COMEDY IN BALCLUTHA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24423, 8 October 1940, Page 9

COMEDY IN BALCLUTHA

“CALL IT A DAY” EXCELLENT AMATEUR PRODUCTION It is an ambitious undertaking for an amateur theatre group with a small membership to stage a three-act play, and particularly such a play as Dodie Smith’s “Call It a Day,” in which nine changes of scene are required. Yet such was the task to which the Balclutha Drama Club set itself, and the measure of its success was acclaimed by an audience which last night filled the Britannia Theatre to capacity. The play was interpreted intelligently by a cast which was surprisingly competent, and some of the players gave performances that would have been a credit to much more experienced amateurs. The action of the play, which deals with a single day, albeit a momentous one, in the life of the. Hilton family, requires that the presentation should be smoothly paced, and, in spite of the difficulties in scene-shifting, the performance moved with a well-timed efficiency from the first curtain to the last. As Dorothy Hilton, Mrs W. L. Dodds took first honours among the women players in a difficult role which was admirably sustained, and proved herself to the Balclutha audience as an exceptionally talented and versatile actress. Her part was handled with sympathy and discernment, and never did she depart from her character as the gracious but harassed mother of a grown family. A very prominent youngej player was Norma Cameron as the youngest Hilton daughter. Comedy and pathos were blended skilfully in her role, and she brought freshness and charm to her character as a schoolgirl on the threshold of romance. Perhaps the most finished performance was that of Irene Cruickshank as the actress Beatrice Gwynn. She combined in her reading just the right amount of alure and abandon, skilfully avoiding the common disposition of amateurs to overplay such an exotic part. Catherine, the elder daughter of the house, as played by Roberta Simpson, was not so finished a performance. This player perhaps lacked the sophistication to give the part its subtleties, but she. possesses confidence, and with experience will become a capable performer. The play has several excellent small comedy parts, of which Mrs Memoir, Mrs Fowler and Miss Alina White made the most. Mrs Fowler’s representation of the cheerless “ char ” kept the audience ceaselessly amused during her brief appearances. Miss Douglas Mathieson, as Muriel Weston, Dorothy Hilton’s friend and confidante, proved herself as usual a most capable actress, able to extract the full value from a part rich in possibilities for broad comedy. The small but difficult role of the artist’s wife, Ethel Francis, was in the hands of Miss Jean Ballard, and here again one sensed an exact portrayal of the character intended by the playwright. Mrs Patterson- invested her part as Joan, “the girl next door” to the Hiltons, with the youth and charm which were required to provide a tender “love interest ” to a play by no means devoid of romance. As Roger Hilton, pater familias to a troublesome but affectionate brood, the Rev. O. T. Baragwanath might have displayed more light and shade in his characterisation, but he is a forceful and agreeable player, and his personality contributed materally to the play’s success. Mr A. R. Dreaver, as the temperamental and spoilt artist brought complete understanding to an exacting role,, and his interpretation was psychologically the most interesting of all. Other parts were taken competently by Messrs D. Inglis, R. Hawker and L. Low. and Miss Dorothy Goodman. As Frank Haines. Muriel’s brother, Mr Inglis acquitted himself well in a tense scene with Dorothy Hilton, and Mr Low is a young player of decided promise. The production of Mr A. R. Dreaver showed throughout careful and intelligent studv of a play with many moods, and the stage arrangements of Mr \7. L. Jolly and his volunteers were most satisfactory. The performance was for patriotic funds.