A GAY PAGEANT

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21715, 24 February 1936, Page 2

A GAY PAGEANT

PICTURESQUE TYROLEAN DRESSES "WHITE HORSE INN" . ''Rounds of applause are meat and drink to actors, and We feel to-night that you have given us a Lord Mayor's banquet," said Mr Alfred Frith, at the Theatre Royal on Saturday night, after the tumultuous - applause at the final curtain of "White Horse Inn" had subsided. Mr Frith, a little more portly but just as funny, in his inimitable way, as he was when he gave his unforgettable performance, in "Going Up" in Christchurch many years ago, stood in a network of gaily coloured streamers thrown to the artists by a well-pleased audience, and around him were grouped the leading members of the cast, the women holding beautiful bouquets presented to them in appreciation of the part they had played an a magnificent production. Gay and lively, richly mounted, and gorgeously dressed, the play, with-its lilting melodies and good dancing, was a pageant that in colour and brilliance .far exceeded the most sanguine expectations. Fichus and Embroidery

The curtain rose on a beautiful scene in the Austrian Tyrol, where the White; Horse Inn stood in the foreground beside a lake, and behind it rose green uplands and snow-capped peaks. The! part of the pretty proprietress of the i inn was played by Miss Romola Hansen, who was warmly welcomed back: to Christc b urch, where she is pleas-! antly remembered for her part iri "The: Belle of «ew York" in 1930. She wore] her shining black hair coiled- on theback of*Jier neck with a plait across the top of her head, Very handsome she looked in her ; colourful Tyrolean dresses, and it was not surprising to learn ihat, in the three years,of ner widowhood,. she had distnissgd: five j amorous head waiters for looking; at i her with-an idiotic expression she could tolerate in the eyei of;a£alf:: but not in the eyes of her head waiter.; She made her first appearance wearing* a pervenche blue silk frock, with fiftl, skirt inset with florar bands, a whitefringed fichu, and a wisp of an apron. When expecting the arrival Of an English lawyer, whom she numbered amongst her admirers, she wore a lovely frock of cyclamen taffeta, trimmed with floral embroidered bands, a white blouse, with cherry red velvet belt, and a cyclamen fichu. An apron of handsome ecrfe crochet was worn with a green satin.-frock banded narrowly with cherry safln, a fringed, fichu, and a dark green Tyrolean hat with jaunty feather unstanding at one side. A black taffeta frock was relieved from.sombreness by bright red, green, and gold bands, a red and. black brocaded fichu and a gold lace apron, and another effective frock, perhaps the prettiest of all, was of ivory faille with hand-painted scattered flowers, the corselet bodice being laced with gold to match the gold ruchings on the,jsk|rt.. .:■>., ~'• ; ;;'.;;/ : i, A Beguiling Daughter • Miriam .iiester, who was also: a member of-fThe BeHe : Company" that visited • five years ago, played the part r o| Ottohne, daughter of a self-made manufacturer ofuunderwea r who,,jiad. been brought to -. the Tyrol by - his daughter much against his. wi11..-..The snow-clad peaks,, he said, left, him, cold; he much preferred Clacton-on-Sea, where he could have a roOnt'.wfth lino, aspidistra, and a homely vieto.pf the gasworks! But his daughter-had other ideas; she liked the Tyrol arfd, its tourists, and although her father eom-, plained that she had ho brain's, that everything he said, to her went hi, one ear and was lost in a vacuum, she had very good taste in dress. She arrived at White Horse Inn wearing a smart pink suit with toning blouse and a pink hat with check band. A highwaisted frock of crayon blue chiffon had a short bodice and sleeves of deeper blue velvet. A simple frock of white cross-barred muslin- had a bodice of cherry velvet ahd was worn with a red hat. Her liking for twocolour effects was shown in a flounced eaurde-nil taffeta frock,, with short pink taffeta bodice, and at the fait of the curtain she was wearing a demure grey frock and a wide grey lace hat. A sprightly presentation of a girl who lisped was given by Miss Marie Conan, an English soubrette, who wore a blue floral crepe frock and hat of the same material, and, later, a more sophisticated frock of grey georgette and lace.

Miss Jeanne Battye, whose marriage to Mr Frith was announced a. few months ago, played the part of the village postmistress. She looked trim and businesslike in her blue cloth frock banded with green, short green, coat with buff coloured facings,, and postman's helmet. ~;,., J * Little had been heard beforehand of the children in the ballet—clever little people who danced with verve and very evident enjoyment, and added an unusual touch to the first-class ballet. Then there were a steam boat, real goats and real pigeons, and three diverting "cows," which alone were worth going to see.

VISITORS TO CHRISTCHURCH Hotel Federal: ,Mr and Mrs P. .Shaw Jeffrey (Whitby, England), Mr and Mrs G. C. Rogers, Mr and Mrs H. M.' Wilson (Dunedin), Mr and Mrs A. Frith, Miss L. Miller„ (Sydney), Mr and Mrs B. Nathan (Christchurch), Mrs and Miss Lockwood, Miss ; S. Stacpoole, Miss A. Dixon, Mr and Mrs J. Flnlay (Auckland), Miss Finlayson, Miss Wenlocke (Timaru)i Mrs C. Wilson (Hanmer Springs), and Mr and Mrs W. S. Huttoh (Invercargill).

Clarendon Hotel: Mr and Mrs CampbellHeard (Masterton), Miss B. Finch (Hanmer), Mrs H. Lewis (Auckland), Dr. and Mrs Borrie, Miss Borrie (Dunedin), Mrs R. Finch, Mr L. Finch (Oamaru), Mr and Mrs T. Jones (Greymouth), Mrs W. P. Black (Waimate), Mr and Mrs H. L. Keenan (North Taieri),«and Mr and Mrs H. T.Kitto'( Wellington). United Service Hotel: Lord and Lady Cranworth, the Hon. Judith Gurdon, Lord Woodbridge, and the Hon. Vera Churchman (Suffolk), Miss H. Crooke (Marton.) the Rev. and Mrs W. Stevenson Stuart (Scotland), and Miss V. Norman (Auckland). . >; New City Hotel: Mr and. Mrs L. Leopold (Germany), Captain and Mrs F. Holland (England). Mr Snd Mrs S, H. Perry (Wellington). Mr and Mrs A. Taylor (Waikari),.Mr arid Mrs C. Coutts (Palmefston North). Mr and Mrs F. W. Shallcrass (Greymouth), Mr and Mrs. J. L. White (Hawarden). Mr and Mrs H. B. Burton, Miss P. Burton (Oamaru). Warner's Hotel: Mr and Mrs A. J. Moran, the Misses Moran (Cairns), Lady Wavertree (London). Mrs S. Burney (Sydney), Mr and Mrs J. Wesley Hayes (Waimate). Mrs D. M, Wheeler. Mrs T. S. Fotheringham and Miss J. Allison (Wellington); . Stonehurst Hotel: Miss M. Wild (Sydney), Miss M. Lyon, Miss E. Watson (Wellington), Mr and Mrs W. A. Maunsell (Frankton Junction). Mr and Mrs A. O'Neill; Mrs M. D. O'Neill, Mr J. O'Neill (Auckland).,

It was 'announced at a meeting of the board of directors of the Young Womert's Christian Association held recently that under the will of the late Miss I, D. ITraser Jones, of Levin, the .association, hfid been made the sole beneficiary in her estate. This bequest consists of approximately £6OO in. cash, "debentures, and sundry small properties.-