REPERTORY BLUES

Radio Record, 22 April 1938, Page 14

REPERTORY BLUES

THIS setback suffered by the Little Theatre Society does not, however, mean any lessening of Auckland's interest in amateur drama. ‘There was never, in fact, a time when interest was so strong. In every suburb associations have been formed until greater Auckland is covered by a network of small societies giving plays in all kinds of venues-public halls, Sunday schools, friendly societies rooms, Returned Soldiers’ Association halls. club rooms and even in the houses of enthusiastic members. Urgent Necessity Many centres of social activities such as the women’s clubs, the churches. the Rationalist Association, even the larger stores and factories have their play-reading sections which, with splendid aud sometimes almost reckless courage, produce anything from Shakespeare to Shaw, from old morality plays to the modernism of O’Neill. The "leftist" repertory sucieties ure particularly active. The Workers’ Educational Association is the strongest, and is still gathering support for its propaganda plays. THE most urgent necessity of Auckland repertory is the building of a special theatre adapted to the requirements of the combined movement-and a co-oper-ative federation of the many societies that lack a place for the presentation of their efforts. Auckland, indeed, badly needs a repertory theatrea small house seating 500 with an adequate stage and dressing rooms. A pretentious building would be unnecessady. Its necessities would be a central site, comfortable seating, a one-floor auditorium, efficient stage and mechanical arrangements, good lighting, and-above allgood acoustics. Such a house, independent of the cost of the site, could be built for £5000. It should be managed in the interest of all the societies by an experienced executive and, fully equipped, should be operated upon sharing terms with the individual societies, the executive having voice in the choice of plays to be presented-but that choice should he influenced solely by the probable public demand. The best of movements must pay its way or perish! Could It Be Done? There are over 100,000 people in Auckland attending weekly fifty-five cinemas, and it is reasonable to calculate that 20 per cent. of this large number would support a -epertory theatre playing at the same cheap prices as the

elemas — an. attendanee of 2000 weekly would pay @XPenses. Many of the cities and towns of Englaud bave such repertory theatres. Bradford, for example, with a population about the same as Auckland, has for the last three yeurs been running nightly repertory, without a break, and Wolverh am pt on, with a much smaller and poorer population, runs the whole year round. AN D repertory has come to stay in New Zeanland. There is a special need for if since, isolated us we are the nuher of visiting legitimate drama companies is far [ess

than in more populous and centrally situated countries. Russia has proved the interest of the proletariat in "live" drama. In repertory she leads the wortd. Dr. Dillon, an Oxford professor, who was in the British diplomatic service in Russia and was later the special theatrical correspondent of the London "Daily Telegraph’-a conservative journal-in reporting on the progress of repertory in Russia says this, "Never in the history of mankind has there been so much enthusiasm for anything as the enthusiasm for theatrical art. in Russia--the only parallel is the enthusiasm which France had for liberty in 1789... Everybody is furiously Jearning some form of art--there are over fifteen hundred repertory societies in Moscow alone, and last year 471 perfurmauces of Shakespeare’s plays were given." Support From The People That is in Russia. When was a Shakespeavin | play ever adequately presented in New Zealand by any repertory society? Dr. Dillon continues:--"I attended a repertory performance of Wagner’s overa, "Lohengrin," given entirely by the operatives of one Moscow factory! There were SO in the chorus, 70 in the orcbestra. with a cast of principals all drawn from the one factory, und it Was an excellent show." The people of New Zealand can take heart from the example of the efforts of English towns and the splendid enthusiasm of the Russian people. The larger centres of New Zealand should provide small theatres for repertory, and if the municipal authorities neglect to provide their citizens with these cultural utilities. then the people should get together «nd build and operate themselves. He ultimute success or failure of repertory in New Zealand depends upon the perception that it is meant to be both educative and entertaining-and that one need uot be opposed te the other. Repertory has the possibility of such large public support that a mass movement might be begun whieh would do much to let into the stuffiness of mauy preseut tendencies both sweetness aud light, As Shaw said. "Art is kept alive, not by the established trade iu it, but by the desperate efforts of art-hungry individuals to create and ve-create it out of nothing for its own sake."

To those who have had practices} experience of organising repertory in New Zealand, some of the foregoipg ideas muy seem Utopian. but it is my belief that the time is now ripe for one of the four main centres to take the lead courageously, and to organise and exploit the asm for drama {(}Sit is undoubtedly sweeping this country. One prozressive and wellorganised coverrn would be an assurance for the future of New Zealaud’s interest in dramatic art. The question is: has the personnel of any existing society the eharacter and business sense to bring a progressive busi-ness-like plan to fruition?