GAY COMEDY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1016, 5 July 1930, Page 24

GAY COMEDY

Edith Taliaferro Pleases Australians It is a long time since a house party has been imported to our theatre, and it is a pleasant sensation to meet such a charming company o£ people at the Criterion Theatre, in Sydney, says an Australian writer. They are in the skilful, hilarious little comedy, “Let Us Be Gay,” which gives Edith Taliaferro, J. B. Rowe and Ethel Morrison an excellent opportunity of showing what fine mummers they are. Certainly “Let Us Be Gay” is sophisticated stuff and runs along with just about as much surprise element as the sequence, X.Y.Z. But it is in the bi-illiance of the lines, the sparkling wit. the amazingly direct methods of the characters that the charm and laughter of the piece asserts itself. The younger generation, and the present deplorable (?) state of civilisation. come in for a raking over the coals, offset by the peppery remarks of dear old Mrs. Boucicault (Ethel Morrison). The talk is all very excellent, the situations delightfully thrilling, and the whole business is well played. Edith Taliaferro is an interesting, new personality with a true sense of restraint and a flair for the niceties of smart comedy. She trips along charmingly, leaving laughs aplenty in her train. And Ethel Morrison! What a part, what a splendid piece of character work—a shining example of the value of stage experience. J. B. Rowe, whose English is almost academic, gives a polished performance and fits into the picture as to the manner born. It is . good to consider the success of “Let Us Be Gay,” because it indicates that the stage is not yet dead —despite talkie announcements to, the contrary.