'Soup’ has a good mix

Press, 23 May 1977, Page 6

'Soup ’ has a good mix

By

Howard McNaughton

“There’s a Girl in My Soup,’’ by Terence Frisby. Directed by Alex Henderson for the Elmwood Players, Fulton Avenue. May 21 to 28. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10.35 p.m. “A Girl in My Soup,” it is common knowledge, was an enormous London stage success about a decade ago because of an almost national demand to see Barbara Ferris go down for the third time in a steaming cauldron of ox’tail. In this, of course, audiences were disappointed. But, in those halcyon days, female chauvinism could be fearlessly diagnosed and Mr Frisby could be applauded for his intentions, even if he did not carry’ them to their logical; execution.

The film, in 1970, took off because of the widespread assumption that the title alluded euphemistically to an unmentionable British vice which Peter Sellers had introduced to America: so it is left to the Elmwood Players to give us the genuine lightweight culinary comedy, devoid of sadistic overtones and compensations and with the title as vaporously elusive as ever. <

' However, the first-night audience was treated to a totally unexpected curtainraiser entitled “There’s a Cabinet Minister in My Concrete.” Here, in person, were the Mayor of Christchurch! (Mr H. G. Hay) and the member of Parliament for Papanui (Mr H. J. Walker) gal-] lantly contributing to the! tenth anniversary of the Elm-1 wood Playhouse by register-' ing their palm-prints — and their truly heroic devotion to the arts — in wet cement outside the playhouse. Thus, with everyone duly photographed and towelled down, we moved indoors to the gentle warmth of Frisby’s soup, leaving the cemented relics to grapple with the truly Shakespearean mutability of a Christchurch frost. This understandable preference meant that the audience warmed quickly to the domestic comedy of a middle-aged television cook (done by Stuart Thomson) dispensing with one woman (Mary Gray) and becoming embarrassed with another (Llonia Glynn) until his boss (Maurice Barnes) suggests a compromise with a rival lover (Warwick Franklin). All of the secondarv parts are unsubtle enough in their anneal for this cast to capit-

alise easily: even Peter Christie and Jane Spiers drew a noticeable response for their performances as the porter and the übiquitous au pair. However, the Pygmalion- | like war of sex, class, and generation at the centre of this play is much more dif- [ ficult to get across, and is en- ! trusted to two relatively unknown actors — with remarkI able success. Stuart Thomson has a confident and sophisticated stage manner which is entirely appropriate to this kind of role, and Llonia Glynn has enough coolness and control to develop a character in depth. Both of these are creditable acting performances, and the other parts were all obviously popular. Yet I found the first night, as a whole, rather slow and significantly longer than the London original. This. I suspect, reflects the screen manner of actresses like Goldie Hawn, which is not as easily tractable on stage. All the components are there for a good evening’s comedy: a very acceptable cast, unfaltering, co-ordinated direction, a good quality of costume, and an excellent set. All that is needed is for the cast to move into top gear, which it will surely do. £