Final Night Of Drama Festival

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31047, 30 April 1966, Page 13

Final Night Of Drama Festival

The last night of the Junior Drama Festival was full of interest and ended with a provocative new play written and produced by Mrs Y. Bromley. This play, “The Easter Trial.” gave opportunities for the best acting of the evening. Although the play needs ruthless pruning, it has some exciting moments and several fresh ideas. A jury representing all periods listens to the Crown Prosecutor (Elizabeth Harvey) and the Counsel for the Defence (Leslie Manncring) examining (with professional competence) witnesses who were involved in Christ’s life and death. Clever acting came from Elizabeth Galloway as the Judge and Faye Lester as Mary Magdalene—but the large cast were all accomplished actresses. They are students from Rangi-ruru School.

Rangi-ruru School also contributed to Dylan Thomas’s “Return Journey,” the author’s autobiographical return to his hometown to see who can remember him as a young boy. Although the talented cast peoples the stage with fascinating cameos, the snippets of action do not add up to a play worth staging, rather than listening to.

The whole cast, however, demonstrated in their fully realised characterisations and their controlled technique how much can be achieved by a professional teacher of speech and drama—especially one as skilled at working with young people as Mrs Bromley obviously is. Mary Green, Susan Hart Deborah Vincent, Sally Buchner and Amanda Moore were outstanding in an excellent cast. With commendable pace and a confident grasp of the I comic implications of Shaw’s dialogue, Sally Maloney and

John Green (from Burnside High School) romped through the prologue to “Androcles and the Lion.” The last scene was not as successful the comic business needed more careful planning but Stephen King made a credible Caesar, and the whole production was a credit to the ■pupil-producer, Kerrie Heaysman. “Candy Pink” is a modem morality play which presents technical challenges whicii the Puriri Players did not quite master. But there was excellent teamwork from Elizabeth Keating and Robyn Palmer imaginative characterisation from Marcell Marshall and Colleen Keating, and the play had a lively heroine in Mary Costigan. When this group can use the whole stage more freely and find the stresses in a line which produce a more natural speech rhythm, they will be even better entertainers. Perhaps the most successful feature of this three-night festival has been the practical advice and commonsense comment offered, in just the right spirit, by the critic, Mrs A. Bushell. The British Drama League is to be congratulated on bringing her to Christchurch. —P. R. S.