THREE PLAYS BY N.Z. WRITERS

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31320, 16 March 1967, Page 18

THREE PLAYS BY N.Z. WRITERS

The Elmwood Players added to their already good record for encouraging the grass-roots development of New Zealand theatre with the presentation of three “local author” one-act plays at their playhouse last evening. Slightly disappointingly, only one of the plays is actually set in New Zealand—- “ Still Grows The Tawny Weed,” by Joan Calder, of Motueka. It concerns the plight of a tobacco farmer struggling to make a living out of what, presumably, has given him lung cancer, and the efforts of his nervy wife and girl worker to help him. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this neatlyshaped drama is the accuracy with which unmistakably New Zealand—and not just “dinkum Kiwi”—attitudes and idioms are reproduced, an achievement which more than compensated for Implausible twists to the story. Jack Baird, as the farmer, was the outstanding actor—right inside the part—and there were solid performances by the rest of the cast

Brian Gallas, a Latin honours student at the University of Canterbury, uses his knowledge of the classics effectively in “The Women Of Troy,” which, as well as reworking the traditional material, takes a hard look at patriotism. The play’s full dramatic force was realised in Hunter Bell’s excellent production. Good grouping, effective lighting and unusually satisfying costumes gave it plenty of visual impact, and Mr Bell’s simple set was ideal. The thoroughly capable cast was led by Selwyn Hamblett, who acted with quiet strength, Helen O’Grady—an intense

Kassandra—and Nell Gillespie, who made a dignified royal nurse. Ernest Adams’s “The Request” is set in his native England: this Inevitably presented the difficulty of establishing, and maintaining, convincing accents, and that members of the cast were so

successful was a tribute to the skill of the producer, Alex Henderson, as well as the actors themselves. Robert Russell, as the youth condemned to death, gave the finest performance of the evening, and Allister Stewart, as the warder who found there were limits to impartiality, kept the audience's interest and sympathy; a tendency to deliver his lines too fast was the only defect in a sturdy portrayal. If the play occasionally verges on piety and mawkishness, it treats a demanding theme imaginatively and avoids both tub-thumping and easy solutions. The season will conclude on Saturday. —D.E.W.