Savagery called for

Press, 29 July 1976, Page 6

Savagery called for

New Zealand Theatre Federation Area Festival Repertory Theatre, Second Night: "The Bald Prima Donna,” by Eugene lonesco; directed bv K. Cochrane for The Christchurch Girls' High School Drama Club. "Sherry in the Trifle." by Rae Shirley; directed by William H. Fordham for the Riccarton Players. "Suddenly Last Summer.” by Tennessee Williams; directed by Gladys M. Thin for the Elmwood Players.

It was very much Ladies’! Night at the festival last] evening: two all-female productions followed by Williams's horrific portrait of. moneyed matriarchy Of] course, only Rae Shirley's! domestic comedy was specifically written just for; women performers, and its exploitation of familiar] comic ideas obviously) appealed to a female sector In the audience. But the other two plays] were much more substantial] in their impact, and, though' neither was helped by its

context within the pro-, [gramme, both teams are to! ! be congratulated on their] [treatment of very ambitious, I though rewarding, material. ' For schoolgirls to attempt 1 lonesco would seem hubristic ! to some, but this cast] •realised a most respectable] ’ proportion of the comedy. and the production was conI trolled sensitively enough to] [communicate a good deal of ithe tensions behind the ; laughs. Cheryl Brunton and I Deborah Caimey did the [central couple effectively.! Joanne Tyndall and Victoria] I Von Biel made excellent! work of their entrance] duologue, Jennifer Cooper! was very amusing as the; ;I story-telling Fire Chief, and; Edwina Harding was hilarious in her first appearance as the' maid. There was a noticeable i amount of up-staging going ;|on. but there was no doubt- >' ing that the comedy got •; through. : “Suddenly Last Summer” [is among my favourite plays, :and the script, a nightmarish • fusion of lobotomy, prostitution, incest, and cannibalism. ;|is so powerful that even i Elizabeth Taylor's film disappointed me in some ways. So the ElmwoodPlayers are

in good company when they learn that their general approach disappointed me too: Williams is a savage writing about savagery, and his plays need to be attacked by actors. His imagery needs to [be worked hard, as actors [work Shakespeare’s imagery to evoke a violent, pagan world: that Williams’s pagan monsters come from the wellheeled society of New Orleans simply compounds the irony.

The Elmwood cast showed ia level of rehearsal that [would be more than sufficient for most plays, but Williams needs extra work for the actors to feel the right confii dence over the script. But all . the components are there for a really dynamic .perform- [ ance: as the matriarch, Frances Pattinson just needs to be heavier, Dianne Hopwood has the makings of an impressive Catherine, and Helen White is very close to an excellent portrayal of that unfortunate girl’s mother. In a minor part, Donald Bruce draws a lot of well-earned laughs. This is a production that will be well worth seeing early next month in Elmwood’s own theatre. —Howard McNaughton.