ENTERTAINMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12606, 17 November 1926, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS

“THE UNFAIR SEX” BRIGHT FARCICAL PLAY SUCCESSFUL OPENING NIGHT. Which is the unfair sex? Sir Henry Hesketli, K.C., after thirty years in the Divorce Courts, did not know; but he decided that both sexes were unfair, and he punished both—but not before he was treated to the fright of his middle-aged iife. This is, in a nutshell, the position which arises in the three-act farcical comedy, “The Unfair Sex,” which was produced before a full Opera House last evening. Geoffrey Trevor and his wife Diana are apparently happily married, with nothing to disturb the smooth waters of the matrimonial sea; but both have their particular pals of the opposite sex, in Joan Delisse and Harvey Fane. All were great friends; hut Sir Henry—affectionately termed Uncle Henry” by all hands—saw in the innocent friendships a suggestion of trouble. The absence of children was, in his view, a crime against humanity. Then, when both husband ?nd wife were caught independently in innocent, though somewhat compromising, circumstances, Uncle Henry arranged a_ little complication of his own with a view to bringing the parties to a realisation of the impending dan--B?, - , He t old I)!ana that Geoff knew all about her affair with Fane, while Geoff in turn was informed that Diana was going for a divorce because of his kissing Joan in the bushes. He managed things cleverly, but the parties worked together in the finish, and only at tho last moment discovered his Piet. “How do you know the rules of the game when you hare never played it?” asked Diana hotly. "I have..never played, but I have umpired fotv thirty years,” Uncle Henry responded. Which sex was unfair? Was either unfair? The play was well handled by Joseph Cunningham’s New London'Comedy Cgmpanv, headed by Miss Zillali Bateman, who filled the role of Diana with grace and dignity. Unlike the shingled beauties of the day. she played with her long, pale gold hair arranged in two intriguing coils oyer her ears—demure when the occasion demanded. and haughty in her wrath. She distinguished herself in her scenes with Miss Vera St. John (Joau'l, both providing hall-marked examples of cattishness in their soft but biting scorn. Campbell Copelin nlaved Geoffrey, the husband, and' 'his bewilderment at the rapidity with which his domestic arrangements capitulated, was typical. He kissed Joan—lie didn’t count how many times —just to recall the happy days of their childhood, and in his embarrassment confessed this indiscretioin to Uncle Henry Unwittingly. He played the part, of the-jealous ‘husband to perfection, and - ig moments of temper, invariably smashed the china and the furniture. When Diana whispered a family secret to him at the final curtain, he slapped his knee and said: “Now we’ve got one on Uncle.” And they had 1 < Norman Carter was admirably placed as the highly affected and delightfully candid Harvey Fane, whose stock of colloquialisms and self-applied comparisons provided endless merriment. He wanted a kiss from Diana, only to give him sufficient moral courage to give up the “drink. Uncle Henry saw everything. Fane’s little mannerisms, and his off-handed courtship of Joan added pep to liis part. As Sir Henry Hesketh, K.C., Frank Bradley excelled. He had a pig-headed legal mind, walled in by Divorce Court facts, and it was not till he has taken up a hobby that Helen Delisse, Joan’s mother, consented to marry him. Miss • Henrietta Cavendish played Helen, and made a charming mother of the modern age-—wise to the caprice of Uncle Henry and watchful of the frivolities of the younger parties. Pinker, the maid, was represented by Miss Sylvia Clifton, and had a strong part to fill, while Jack Phillips played Smith, the groom. The play is delightful in the simplicity of its causes and the intricacies of its effects, and is packed with the most amusing situations it is possible to imagine. “The Unfair Sex” will be repeated at the Opera House to-night and on subsequent nights. a milnepLay “ARIADNE” IN CONCERT CHAMBER It is only a few years since A. A. Milne began the assault on the English stage which has raised him amongst the best writers of modern comedy. “Belinda” and “Mr Pim Passes By” began a career which reached its zenith with “The Truth About, and '"uch interest therefore attached fo T*.e production of “Ariadne” by the National Repertory Society in the Concert Chamber last evening. “Ariadne” is one of the newest Milne plavs, and one of the most amusing, Its texture is of the lightest, its airv treatment, high spirits and pat humour mark it with the author’s stamp clearly and unmistakably. Here is nothing great, hut something vastly entertaining, a web of words in which the author has snared manv momenta of mirth, a play in which character is presented clean-cut and in the neat Milne manner. There is something of “Punch” about its snappv dialogue, often of gossamer lieh+noss. of Ariadnela worldly wisdom and her husband’s simplioitv and stnnidity. the conceit and self-preoccupation of Horace Meldrum. the provincial mindedness of Hector Chadwick and his n-ifrt. All Jits into the picture of a smallish provincial town iealous of its identity, tenacious of its habits, knowing all its inhabitants and expecting them to move in regulation manner, soulless, empty, narrow dull Such a spectacle is often amusing from the outside, seldom from inside. The difference with Ariadne Winter is that she has kept her sense of humour. Amazing, hut true. Also she loves her husband, despite the fact thpt he scarcely deserves her. And with a difference over the inviting to the house of Horace Meldrum. an admitted bounder, but a good client of John Winter, she determines to read her husband a lesson. Thus, through an accident, she enters a position which makes it possible for her to lead Meldrum on and to accent an invitation to lunch with him in London, whither they are both going on the same dav. A purposely ambiguous note which she leases behind, the fact that she chooses a Saturday for her Loudon trip instead of the customary Wednesday, and the absence of Meldrum all leave her husband and her in-laws ready to believe that she has rum away with Horace. And from this a series of amusing situations develop until a furions John is on tho verge of assaulting a Horace who is helpless with mirth, and who passes the matter off as a great ; 01--n. ,Tel>n even avow* bis intention of doing no more business

for Meldrum, and that convinces the latter that he is not serious. However, the threads of the situation are gathered together, and the curtain covers a satisfactory situation. The. National Repertory Society’s presentation of its third play was of higher standard than any of its predecessors. For one thing the cast is of high quality, most of it has had considerable experience,, and its work bears no traces of the amateur. Also the one or two people of ldfcser experience were well chosen and possessed much ability. There is an awkward break iu the third act, but that is in the play, and no amount of acting could cover it. The outstanding performances were those of Mr Vivian Rhind and Miss Constance Morice. Mr H-hind, who did excellently well as Alfred Doolittle in “Pygmalion,” has the part of John Winter, the Milne type of stupid and conventional hut adoring husband made most familiar in “Mr Pim.” He is somewhat deliberate in utterance, but his work is of the first order, thoughtful, restrained, reliable. It would be difficult to imagine the role better filled. Miss Constance Morice’s Janet Ingleby is a much smaller part, but she endowed it with real personality, and poise. She has the style of one naturally at home on the stage. .... Mrs E. J. Fawcett carried the burden of the play on her shoulders, and did well, though she was rather jerky in speech and action. Ariadne is essentially a part for an actress who possesses repose and can make telling points very quietly. Mr P. B. Broad would have been splendid as fussy Hector Chadwick had he not overdone some of the business (mopping his brow after the maid’s visits was not war). Miss Kate Stocker did nicely as his prim wife, and Mr W. S. Wauehop had the difficult part of Meldrum, and rose to it nobly. But it is not- easy for Mr Wauehop to be a bounder.. The part of a maid was taken by Miss I. Fitzherbeyt. “Ariadne,” which is produced hv Mr Leo du Chateau, will be repeated tonight and to-morrow night. A charming little curtain-raiser is Oliphant- Downs’s “Maker of Dreams,” a fantasy in which Miss Thyra Baldwin, Messrs E. S. Baldwin, and Norman Byrne appear. Mr Baldwin’s playing of the Manufacturer of Dreams is one of the most perfect pieces of acting to be seen for seasons.