REPERTORY THEATRES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 20, 25 January 1927, Page 15

REPERTORY THEATRES.

In "R.K.'s" extremely interesting article in your supplement under this aeading he covers much valuable ground, but as, of course, it is only possible to touch the fringes of the subject in so short a space, I would like to make some additions and one correction. To take the correction first, it is that "R.K." is quite wrong in stating that the Birmingham Repertory Theatre has secured Sir Barry Jackson as professional producer. Actually, Sir Barrv was the founder of that famous theatre, and is still its director for the whole of tne activities connected with it in Birmingham, in London, and on . tour. I rather expected "R.K." would have made mention of the Vieux Colombier, that famous centre of French dramatic life. I regret to say that I believe this wonderful theatre has had to be closed recently, but that cannot destroy its brilliant record of work, nor remove the mark that its series of productions have made upon the new dramatic movement. The director of the Vieux Colombier gathered round him a company whose great outstanding virtues were teamwork and versatility in character delineation (the crux and corner-stone of repertory playing). The play and the playing were the thing, the mounting simplicity itself, consisting, as it did. of plain grey flats, the effects required being obtained by means of furnishings and a few pictures hung against the flats for an interior, or lighting for an exterior. This is a fact worthy to be remembered by amateurs, and gives the greatest point to the proven theory that if a play is really worthy, the lack of special and elaborate mounting cannot possibly "kill" it. A finely written play of real dramatic interest can be acted in front of a white-washed wall, if necessary, without losing grip of the audience, provided the actors realize and live their parts sufficiently to create the illusion of time and place in the minds of their audience. This, of course, was an evervday occurrence with the strolling players of Elizabethan times, and is not by any means unknown in these days. Recently J have received from England a copy "of the report published by a committee set up to consider the effect of the drama in education. I do not propose here to enter into any discussion as to the educational side (though the report deals at considerable length and most interestingly with that aspect), but merelv to point out the extraordinary activity brought to light by this committee which is being displayed throughout England in the production of plays of unusual interest dramatically and from a cultural standpoint, by amateurs pure and simple, or by amateurs professionally directed. The most astonishing thing about the amateur societies is the extremely high standard generally of the plays produced by them, and the frequency with which they have produced plays which, for various reasons, they are not likely to see on the professional stage. I J . MIXERVA.