PRODUCTION OF “KING LEAR"

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 7

PRODUCTION OF “KING LEAR"

UNIVERSITY DRAMA SOCIETY Miss Ngaio Marsh will produce Shakespeare’s tragedy, ‘‘King Lear.” for the Canterbury University College Drama Society next August. Miss Marsh has taken a keen interest in the society’s activities over many years, and ‘‘Julius Caesar” was her most recent production for it. In 1945, Miss Marsh toured New Zealand with the society’s productions of ‘‘Hamlet” and “Othello” under the auspices of the D. D. O’Connor organisation. A second tour was made in 1946 with “Macbeth.” These tours were so successful that in 1949 Miss Marsh took a company to Australia under the name of the New Zealand Student Players with “Othello” and Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of nn Author.” The Australian tour was an outstanding success, and the company played to packed houses in Sydney. Melbourne, and Canberra. Hundreds were turned away from every performance. Many invitations have since been received for a student company to visit Australia again. “King Lear” will ooen with a gala performance at the Civic Theatre on August 23 and will run for a season of four nights. Mr Lyall Holmes will be chairman of the production committee. One of Shakespeare’s best-known and least performed tragedies, “King Lear” will have a speaking cast of about 20 and will require about 50 additional players for crowd scenes An orchestra of about 20 will accomppnv the performance. The chairman of the society (Mr Paul Robinson) said that “King Lear” promised to be one of the society’s most notable productions. He was sure that theatre-goers would welcome the announcement that Miss Marsh would produce the play.