A Well-Prepared Group Of Plays

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31114, 18 July 1966, Page 12

A Well-Prepared Group Of Plays

Some of the best performances for some time in suburban theatre were seen on Saturday night when the Crescent Theatre opened a season of one-act plays. Shirley Kingston showed how effective mumble-without-shuffle acting can be; George Taylor demonstrated a fullblooded acting style in making a madman almost embarrassingly real; Joyce Skilton proved the power of stillness and poise; Leslie White’s part as a French resistance worker was a model of controlled technique, using movement and gesture as much as voice; Jean Webb, on the other hand, had a very small role as an old woman who sat knitting but what expressive knitting it was, and what a contribution her sustained acting made to the whole play. The cast of “The Cage,” women

in Newgate Prison, gave a splendid example of the teamwork—which often means more to a production than outstanding individual performances. The producers, too, are to be congratulated’ on well detailed settings, first-rate lighting for atmosphere and resourceful use of the small stage. Bill Hargreaves produced "The Cage” (about Elizabeth Fry’s pioneering prison reforming) with an impressive eye for grouping: he might roughen his women a little, their clothes particularly, and establish even more hopelessness and bestiality in the opening sections. Strath McKnight created considerable tension with his own play “Last Seen Alive.” His story of a mentally ill husband’s attempt to murder his wife had many really gripping moments, but credulity was stretched a little too far at times by the plotting of the play, and the impression given of police force procedures was grossly unfair. It is also questionable whether exploitation on stage of such a sordid situation was in acceptable taste. The last play was “The Sky Is Overcast.” Charlotte Novis managed to make the wartime situations credible and the people, personalities. She might distinguish even more clearly between the slow, ticking-of-the-elock pace, and the racing-heart-beat pace because the complete success of the production depends upon the alternation between these two. The final curtain scene needs attention. It was an interesting, if somewhat depressing evening. The three pffays, however unpleasant their themes, suited the talents of the performers, even if the plays were leaning a little much towards melodrama to be fashionable choices. Both Onstage and backstage there was evidence of thorough preparation and intelligent working at the art and craft of the theatre. —P.R.S.