THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 413, 23 May 1947, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

: A Run Through The Programmes

For Nitwits Most of us have had the luck some time or other to be praised for deeds we have not done or admired for virtues that we do not possess. We may even» occasionally have been thought pretty when we knew ourselves to be plain, or handsome when the shaving mirror shouted at us every morning that ‘we were getting more and more homely. Dr. Johnson thought his Tetty lovely though she was a joke to everyone else, and if we were not all as blind sometimes mafried life might be a little more difficult than it is. But from 2YA on Tuesday, May 27, at 7.15 p.m., Professor Arnold Wall will defend us even if we are nitwits. Nitwits, he says, or seems to be saying, in his title, are useful, and if some of us the day after the talk begin stru‘ting about more confidently than our friends, knowing what donkeys we are, can justify, the explanation perhaps will be that we listened to Arnold Wall, God bless him! Those Who Can, Do... "HERE’S no such word as can’t in: .the canning industry. Almost anything can be canned, from canapes to mushrooms, and ocean steaks to beer. It was away back in 1783 when Appert, a Paris chef, originated food-canning. He placed sealed bottkes, containing food, in a water-bath and brought the water to boiling-point.. This original principle and method differs from that of present times only.in the amount of heat and the manner of applying it. Canning is» now a scientifically-controlled business, but one that never ceases its experiments in an effort to get food to the table with garden, farm, or sea freshness. Something about "The Processing and Storage of Foodstuffs" will be heard in the Winter Course talk from 4YA on Tuesday, May 27, at 7.15 p.m. The speaker will be H. G. Woolman. Mike at the Stage-door ONALD SHARP, a young member of a touring stage company, is so keen on his job that, in between rehearsals and performances, he recorded three talks for Station 2YA under the general title of My Friends of the Theatre. The first of these will be heard on Tuesday, May 27, at 10.25 am., and in it he will-interview his friend, John Wood. The latter will discuss British and American films, for he has appeared in 15 productions-with Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, and other well-known stars. The second talk, to be, heard later, will be with Gwenda Wilson, who will speak on the Australian stage during the. war, and the third interview will be with Reg. Newson, on great stage figures of the ‘twenties and ’thirties. Donald Sharp himself played juvenile lead in Australia in The Dancing Years, and the role of Pal Green in The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse. "The Scarlet Pimpernel" — "\V HATEVER did you choose this book to be read to out of from for?" said the "nanny" to her charge, with a fine contempt for grammar. But whatever the reason for the choice, the idea behind it was understandable, for we are seldom too young or too ‘old to enjoy being read to-provided it’s well done. Here is your chance to be

read to under ideal conditions, An abridged, version of Baroness Orczy’s evergreen novel "The Scarlet Pimpernel" has been read by Alan Blair, an experienced broadcaster, and has been recorded in 17 parts by the BBC Transcription Service. Station 3YL will broadcast it on Mondays and Saturdays, beginning on May 26. The first part oss

"At the West Barricade," launches the story with a typical exploit of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and leaves you wondering (if you don’t know already) what this incredible man will be up to next. Alan Blair, six-feet tall, dark and goodlooking, is a Londoner, who for some years was a member of the BBC Repertory Company. Before joining the "Rep" he was a member of the famous "Old Vic" company in London, and with the Old Vic experience of Shakespeare’s plays behind him, it is not surprising that he has a preference for costume roles, although he enjoys appearing in modern plays. Avon By-election ISTENERS who are interested in the Avon By-election- and that must mean practically everybody -are advised to tune in promptly at 7.0 p.m. .to 2YA and 3YA on Wednesday, May 28. The returning officer expects to be able to give a fair indication of the state of the poll soon after 7.0 p.m, and the final result not much more than half-an-hour or so later. Stations 2YA and 3YA will be cleared from 7.0 p.m. onwards, resuming their. usual programmes after the announcement of the final figures. Other main National stations will interrupt their programmes to announce progre:s results as opportuni.y allows. All the ZB stations will broadcast the results as they come to hand, and Station 3ZB hopes to have the candidates on the air when the result of the poll is known. Unfortunates in History VER since radio emerged from its dot-dash infancy and began to lisp in syllables, the history-books have been a fertile source of programme material. Kings and pretenders, queens and courtesans pass in a seemingly unending

procession behind the microphones, while the sound-effects men record the crash of falling heads and empires. Scapegoats of History, an Australian series now being heard from 4YZ at 7.35 p.m. on Wednesdays, does not, therefore, leave a well-ploughed field, though it does dig over a new corner. Among the Historical Personages: whose stories are told in this series are the Earl of Darnley (who was unlucky enough to be the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and who got blown up in an explosion when Bothwell came on the scene), Lady Jane Grey, and the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Each of these characters has appeared on the films at one time or another, so most listeners will have a rough idea of the circumstances in which they became scapegoats. Another figure in the series, perhaps a truer example of a scapegoat is Admiral Byng, who was court-martialled and shot for failing to close and engage an enemy squadron stronger tham his own. Of course, it may be argued that he was shot, not as a scapegoat, but as an example-‘Pour encourager les autres,’ as Voltaire said at the time. Much in Little O cram the infinite riches of Mel- ville’s Moby Dick into the little room of a half-hour radio presentation would be-as difficult as threading a camel through the eye of a needle and the Laughton programme which 3ZR listeners are to hear at 8.15 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, does not pretend to give more than a glimpse of its mighty original. But the glimpse, if as fleeting as a lightning-flash, is at least as vivid. There are occasional slight lapses in Laughton’s interpretation of Ahab (the thoughts are the thoughts of Ahab, and the voice sometimes seems suspiciously like that of Captain Bligh), but he does reveal clearly the universal quality of the story-the, conflict between man (Ahab) and destiny, in the evil shape of Moby Dick, with his spout "like a whole shock o’ wheat,’ and his crooked jaw.