“FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS"

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25444, 16 March 1948, Page 3

“FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS"

THE STAGE

COMEDY AT THEATRE ROYAL

The second of the two plays in the New Zealand Theatre Company’s Christchurch season, Terence Rattigan’s comedy “French ‘Without Tears,” opened at the Theatre Royal last evening. “French Without Tears” is not a new play, but it was the production on which Rattigan’s subsequent success was based, and it has a freshness and lightness of touch which make it well worth reviving. The success of this rather inconsequential piece der pends largely on the players having a sense of fun, and this quality was clearly present last evening. The audience was only of a moderate size, but it had little option but to surrender itself to the infectious spirit of the players. Rattigan, in “French Without Tears,” depends more on dialogue than situation for his comedy, and the cast handled his amusing trifle with a refreshing zest The conversational balloon was tossed to and fro with agility and speed, and only once or twice was any real effort apparent. A very few of the lines seemed, perhaps, a little hurried, but* it must have been difficult indeed to keep a tight rein on such an exuberant steed.

The entire play is set in a seaside villa in France, where five young men, for a variety of purposes, are attempting to master the French language. Even those whose knowledge of French does not go beyond the opening pages of their first school grammar could not fail to appreciate and enjoy this background. All five of the men are subjected, to a greater or lessee degree, to the attentions of a young woman who is described as being ’“free with the green lights but stingy with the yellows and reds.” The frothy nature of the proceedings is never permitted to dissolve. All the members of the cast were competent, some particularly so, but in preserving the unity of such a Sketchy story the players showed an excellent team work. The setting and lighting were more than adequate, and, without exception, the players were clearly and easily heard. Ronald Fortt, playing the leading role, carried a pleasant burden with a distinctive ease. He had no need for extravagant gesture to interpret Rattigan’s comedy, and his sense of timing w6s first-class. He had many of the most amusing lines, and he made the most of them. Gabriel Toyne, as the boisterous tutor, was always particularly effective. Perhaps the best performances, however, were those of Hugh Moxey, as a naval officer, and Helen Franklyn, as the tutor’s daughter. Moxey, with a most amusing gravity, brought many laughs, although in his drunk scene he was not quite so convincing. Helen Franklyn kept in character even better than the others, and her restraint and lack of exaggeration made her performance an excellent one. Her best scene was her last when, with a barely discernible lift of an eyebrow, or a very faint inflection of her voice, she expressed more than less competent players would achieve in a week. Norman Ettlinger’s heartiness was a little too overpowering in thq first scene or two, but otherwise his performance was first-class. As the young woman whose scheming keeps the play’s pot boiling and the audience bubbling, Diana Beaumont was excellent. Alan Rowe and Henry Hep worth, who play the other main roles, lose little by comparison with the other players. To Helen Franklyn, the director, must go much of the credit for a most amusing and enjoyable evening. “French Without Tears” will be repeated each evening this week.