THE STAGE IN SYDNEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 39, 15 February 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE STAGE IN SYDNEY.

PLAYS. AND PLAYERS. (By Correspondent.) SYDNEY, February 7. Muriel Starr's season at the Palace closed abruptly this week, but, nothing daunted, this plucky woman is now about to launch on a suburban tour, starting at the Mosman Town Hall on Saturday night with "In the Next Room." Her company will take the adventure with her. The downfall was due to general theatrical depression and also to the worst play that Sydney playgoers can remember seeing. It was a propaganda piece about the war and called "The Enemy." Miss Starr, optimistically, thought it would be a good foil for "Journey's End," but she was ill-advised. "The Enemy" is a melodramatic American sensation play, with all the characters speaking, like the leading articles that were probably published in the Austrian papers during the war. Not one line rang true, not one situation was human. The Palace, therefore, goes "dark." Mayne Linton, who is a member of Muriel Starr's. company, was anxious to run plays there with his own company on a National Theatre basis. I understand that there was even some talk of introducing the word "Art" into the title. He collected some money for backing, but not enough, so it had to be'sent back and the plans cancelled. I gathered from Mr. Linton's conversation that he still thinks there is money to be made out of such a movement, bpt he places more reliance on the "naughty" play than the one with a highbrow "art" tone to it.

"New JMoon" is down to run till Easter, but to be on the safe side the chorus and ballets are rehearsing for a revival of "The Belle of New York." This has not actually been cast yet, but the spade work will be done in case of emergencies. Marie Bremner should make the sweetest "Belle." She has just the demure reserve for it. After that revivals will be the order of the night, and the' next scheduled is "The Girls of Gotten burg."

"Journey's End" continues tp draw the curious, and the houses are packed nightly.

"Don't Lie to Your Wife" didn't get as many adherents as Alfred Frith's first piece, but the season at the Grand Opera House is holding its own well. The next play is to be "Divorce," advertised as a strong drama. Frith will not be in it, but Agatha Kentish will continue to be the leading lady of the company, and Richard Bellairs will take the most prominent male part. Eva Moss, from South African theatres, will also go on holding down the character parts. This is really a repertory or "stock" season, sponsored and run 'by Bellairs, who has had good experience of this sort of thing in Canada. Probably, when the tint" comes for another good farce, Alfred Frith will be given a part in it. Folks have said that he lias been funnier in these two plays than he has ever been in his theatrical career.

; "Turned Up" has been a failure in Melbourne and on Saturday night it will be followed by "Follow Thru," another American musical mixture. Molly Fisher is holding her own, supported by Gus Bluett, Cecil Kellaway, Mary Laws on, Bertha Belmore and Madge Aubrey.

There has been a mysterious disappearance from the cast of "New Moon" this week. A young actor named lan Devereux, who understudied Lance Fairfax as the Red Shadow in "Desert Song," has just faded out. It is thought that he was disappointed at not getting some particular part in "New Moon," after having been allowed to play occasionally for Lance Fairfax, and he has gone away in state of depression. Nobody seems to have done anything about it." He has just disappeared.

Lance Fairfax is going to try his voice out again in "New Moon" the night this letter leaves for Auckland. It seems a pity that he should attempt to come back so soon, because his voice was very bad after laryngitis, but, being physically fit in other ways lie is probably chafing at "lying off." Again, it is one of the heartbreaks of the stage for Sidney Burchall. Having made such a sig-1 nal success of the leading part of Robert Misson he now has to step down *>P ain for Lance Fairfax to return to it. However, Sidney Burchall has so proved hi 3 quality in the time he has playe ie part that he can never be relegated to the back row in musical comedy work again. He is a young man who has arrived. The public like him, and they want him.

Leyland Hodgson has signed a con- ! tract for two years in Hollywood at one hundred pounds a week. May Beatty has another contract; so has Nat Madison. So has Beppic de Vries, Reg. Dandy, Ke"\ Sharland, Mascot Ralston and Sam Wren. • All our old favourites will be coming back to us on the screen quite soon.