Girl Cast Surprises With Play By lonesco

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30737, 29 April 1965, Page 20

Girl Cast Surprises With Play By lonesco

The final night of the British Drama League’s junior festival included two plays all too frequently seen, and one rather surprising choice — lonesco’s “The Bald Prima Donna.” “The Crimson Coconut” was presented by the Christchurch West High School. All the cast showed enthusiasm and had made some efforts of characterisation. It was pleasing to see that this play was produced by a pupil of the school (Linda Bell), and as such it was a commendable effort. But it is doubtful whether any type of farce, combined with young actors, can really be controlled by such an inexperienced producer.

Villa Maria College chose the New Zealand play. "Candy Pink,” rapidly becoming well-

known at one-act festivals. During this production considerable tension was noticeable in the audience, an indication that the cast were doing their work well. There were some good individual performances, notably by Jessica Browp and Jenny Harper. Excellent diction was another highlight of this production. Girls from Linwood High School appeared in lonesco’s “The Bald Prima Donna”— an unlikely choice for a school play, but performed jn this case with enough verve and imagination to make it acceptable entertainment for the rather youthful audience. This was an enterprising choice and the young players handled the difficult dialogue and tricky timing with considerable ability.