Unimaginative Production

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31236, 7 December 1966, Page 22

Unimaginative Production

The Riccarton Players did not present their usual Christmas pantomime this year. Instead they presented “The Holly and the Ivy” by Wynyard Browne in a variety of styles including melodrama, pantomime, musical comedy—and did one detect a touch of the circus?

“The Holly and the Ivy” is a sophisticated drawing-room comedy with a heavilyemphasised moral message. The production by David Penny did not communicate the sophistication but wallowed in the moral message. As the play laboured on and the actors indulged themselves more and more in glorious sentiment the pace flagged until it was almost at a standstill. David Patterson’s almost diffident portrayal of Dick Trembath stood out as being the only convincingly sympathetic performance.

One of the most enjoyable moments of the play was when Dick and Mick (Doug Clark) decorated the. room with holly, if only because of its complete lack of pretence. Syd Cross, as the Rev. Martin Gregory struggled with an Irish accent and a difficult part which required fewer dramatic pauses and more natural viguor. Joan Lowe as Aunt Lydia gave a pleasing performance.

Dora Gatehouse and Pauline Rutledge should form a comedy team or should seek better direction in their next play. Unimaginative direction, a shabby set and a cluttered stage did nothing to help this undernourished growth of “The Holy and the Ivy.”

It will continue at the Riccarton Town Hall until Saturday—J.M.F.