THROUGH FRENCH EYES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 457, 12 September 1928, Page 14

THROUGH FRENCH EYES

“MR. WHAT’S HIS NAME” A DELIGHTFUL COMEDY “Mr. What’s His Name,” a comedy in three acts adapted from the French by Seymour Hicks. Presented at His Majesty’s Theatre last evening by J. C. Williamson. CAST Adople Noblet .. .. Percy Hutchison Gustave Corton . . . . E. Steuart West Dr. Baudin E. Ray son Cousens Auguste Chabbonaio Townsend Whitling Suzanne Trebel Frances Dillon Sylvaine Jaimet Joan Rogers Marieanne . Mary Brackley Corinne Violet Ley Voisin Dorothy Stanward Juliette . . . Stella Francis A calender is part of the stage furniture in the first act of “Mr. What’s His Name.” It bears the date April 1. That is the spirit of the comedy—an April 1 joke played by Fate on the principal character and seen, airily amusing, through French eyes. “Mr. What’s His Name” is excellent entertainment. When Seymour Hicks translated it from the French to suit his own highly diverting methods it proved to be an astonishing success in London and ran for well over a year. This second production of Mr. Hutchison’s company is all that a French farce should be and seems to have lost little of its humour in the translation. For three acts we are regaled with the amusing dilemma of a man who has lost his memory and finds that he has taken another wife, founded a healthy family, but knows nothing of these facts when his memory is unexpectedly restored by a disciple of M. Coue. But let us tell the story, which is full of ludicrous situations. Adolphe Noblet, sauce manufacturer, was thought to have been killed in a railway accident on April 1, five years before the play opens. His wife Juliette, though delighting in her annual pilgrimage to the cemetery on each anniversary of the event, has taken another husband and reared a family. Feminine Paris has. become enamoured of a fascinating hairdresser, Leopold Trebel. From what one gathers as the comedy unfolds itself, Trebel has indiscriminately indulged in affairs with mistresses and maids, and jealousy reigns both above and below the stairs. Trebel is really Nob let. Instead of being killed in the railway accident he had merely lost his memory. On the evening that he arrives in his former wife’s apartment'to dress her hair his memory is restored by a doctor. Noblet finds himself with two wives, the second of which he fails to recognise. Juliette, his original wife, has two husbands and is perfectly well aware of the fact. A maid and Juliette’s friend, Sylvaine, both worshippers at the shrine of the hairdresser, accuse him of gross infidelity and the situation becomes still more amusing when Noblet’s other wife appears.

Eventually the tangle is unravelled by Noblet pretending to return to his former state of forgetfulness and hairdressing. “Mr. What’s His Name” never descends to screaming farce. It begins and ends with delightful freedom of movement and expression, though one can imagine that in its original state the “expression” was a little more bold. It is the most amusing theatrical fare we have enjoyed for some time. Mr. Hutchison plays his arduous role with enthusiasm. He is handicapped by the fact that Seymour Hicks adapted the part for his own speed and mannerisms—and there is only one Seymour Hicks on the English stage. Iri the circumstances, however, Mr. Hutchison’s interpretation is a sound and entertaining one. Miss Dillon, who appears in only one act, gives another polished performance. Her work always bears the hall-mark of excellence. Miss Frances plays to better advantage in “Mr. What’s His Name” than she did in the first production. She has more opportunities to show us what she ’can do and takes every advantage of them. Would that all cooks were as amusing as Miss Ley! She gave us an amusing

interpretation of a comedy part which suited her admirably. Mr. Steuart West gave a convincing performance as the second husband who really wasn’t. Mr. Rayson Cousens and Mr. Whitling were both cast in roles which allowed them to give good character interpretations.

Miss Brackley and Miss Rogers were delightfully amusing in amorous roles. The other members of the cast give all the support which is necessary in this amusing trifle, which was received last evening with enthusiasm.