Two Nice Girls

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 802, 3 December 1954, Page 26

Two Nice Girls

EET Ada and Elsie-the two indefatigable spinsters who present half an hour of light-hearted entertainment for ZB listeners at 9.0 p.m. on Monday nights. They.are old-fashioned girls who bustle into all sorts of ludicrous situations and blithely pat-ball their way out again. They take in a lodger, they have an argument ‘with their not-so-bright grocer, Mr. Hercules, who suffers with "travelling pains," they snort disapprovingly at the behaviour of the "hussy" next door, not inaptly named Miss Plunge. A man, any kina of a man, is a thrill to Ada and Elsie, and that goes for Mr, Grassmeadows, a. frightfully sporting type, played by Frank Strain, who doubles as the redoubtable Mr. Hercules. The characters of Ada and Elsie are unchanging and _ sharply delineated, Their wide and warm appeal stems from the hearty but unsophisticated humour their show purveys. Sample: "Do you think I should marry him if he asks me?" "Oh, yes, dearie. But he’s a man with scruples." : "Oh, well, I could nurse him through those." : The show’s recipe is a simple one, bearing a strong resemblance to the old favourite Gert and Daisy. Each of the bachelor girls is a little man-struck, each a little more fond of a glass of sherry than she cares to admit, and each is ingenuous enough to believe that her transparent intentions are opaque even to her closest friends. Even in their best laughs there is some pathos, something rather old-lace which makes them more human than mere caricatures. There is an echo of it in Ada and Elsie’s Christmas preparations. Elsie says, "Are we going to send cards this year to all the men we've been in love with?" and Ada replies, "Yes. But I think we'll cross W. G. Grace off the list. That one keeps coming back unanswered," In the flesh, Ada and Elsie are very different from their radio characters. Elsie is Rita Pauncefort, an Australian who married into a trouper’s family with stage associations as old as those of the Lupinos. Ada is Dorothy Foster, a bright, vivacious Tasmanian who has

been connected with Australian radio sinte "it first began to become big business. Dorothy is the author of the Ada and Elsie act. She mothered it from its puny infancy, was a little surprised at its lusty growth and completely astounded by its long life of over twelve years. It has grown into the highest-paid female act on Australian radio and is relayed every. week over a large chain of stations’ in every State. Previously a part Of"a sponsored show, it now occupies air-space in its own" Tight. SS Originally, it was just a@-=patter ‘session between two Womét, with, Dorothy Foster playing the "comic, "the other woman the "feed." However, Dorothy secured Rita Pauncefort. as her partner and her personality and adept handling of the part edged the act into its present form in which each woman is complementary to the other. Ada and Elsie is compéred by Eric Parrant, with Frank Strain and Audrey Teesdale as the. supporting comedians. The show has an interlude for song, presented by Betty Prentice, who played leading roles in the recent tour of New the Australian National Opera Company, and Robert Montana, Viennese tenor, who sings popular ballads.