STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 267, 10 November 1934, Page 7 (Supplement)

STAGE JOTTINGS.

AROUND THE FOOTLIGHTS. THE WORU> OF THE THEATRE. A revised version of the famous "Dick WMttington and His Cat" will be presented in tlio pantomime "Bow Bells/ , to be produced by Mme. Valeska in the Scots Hall on Friday and Saturday. Parts will be taken as follows: — Fairy Queen, Sara Stacpoole; Principal Boy, Joy Asquith; Principal Girl, Ivoanui Simeon; Dame, Kex Bayers, and comedienne, Dorothy Katipa. The conductress or the orchestra will be Mis 3 Wynne Robinson, of England. One of those associations which Irishlileu are so particular to keep green, in their ."exile" from the Green isle is the "Celidh" (pronounced Kay Icy), which was recently celebrated by the Irish National Society in Auckland. A colourful picture is given of the gay scenes that are to bo found in Ireland at the celebration of the "Feis" and "Ceilidh" in the following description:—"At these gatherings young and old alike take a prominent part in the dancing, sign singing and story-telling. It is not the laurel arches or the ivy fluttering in the breeze, nor the various scrolls and mottoes that everywhere would give- one a 'Caed millo failthe,' that leave lasting memories of tlie great Feis. On that morning you could learn that it was the greatest day of the year by looking at the glad faces of the little children. The patter of dsneing feet moving to the lilting tune of tho village iiddler, and the skill of the Uillean pipes, and the hearty plaudits and merry laughter of the people who run from place to place trying to hear and see and have a share of e\igrything. It is a scene never to be forgotten."

"Autumn Fire," tho brilliant drama of Irish life and character, which has placed its author, T. C. Murray, in the front rank of contemporary Irish dramatists, will be presented by the Catholic Repertory Society in the Town Hall Concert Chamber on Tuesday and Wednesday next, as its final production. Mr. Murray's earlier plays, notably "Birthright," have been widely praised, but "Autumn Fire" is recognised as undoubtedly his outstanding work to date. The plot deals with tho passion of a man of over 50, buoyant and vigorous, still confident in his youthful health and strength, for a young girl scarcely out of her teens. Tho story is unfolded with great skill, culminating in a very moving climax, and the characters are finely and sympathetically drawn. Not since Syngo'has any Irish dramatist reproduced so well in his dialogue the rhythm and beauty of the imaginative Gaelic speech. The honorary producer, Miss Ysolindo McVeagh, has announced a cast, which includes Doreen Saunders, Peter Brennan, Patsey Penty, Eoscanne Lovell, Patsy Carr, Tom O'Shea, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Pat Towsey.