Broadcasting It

NZ Truth, Issue 1142, 20 October 1927, Page 2

Broadcasting It

A MUMMER whispered the other day that this modern craze for "wireless broadcasting" was going to seriously affect the box office at regular theatrical shows. Actors, of all people, should know that words are not everything on the stage. "Atmosphere" is a big essential, and no wireless has yet been invented which will broadcast scenery and effects. Personality, too, is a factor in the success of this or that play or vaudeville turn. You can't broadcast personality. As a matter of fact, broadcasting tells people less than books do. Printed works contain "stage directions," and nobody has ever yet considered the modern novel a serious rival to the theatre. Listening-in to a stage sketch or a monologue is like making love to a skeleton, and needs so much imagination that the box office doesn't need to worry very much.