Too Much Trash

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 424, 4 August 1928, Page 24

Too Much Trash

Amei ica Does Not Send Us Met Best Play s

FOOLISH SEX, INFERIOR FARCE

As the more enlightened Americans confess, their theatres provide both good and bad entertainment. A great deal of the United States’ output staged in Australia and New Zealand during the last year might fairly have stayed at home for ali the value it had. We have seen too much from New York of foolish sex plays and inferior farces, burlesques, and mysteries.

On the other hand, there are many interesting American pieces which are not seen beyond their own country. Managers in various lands take a risk with American plays which they regard as likely to be popular—and often those plays fail —but they are extremely reluctant to try anything that is out of the ordinary. Thus a fair quantity of interesting material j is missed. The United States is a land of ex- ; periment in the theatre as In life, and sincere experiment is always worth consideration. Nov/ that the Ameri- ; can theatre has great influence on the theatres of other countries, indications of the ways in which it is developing are of Interest. Recent ten- : dencies are studied by Mr. J. Fletcher j Smith in the new number of “The Stage Year Book,” and he finds signs of both the good and the bad. Dealing first with points in support of the pessimist, he decides that there -are too many theatres in New York (seven were added in 1927, while only two were opened in London), and that more theatres mean inferior shows, because financial instead of artistic success must he ensured.

In musical comedy, competition implies greater lavishness in staging, though not better quality in acting or singing, and consequent increase in prices of admittance. In non-musical plays, he finds, competition on Broadway tends to place a premium on sensationalism. According to many managers, dramatic plays must contain strong language and highly spiced situations, and comedies are considered to lack piquancy if they are not over-suggestive and modernly perverse. This applies to New York, but in the provinces audiences have retained a healthier taste. They reject the sex plays, and demand decency and sound acting.

Playing a small part in her husband’s production of “The Trial of Mary Dugan,” is Mrs. Leon Gordon, whose romantic marriage to the talented actor was one of the sensations among Australian society circles a few months hack. She is a charming little lady and figures on the programme as Nancy Atkins. Mrs. Gordon is an Adelaide girl of distinction and charm.

Beyland Hodgson is playing juvenile lead in “The Trial of Mary Dugan.” Apparently he has forsaken the comedy stage for drama. He figures in the sensational tii’al scenes as Jimmy Dugan, whose cross-examina-tion of witnesses changes the whole face of the case against his sister, and whose revelation of the real murderer is sheer wizardry, based on common sense. Mr. Hodgson is an actor of note as well as a very popular juvenile star of the musical comedy stage. The comedy of “The Trial of Mary Dugan” is in the hands of a bouquet of dainty Broadway chorus girls who are called to the stand in a effort to sheet the blame home to Mary Dugan, who is one of them, but who upset the decorum of the court with their tantalising reluctance to do anything to prejudice their colleague’s case Frank Clewlow, here with the last Alan Wilkie Shakespearean Company, is now director of the Melbourne Repertory Theatre. He has just pro-

duced “An Enemy of the People” (Ibsen) and “The Mask and the Face” (C. B. Fernald). Mr. Llewlon played the husband In the last-named piece. * * * Melbourne is to see a “bush play” in

which a “bush company” will appear It is related that on a recent tour of the interior of New South Wales Sir Benjamin Fuller was attracted by the announcement of an Australian play called “The Sport of Hollow Dog Flat.” He was so impressed with it that he decided to make the Palace Theatre available for William Ayr and his company of Bush Players, as they are called, Mr. Ayr and his company have been appearing in country towns in Australia for 10 years, and they are delighted with the opportunity to appear in a metropolitan theatre.