STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 289, 6 December 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

STAGE JOTTINGS.

An outstanding feature of tie stage to-day is the revival of interest in great plays of the past, apart from Shakespearean drama. Three years ago Ben Jonson's "Volpone" and Gay's The Beggar's Opera" enjoyed revivals in London, the latter also being seen m Australasia. More recently a whole series of restoration comedies have been presented in London and the provinces, including Farquhar's "The Beaux. Stratagem," Wycherley's "The Plain Dealer" and John Dryden's famous play "Marriage a la Mode," a satire which would be as applicable to-day as it was 250 years ago. The public support which lias been given this classic revival suffices to show that the stage is far from dead; indeed, the growth of the amateur dramatic movement seems to herald the approach of a really great,-period in British drama. When the curtain rises on "Peter Pan" at His Majesty's on Wednesday next, an English classic will be produced that New Zealand has seen only once, and that years ago. In England, however, "Peter Pan"_ on the stage is an annual event. A critic said of it that no London Christmas would be complete without it. "It is just as appealing in 1920 as it was in 1004, and there is no reason why it. should • not produce the same effect in 2020. It is the rapture of children, the joy of old age; and it ought to take its place with 'Robinson Crusoe,' 'Gulliver's Travels, 'The Pied Piper' story, and 'Alice in Wonderland.' " Yet Barrie was not confident of its success. Soon after his success with "Quality Street," "The Admirable Crichton," and "Little Mary," Barrie agreed to write a play for Charles Frohman, and they discussed the finished piece over dinner. Barrie said he feared it would not be a commercial success, but it was a dream child of his and ho was anxious to see it on the stage. Whereupon he mentioned another play., that he had written, and proposed a bargain. If Frohman would produce the uncommercial play, he could produce the second one also, which was

sure to recompense him for the inevitable loss, and, if it did not, he (Barric) would make up the deficiency himself. The play he had doubts about was "Peter Pan," and the one he considered a winner was "Alice-Si t-by-the-Fire." The latter is a charming play, and Ellen Terry gave one of her most delightful performances in it, but it has not been among his real successes. "Peter Pan," on the other hand, has been one of the world's great successes. The text has been translated into nearly ( every language. The name of Peter is known all over the world, and there is a statue to him in Kensington Gardens. "Young actresses count it an uncommon distinction if they are chosen to play the part of Peter. The names of those who have done so in London are immortalised thereby." They are Nina Boucicault, Cissie Loftus, Pauline Chase, Madge Titheradge, Unity Moore, Pay Compton, Faith Celli, Georgette Cohan, Edna Best, Joan Maclean, Gladys Cooper, and Dorothy Dickson. The Auckland Little Theatre Society is giving a new generation an opportunity of seeing this famous play. Some of the children who saw it when it was played here before will be taking their own children to see it next week.

>In connection witli the "war" at present being waged hy the United States Government against racketeers and gangsters, it is interesting to note that Edgar Wallace's play -''On the Spot," dealing with the life and death of Perenello, a wealthy Chicago gangster, is receiving a long and successful run at Wyndliam's Theatre, London. Practically the whole of the action takes place in Perenello's luxurious flat, and the acting of Charles Laughton, as the Italian criminal, doubly facilitated by Edgar Wallace's skilfully-directed dramatic talents, is described as one of the most outstanding pieces of work in the year. Paul "Robeson, the talented negro actor, who won fame for bis work as "Othello" in London early this year, recently gave a variety programme at the Savoy Theatre. The first part of the entertainment consisted of negro melodies, and the fourth, or final section, was an act from Eugene O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones," the story of the first dark-skinned ruler of Haiti. Robeson is described as the quietest of actors, with a voice of remarkable richness and power of expression. He is remarkable not only as the first negro to gain his place in Shakespearean drama, but as an actor whoso dramatic talents and charm of personality stand unsurpassed on the stage to-day.