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Broadcasting, Cinema and Drama Invade the Coasts of China

‘Radio Thrives in Shanghai: Less Scope in Hong Kong

(Written for the "Radio Record" by

Muriel

Lewis

important mediums of entertainment, coming directly after the cinema and the dance halls in the public favour. It far outweighs | the stage, therefore, as the leit motif of such an article: as: this. R ADIO on the China coast is one of the most t. But it is difficult to write of radio here without entering into a long diatribe on its deficiencies. At present the Hong Kong papers are full of them. So large a percentage of the population cares for nothing but jazz, and says so at frequent intervals through the correspondence columns of the dailies, that the hands of the programme arrangers are tied to a considerable extent, and subscribers who care for better things suffer accordingly. And not in silence, either. For another thing, there is a very small number of professional musicians or speakers capable of the required standard .of radio. performance; which leaves the arrangers little besides gramophone records and hotel dance rchestras ‘as a ‘foundation: for: all programmes, ZEK are under Government control, limitations of all sorts obstruct development. This is easily understandable when you consider that though the population of the colony numbers 849,757, only 14,366 are British (counting the soldiers in the regiments stationed here and 494 Americans, and that of 4886 licenceholders only 1915 are Buro-

pean. It is as if people living in.a small town were unreasonable enough to expect big-city radio, N Shanghai, which is served by several private stations, things are considerably easier, but, except for the musie from the studios, it does not appear that the fare is much better. There, in the fifth largest-city in the world, the radio companies are open to attractive offers from advertisers, and suffer apparently few restrictions, while in Hong Kong advertising is strictly prohibited, and an audition is even occasionally required. In the northern city they have. the advantage of a very fine municipal orchestra, in which Pacci, the conductor, wields his baton over picked professional’ musicians. The Canton radio station is run by the South China Government, and European sessions are seldom given. It is used when necessary -for political propaganda; as when the mandate went forth last year that Cantonese women must return forthwith to the old conventions of modest attire, all the drastic restrictions were broadcast daily, with a list of punishments for offenders of different degrees, _ The cinema is, of course, the principal means of amusement in the Far Hast, for both natives and Buropeans, and dancing in the hotels and cabarets comes next. In Shanghai there is a ‘Chinese theatre where the few celebrated professionals are regularly employed; but things theatrical are in a poor way at present, and most Chinese actors and actresses who cannot find employment abroad, or in: the

cinema studios at Shanghai or Canton, are out of work, ‘THE inexhaustible numbers of the Chinese coolie class, who are rapidly absorbing from the West the necessity for light amusement in their lives, are enthusiastic cinema fans, and flock into the cheaper seats of the pic‘ture houses at every session, At a big theatre in the Chinese quarter of Hong Kong, close by the Western Market, the front stalls are packed each afternoon by the coolies from the fish market, whose slack time is from 1.30 to about 5 p.m., when their buyers sleep. They can get a comfortable seat for 20 cents. . Some. of them sleep the performance through, others yell at each other in the accepted Chinese manner of friendly converse, the while: their eyes and ears are agreeably entertained. In most of-the cinemas in the-na-tive quarters: Chinese. p:ctures are shown, but Wild West films-Buck Jones serials and Zane Gray’s storiesare immensely popular. Sex problems dominate-the theme of their own scen-. arios, for‘ to‘the Chinese the new. free--dom of Western custom is supplying. unlimited : scope. for. otiginal drania. Although a British film. has just ‘been barred ‘in Japan’ because beds were shown in one: scene, there seems. no situation too intimiate to be set forth frankly by tle"Chinese.. This is probably because. their finer mentality rejects the coarseness .of suggestion and. sees only normal interest in all to do with human relations. You may say that the stage is almost. non-existent on ‘the China Goast,. from the European point of view. In twelve months the only foreign theatrical company to visit the coastal: cities’ has been’ the’ Dotrlay ‘Non-stop Reviewith 55 performers, only two of which spoke English; and .which included in its personnel representatives of 28 different nationalit’.s. In Hong Kong they gave two performances a day for ten days, packed to the doors. As the standard of their vaudeville work was. negligible, the audiences they drew proclaimed the fact that their mere presence supplied a deficiency, — VERY interesting event which ' Was greatly to the credit of the Hong Kong University was the performance there of "Lady Precious Stream," the Chinese play which is still running in ‘London. It'was done in Bnglish by the (Chinese) students, and a: more delightful; entertainment you could not imagine. Two Shang- hai professionals had coached. them, and the magnificent costumes were lent from the theatre there. Every detail: was as it should haye been, and not the least of its charm was the chi--chi English spoken. hy the. youthful performers. The leading lady’s voice had’ a throaty Garbo quality which, with her pronunciation, was most alluring.. The enthusiasm aroused by this effort was so great that the play was repeated, and again the great hall at the university could have been filled twice, A short time after that it was given again by a Shanghai professiona! company at a big picture house at Wanchai, and its three or four hours’ duration was no bar.to its popularity, for’ both Chinese and Europeans flocked to see it.

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.I whakaputaina aunoatia ēnei kuputuhi tuhinga, e kitea ai pea ētahi hapa i roto. Tirohia te whārangi katoa kia kitea te āhuatanga taketake o te tuhinga.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/RADREC19360710.2.36

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Radio Record, Volume XI, Issue 1, 10 July 1936, Page 18

Word count
Tapeke kupu
988

Broadcasting, Cinema and Drama Invade the Coasts of China Radio Record, Volume XI, Issue 1, 10 July 1936, Page 18

Broadcasting, Cinema and Drama Invade the Coasts of China Radio Record, Volume XI, Issue 1, 10 July 1936, Page 18

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