VARIETY TEAM FOR KOREA

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 670, 9 May 1952, Page 6

VARIETY TEAM FOR KOREA

IVE New Zealand variety stars have been chosen to visit Japan and Korea as this country’s contribution to the Commonwealth entertainment scheme inaugurated by British Commonwealth Forces Korea. The leader of the patty will be Ossie Cheesman, formerly of the Pacific Kiwi Concert Party, and he will be accompanied by Coral Cummins, Martin Winiata, Pat Otway and Allan Matthews. Eight such entertainment units will have visited the Commonwealth DiWision in Korea before the end of this year. One from Australia played to the troops during March, and one from England during April. During each of the six subsequent months a variety team from Britain, Australia or New Zealand will visit the war zone, and the New Zealand authorities have been asked to provide one for July. As in the past when such an occasion arose, the Army Department called on the New Zealand Broadcasting Service to handle arrangements in co-operation

with the Army Education Welfare Service. When Ulric Williams, who is in charge of Radio New Zealand, was asked to handle the task for the NZBS, he looked over the list of possible artists, made enquiries, held auditions and finally decided on three men and two women, whom he asked to join the New Zealand Concert Party. They accepted with enthusiasm, and now plans for the three-week tour of Korea are getting under way. According to the present tentative schedule, the group will assemble in Auckland and, after a week of rehearsal conducted by Mr. Williams, will leave early in July for Japan. During the three-week tour the Concert Party will present about 20 per- . formances, most of them being outdoor affairs in the usual style of "front-line" shows. At Paisan and Seoul, theatres will be available, but for the rest--the back of a truck, a hastily erected stage, army lighting effects and public address system. The Commonwealth troops who will form the audiences to which the Concert group will play will, however, probably not- bother about that. They are at least assured of some of the best variety New Zealand has to offer. Ossie Cheesman, who was Musical Director of

the Kiwi Concert Party, Pacific, during the war, has since’ established himself as a_ leading Auckland artist. He is at present conductor of the Auckland Radio Orchestra of 1YA and 1ZB, and has served in the past with the NZBS as solo pianist, accompanist, arTanger, and conductor with studio dance bands, groups, and the National Orchestra. Mr. Cheesman, who toured New, Zealand with many shows and concert artists, among them _ Stanley Holloway, is an exceptionally fine performer

on the plano or pianoaccordion. He will act as musical director of the group while on tour. Martin Winiata, whose dance band has a strong following in Christchurch, and a radio audience in many other parts of the country, will take with him

to Korea his saxophone, clarinet, guitar and ukulele, and will team with the vocalist Coral Cummins in duet performances. He will also teach the other members of the party a bracket of Maori songs for presentation to troop audiences. Coral Cummins, also of Christchurch, and more or less a protégée of Mr. Winiata’s, is most popular in her own city and on the air, and in particular she has received enthusiastic support from the men of Burnham Camp who have heard her. Auckland is the home of the second girl vocalist in the group. Pat Otway has been playing leads in Auckland musical comedy productions for several years, and her frequent broadcasts have won her a loyal following in Auckland and elsewhere. The fifth member of the Concert Party is an amateur magician who was also with the Third Division

Concert Party. With his "now you see it now you don’t" act, Allan Matthews combines a ventriloquist and mind-read-ing act. A past-President of the New Zealand Society of Magicians, Mr. Matthews has given performances regularly throughout New Zealand. The trip will not be any Far East vacation cruise for the five-members of the group, who will be appearing before soldier audiences once or twice a day most of the time. Mr. Williams explained that although all Kiwis based in Korea and Japan would see the show, the Army had not arranged the trip for their benefit alone. It was part of a programme of entertainment arranged for the whole Commonwealth Division-and if the enthusiasm of the troops equals that of the five members of the concert party the enterprise is certain of success.