Oh no, not a Maori, said mum in play

Press, 6 September 1976, Page 15

Oh no, not a Maori, said mum in play

By

KEN COATES

The thin veneer which covers racial intolerance in this country was deliberately scratched in TV2’s “Thirty Minute Theatre” play. “The Deb Ball.” The result was a passable home-grown drama, highlighted by an excellent performance by the actress, Pam Seebold. It was a simple enough storyline, but one which no doubt sent a slight shiver down the spine of many in affluent, respectable, ambitious, suburban mum. Tony, the couple’s only son pride and joy, married Hana, a Maori girl, and what’s more she was pregnant. A little of the traditional Maori values of caring and sharing was brought out in the early stages of the play, but it all tended to be rather stilted. The contrasting shallowness of the bridge-playing group and their chatter about the forthcoming deb ball was credible enough.

When Tony and Hana eventually visited Tony’s parents in the city the inevitable response of ehilly disapproval and nonacceptance was shown by Loma, Tony’s mother. The scene depicting the visit of Hana’s brother was delightful in its crisp contrasting of two social backgrounds and cultures. Pam Seebold, as Loma, who regrettably one remembers more for her commercials with Merv Smith for a certain brand of breakfast food than for previous dramatic performances, maintained her unbending, aloof role to the end. Makuinui Menehira seemed just right as Hana, though one wonders whether pride would have allowed her to give that quick embrace to Laura as she left

Waric Slyfield is an old campaigner of the New Zealand stage, and he gave all that was asked for as a counter to his wife's scheming ambition for her son.

The plav touched on an area of life that is of increasing importance to all New Zealanders but seldom publicly discussed. It was sensitively acted, and, it is to be hoped, is the forerunner of many more with a social message. ♦ * «j>

Television Two must have been up in the ratings on Friday night, but then ratings were not so important for that night because Fridays are non-commercial. Gordon Dryden’s session on advertising, with a studio audience, raised a good many interesting questions. And on balance, the advertising people present seemed rather overwhelmed by the searching nature of the questions. Several reverted to the well-worn advertising truisms such as an article can be sold only once, and there was little real discussion of the justification for misleading advertising and television commercials which we all hate.

One or two revealing points were made by the advertising people — such as, "if the dumb women buy the products, what’s wrong with

that?” and “everyone else uses emotional appeal, what’s so wrong with using it in advertising?” But it was surprising that no-one took up TV2's sales executive, Maurice Smythe, when he maintained that TV2 dropped commercials into television programmes because there was a need. The need, of course, amounts to a cosy arrangement between the channel and the advertisers, but perhaps the audience was as diverted by Mr Smythe’s Northern Irish accent as Mr Dryden seemed to be.

* * * The “Kaleidoscope” film on the life of Dame Edith Evans turned out to be delightful viewing. It’s worth remembering that it probably would never have been made but for the work put into the production by her friend and admirer, Bryan Forbes. The programme included a piece about the making of a silver bracelet which, while it was interesting enough visually, left one with the feeling of wanting to know more about this craft and the people who practise ft. The most one can say for TV2’s "Little House on the Prairie,” is that it provides a straight-forward kind of “healthy” view of the past which completely overlooks the dirt, squalor and trials of early life on the prairie. This programme might command millions of viewers in the U.S. because of its nostalgic flavour and no doubt a good many New Zealand viewers prefer it to that wet couple from British television, “Morecambe and Wise/’ on TVI at the same time, but "Little House” could surely be slotted earlier in the evening.

We were looking forward to ’’The Two Ronnies” on Saturday night, but its effect really was spoiled by the fact that we had ail seen it before. A good drama can be savoured the second time round, but a comedy show is a different matter entirely. If you know what's coming, the jokes fall rather flat. Never mind, the comrades with the St Petersburg State Choir were at least tolerable for the second viewing.