‘Black Comedy’ In Dunedin Next

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32166, 9 December 1969, Page 13

‘Black Comedy’ In Dunedin Next

An aspiring sculptor, his debutante girl friend, a gay porcelain collector, a deaf millionaire and a mistress turned mischievous charlady are some of the characters in the Christmas-New Year offering at the Southern Theatre Trust’s Playhouse in Dunedin.

The play is “Black Comedy,” one of the bestknowh one-act plays of the English playwright, Peter Shaffer. It has already been performed by professional companies in Christchurch and Auckland. The leading roles are taken by two former Christchurch actors—Bryan Aitken, who plays the part of Brindsley, the well-meaning,, bumbling young sculptor who expects to make a fortune; and Heather Eggleton, who plays the society girl whose hand BrindSley hopes to win. Mr Aitken has recently returned from Great Britain, where he acted for the 8.8. C. Miss Eggleton’s most recent engagement was with Down-

stage Theatre in Wellington, where she was the first actress under permanent contract The second half of the double bill at the Southern Playhouse is “The Resounding Tinkle,” a one-act comedy which was received with such acclamation that it was developed into a fulllength play. Its three characters are Mr and Mrs Parradoc and Uncle Ted—who when ■ she turns up is -a beautiful young girl, having undergone a sex change which also rejuvenated her. She travelled half the night to get to the Parradoc’s, and has only time for a read (they don’t drink but read instead). She throws off a paragraph, watered down with a bit of dictionary, and then sets off for the 10hour train journey home. Two well-known Dunedin actors, Shirley Kelly and Burt Nisbet, and an Australian addition to the Playhouse, Dalvern Thom, take the roles. The season will open on December 17 and will run nightly until December 31, with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.