THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 489, 5 November 1948, Page 4

THINGS TO COME

| A Run Through The Programmes

‘Bunyan Through the BBC | "| HE organisers of the BBC Children’s Hour, hold fast to the belief that in no circlmstances should children be | played down to, or their intelligence | underestimated in the smallest degree. | How right they are is proved by the | standing of Children’s Hour in BBC pro- | grammes and the pattern it has set for other programmes for children in many countries. A good example of their work is a dramatization of Bunyan’s Pilgrim's Progress, which shas been recorded from the original broadcasts. In her adaptation of the book, Barbara Bower keeps very | closely to the original story, though she /has naturally deleted the theological arguments. On the other hand she has introduced certain Biblical passages which do not appear in Bunyan, but which were obviously in his mind at particular points. The story unfolds itself clearly and forcibly in the adaptation which was readily understood, the BBC tells us, by children from eight years old and upwards. Pilgrim’s Progress (in four instalments) will be heard from Station 2YZ at 5.30 on Sunday evenings, beginning this Sunday, November Enter the Frog 8 ks is impossible not to be thrilled by Edgar Wallace,"* the posters used to shout on almost every bookstall in. England. Eminent people prided themselves on owning a complete set of Wallace’s books (and that was no small boast, for new Wallace thrillers came off the press at a dizzy speed). There was even a legend that newsboys had been heard yelling "Mid-day Wallace!’’ Edgar Wallace was, in fact, virtually the reigning monarch of crime fiction, and he still has his enthusiastic admirers all over the world. A first-class example of his technique is The Fellowship of the Frog, which was made into a highly entertaining radio serial by the BBC. It describes in 10 episodes the operations of an organisation of tramps controlled by a master criminal, and much of the story's success depends on the many amusing and out-of-the-way charactcrs in it, especially the melancholy Detective-Ser--geant Elk, who does much to bring the Frog to justice. The Feliowship of the Frog has already been heard from 2YD, but Aucklanders will have their turn as from Monday, November 8, when the first episode will be broadcast from 1YD at 8.0 p.m. ‘West Coast listeners will hear their first instalment next week too -on Friday, November 12, at 9.30 p.m. from 3YZ. Olivier as Hamlet FURTHER opportunity to hear the ~ voice of Sir Laurence Olivier on the air is provided in the programme of recorded extracts from his film of Hamlet which will be broadcast from 2YA a 9.30 p.m. on Monday, November 8. The recordings were made direct from the sound-track of the film and _ contain some of the play’s outstanding speeches, together with the specially written music by William Walton that accompanied them. The speakers are (as in the film) Sir Laurence Olivier, Harcourt Williams, and Stanley Holloway, while the music is played by the Philharmonia

. Orchestra conducted by Muir Matheson. Listeners will hear the speeches "O that this too too solid flesh," "To be or not to be," "Speak the speech," "How long hast thou been grave maker," the Play Scene, and the orchestral Funeral March. Brief introductory. commentaries will indicate the relation of each speech or scene to the rest of the play.

In the Park F you are in London and want to ride along a carriage drive made by King William IIL; if you want to sail: toy boats, or bathe, or listen to the band, or have an open-air meal; if you want to hear tub-thumpers getting every conceivable subject off their chests from National Affairs to the Millennium; or if

you. just want to sit about and enjoy the flowers and birds-you can do all these things without sétting a foot outside Hyde Park. A place of great contrasts, Hyde Park belonged originally to the manor of Hyde, which was attached to Westminster Abbey but was taken over by Henry VIII. on the dissolution cf the monasteries. Once a favourite duelliny ground, it has been for centuries one of the most popular resorts of fashionable society, and at the height of the "season" from May to the end of July, its drives present a brilliant scene. The BBC ‘have produced a programme, Hyde Park, describing the park for those to whom it is no more than a name, and it will be heard from 3YA, at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday November 14.

tee oe Met Beene" Oo. teen Re ee Ee Showtime Again \ HETHER it is in a large cenkte or a small town, one of the "Royal" variety or just the usual annual event, an Agricultural and Pastoral Show is one of New Zealand’s most democratic public institutions. When the turnstiles

Ciick,’ the backcountry run-holder and the side-show barker, the champion hack ridér and the candyfloss vendor rub’ elbows, In the ring the massive prize beast from the cattle section appears on narade

with the smallest toy dog. Farmers from different districts get together in an examination of the latest agricultural implements and discuss the ravyages of milk fever or the advantages of lucerne as a fodder crop. And those V.LP.’s, the judges, whose rosettes and labels. single them out from the common herd, are always veady to explain

to the townsman why this exhibit was given a red ribbon and that one a blue. Canterbury will be agriculturally and pastorally en fete this :.onth for its annual show. Station 3YA will give a description of the early morning scene on Judging Day at the Addington Show Grounds at 8.30 am. on. Thursday, November 11. On the following day, at 11.0 am., results of the judging will be broadcast, with further commentaries throughout the day.

Psychology of Dreams

"HEN a friend tells you. he dreamt about a certain horse the other night and adds that he’s going to put a fiver on it next Saturday, do you give a loud horse laugh or do you eagerly wait around afterwards to see what his winnings were? While some people set a lot of store by dreams, others say they’re caused by such mundane things as an extra slice of cake for supper or the ‘premature ringing of an alarm clock. One of the most interesting theories of recent years was that expounded by Freud in his book The Interpretation of Dreams, and ‘although we may not agree with what he says, we at least know that dreams are often a useful means of helping psychiatrists to cure the nervous disorders of their patients, The BBC programme Dreams which will! be heard from 2XN at 8.31 p.m. on Friday, November 12, should give an interesting insight into this aspect of psycho-analysis, for it shows g psychiatrist and his patient-played by two British character actors, Ralph Truman and Edward Chapman-actually at work in the consulting room.