Impressive Production Of McLeish Play

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30559, 30 September 1964, Page 18

Impressive Production Of McLeish Play

A. shocked audience sat taut with attention, often with excitement, to catch every word of Archibald MacLeish’s play, which opened in the Repertory Theatre last night. The shock comes in part from the direct challenge of the situation of a modern-day Job: J.B. has everything life can offer—only to have it taken from him. Why? Where is his guilt? Is God really reasonable, is he just? The parallels between J.B.’s torments of doubt and those of all who live in an age of plenty overshadowed by threat of extinction are made obvious by the playwright. But the shock, the impact of the play, comes also from sharp thrust of the language —easy to understand even at first hearing, and yet language which makes the, dialogue of many modern plays seem artificial and cliche-rid-den. “J. 8. is one of the great plays of this century: it is certainly the highlight of this year’s theatre-going fbr this writer. That the Elmwood Players should, even with the assistance they received from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, undertake this demanding play is an -indication of their growing stature in Christchurch theatre. The large cast contained no star performers, yet the director (Alex Henderson) had welded it into a company which gave a performance far above the individual talents of its members. That “J. 8. is memorable as a gripping theatrical experience is, then, as much due to Mr Henderson’S sympathetic appreciation of the play’s potential as to the greatness of the play. Don Farr, as the circus actor who plays the part of God, had a presence at once majestic and pathetic: he almost succeeded in being at once God and man. The Devil was played by another circus actor —a clown perhaps. In this role Brian Cooper ex-1 cited without ever cdnvinc- ! ing—his devil was never asj horrible as his mask. J.fe.' and his wife (Keith Cooke, and Daphne Milburn) had; some wonderful scenes to-|

gether: the charged significance of the last few minutes was movingly achieved. Neither of these players, however, used the full range of parts: J.B. could have been nobler before his fall, and his wife could have been even more degenerate. The tempters lacked real attack, in spite of clearly-drawn characterisation. This failing, allied with other occasions when words were hard to catch or when characters did not make their contact with the audience a complete one, might suggest that the whole action was played too far away. Oh. for the actors to come among us.

That “J. 8. is such successful theatre is not, then, because everything about the nroduction is superb, or even first-class; it is rather that a marriage was arranged. between stimulating play, stimulated producer, and responsive cast, and that last night was the beginning of their honeymoon. —P.R.S.