SHAKESPEARE’S CHAMPION

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 164, 1 October 1927, Page 9

SHAKESPEARE’S CHAMPION

ALLAN WILKIE TALKS | OF THE “BARDAND THE | STAGE IN ENGLAND I J PROMISING NEW ZEALANDERS “SPHERE is a growing demand throughout New Zealand and Australia for Shakespeare,” said Mr. Allan Wilkie this morning. “I do not feel that I have been altogether responsible for this,” he remarked in answer to a question, “though I have assisted in a small degree.” But for Mr. Wilkie we w yuld very rarely see Shakespeare played except by amateurs. “The appreciation of Shaknspeare in New Zealand is very real,” continued Mr. Wilkie. “I have found that in every town in the Dominion the interest has grown considerably.” HOPE OF ENGLISH STAGE Since Mr. Wilkie was last in New Zealand he has visited England, but he has not returned with any great admiration for London productions. The hope of the English stage, lie says, lies in the provinces, not in London, where the theatre has become too commercialised with the disappearance of the actor-manager. Productions of Shakespeare in En gland have deteriorated in Mr. Wilkie s opinion. He thought that Sybil Thorndike, who showed such wonderful promise before the war, had grown hard and had lost much .of her womanly charm. “How can she regain that lost charm when she attends a social function in the morning, plays Lady Macbeth in the afternoon, rushes home to cook the dinner and bath the children, and then plays Greek tragedy in the evening?” he asks. He did not admire her performance in “Henry VIII.” STANDARD DETERIORATED The famous Old Vic., home of Shakespeare in London, is doing splendid work, but even there the standard of Shakespeare has fallen, says Mr. Wilkie. “To my mind the idea ol playing Shakespeare in modern clothes is nauseating,” Mr. Wilkie remarked. “It is impossible to play heroics In modern dress. The whole thing is a vulgarisation of the drama. The greatest fault I saw in England was that producers are trying to discard tradition.” Mr. Wilkie is emphatic that Shakespeare is the only training ground for the stage. So many parts have to bo played that the actresses and actors have plenty of experience, and they learn the art of impersonating: it does not allow them to exploit only their own personality, which is one of the greatest faults cn the stage to-day. Several New Zealanders have won their way to fame by way of Mr. Wilkie’s company. The most promising is Marie Ney, of Wellington, who is doing well in London. Anthony Clark, of Tasmania, one of the founders of a little company in London known as “the Playroom Six.” was also a member of his compary. John Kirby, of Dunedin, now acknowledged to be one of the finest comedians in London, also began his stage career with Allan Wilkie as stage manager. PROMISING STUDENTS At present Mr. Wilkie is considering other New Zes.lanc.ers who show distinct promise and wh o will get their chance with him. Two of them are Miss Scurr and Mr. Grindling of Dunedin. In a hurried farewell, for he Is a busy man with a constant stream of callers, Mr. Wilkie said that the repertory movement Is doing splendid work in England, but he thinks that many of the societies are too much above th© heads of their audiences. “Outward Bound” was the finest play he saw in London.