would still be too short. The fact that it would have cost £-1000 in insurance to cover Miss Ney in case she failed to turn up did not deter Mr Adkins but time was the deciding factor, and it simply could not be done. One hopes that Miss Ney will, on that particular date, be appearing before King Fuad, as she cannot appear before King George. The success which comes to Miss Ney is well earned, for she never ceases to give of her best. She acts with power and passion or with restraint, according as her part demands. and she should become great in tragedy. Last Sunday she was prominent in Alma Brosnan's “At Number Fifteen.” which the Repertory Players gave i-n London for one performance She was associated with Clare Harris, Gillian Lind. S. Victor Stanley. Amy Veness, Margaret *Webster, Eliot Makeham, Charles Carson. Ralph Richardson Norman Claridge. At the conclusion of the run of the “Constant , Nymph” at the New Theatre. Miss Ney went for a holiday tour in Germany.