THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 451, 13 February 1948, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

A Run Through The Programmes

Cup That Cheers T is probably good for us to consider ,sometimes the time and trouble other people take to provide us with the things we take for granted. And when the thing in question is an integral part of our daily life, and has a long and noble

history and some interesting legends attached, and when its production involves several important countries and millions of people it is almost a duty to listen to someone able and willing to tell us its story. Not

that listening to The Sto-y of Tea as told by Kenneth Read in a series of four talks beginning at 2YA on Monday, February 16, at 7.15 p.m., should be an irksome duty. Mr. Read has something to tell of the history of "this amazing custom," something of some famous tea-drinkers, something of the labour and skill that is expended on the leaves before they are considered fit for our palates; and for those who are not awed by the thought that they are part of a tradition 4,685 years old, there is some homely advice about making the good beverage. The Oyster That Smoked OW the oyster smoked a pipe, the" training of an educated pig, and the story behind the pig-faced lady are some of the circus secrets that are revealed in the NZBS play Lord George Sanger, which traces the life history of one of the most famous of all circus proprietors. It was in 1845 that John and George Sanger, sons of an old sailor turned showman, first held a conjuring exhibition in a Birmingham hall, and this was the beginning of a circus partnership that became internationally famous in the latter half of the 19th Century. The story of George Sanger’s life, from the tale of a boyhood encounter with grave robbers through all the thrills of running a great circus, provide fascinating material for radio drama, and the NZBS have made good use of the possibilities of Roy Plomley’s script in this production. Lord George Sanger will be heard from 2YC this Sunday, February 15, at 8.0 p.m. Picture Parade AMOUS stars and directors, critics and craftsmen from the film industry in Britain contribute to Picture Parade, the new BBC series of feature programmes which will be starting from 2YA at 8.0 p.m. this Saturday, February 14, and continuing at the same time for the following five weeks. Picture Parade. combines first-hand news from Britain’s studios with frank comment on the film world there, and’ the first programme opens with a lively argument about modern methods of film publicity-espe-cially the "stupendous, dynamic, pulsating" school of writing. In the following programmes Muir Mathieson discusses the problems of writing background music, the late James Agate gives his views on film censors, two directors discuss the pros and cons of

the "star" system, two prominent film critics hold a discussion on the public’s ¢ taste in films, and there is also an argument about the functions of a_ film critic. But these are not all the treats that lie in wait for the listener to this series, for each programme includes, for variety, scenes and music from many of Britain’s recent film successes. , The Approach of Mars OME years ago Orson Welles in a realistic radio play startled many Americans with the news that Martian warriors had landed in the United States; on Monday, February 16, listeners to 1YA will learn that the planet itself is approaching the earth, but this broadcast will not cause pandemonium, for the speaker, early in his address, will explain that the "visit" is an expected and regular one. Every 780 days the Sun, the Earth and Mars come into

line, with the Earth between the other two bodies, and such occasions give astronomers opportunity to make further studies of Mars. The next time the planet will be "in opposition" will be on Tuesday, February 17, and in the broadcast at 7.15 p.m. the previous evening, a Member of the Royal New Zealand Astronomical Society, L. R. H. Beaumont, will tell of some of the theories which have been formed as the result of earlier observations of Mars. Quick-Fire Humour ACK in 1938 a pair of caltacheaie called Jimmy Jewell and Ben WarTiss were given an audition by the Variety Department of the BBC, but they were so bad that they were told to go home and learn their job. Jewell and Warriss took this advice the hard way, playing in touring revues and concert parties all over Britain, having a lot of lean times, but eventually building up a partnership that put them right amongst the top-flight vaudeville stars of London’s West End. Now they are working for the BBC in their latest comedy series, Navy Mixture, a slick and fast-moving show full of quick-fire humour and plenty of bright melodies. The first episode of Navy Mixture will be heard from 2YA at 9.30 p.m. on Monday, February 16. Permanently Potential IN Thursday, February 19, at 9.30 .m., 2YH will broadcast The Orchestra and the Story Behind the Music featuring Der Schwanendreher by Hindemith. That this particular piece has been selected from over 150 compositions by ‘Hindemith promises that the story behind it may be more than ordinarily in-

teresting. It could hardly be more interesting than the story behind the composer. A bare list of the music he has written-from sonatas to part-songs; from composing for the Salzburg Festival to helping to reorganise the musical life of Turkey; and now teaching at Yale University-would make a singularly impressive and very long biographical sketch. He has written almost every kind of music for almost every kind of instrument, and "he writes nothing that, in an emergency, he could not himself play at least creditably." He has "an intensely practical outlook’"-and a sense of fun that has.caused him to be described as the "playboy" of modern music. As somebody once said of Noel Coward, another prolific "playboy" in another art form, he seems to be "permanently potential." Parents are People Too E once knew a parent who was obsessed with an ambition to have a child who behaved as the psychologists said it would, Ultimately he became a reactionary: and beat his children soundly on their slightest deviation from tradition. For him and others like him the four talks on Child Psychology by K. F.

fFiursthouse which have been broadcast from 2YA and which commence at 1YA on Tuesday, February 17, at 10.40 a.m. are just what the doctor ordered. They analyse without being confusingly technical, and advise

. without being unreasonably demanding ‘ of the parents’ time and temper. They are, in short, practical psychology for parents, and Miss Hursthouse never loses sight of the fact that parents are people and treats them as well as their children with proper psychological consideration, The first of the series is called The Child’s Daily Life and the talk is as straightforward as its title.