FIVE PLAYS OF 1937

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 72, 18 December 1937, Page 23

FIVE PLAYS OF 1937

Tragedy, Comedy And Thrills “Five Plays of 1937” (London: Hamilton). The plays in this collection cater for varied tastes, and the combination of two tragedies, two comedies and one thriller makes for a well-balanced volume. Of the two comedies, ''French without Tears,” by Terence Rattigan, and “George and Margaret,” by Gerald Savory, the latter is the more pleasant. It manages to prolong interest and sustain suspense better than “French Without Tears,” which proceeds a little too leisurely and has a ragged climax. "George and Margaret” makes no pretence at hiding the ultimate solution of its story, but the dialogue is completely adequate and maintains a sparkle and freshness that is not dimmed by a conventionally happy ending. There is a tendency in thriller plays for the plots to become more and more involved in an effort to sustain intelligent interest, and “They Came By Night,” by Barre Lyndon, falls into the involved class without hesitation. There is a wicked villain, an international crook, who deals in stolen bullion. and a quietly, human little jeweller, who is involved against his will in a bank robbery. The best scene in the play is in the bullion vault of a bank in Charterhouse Street, where the safe-breaking gang are at work. Mr. Fothergill, the jeweller, is with them. Why, it is a little hard to understand, as the crooks know that he will betray them at the first opportunity. Perhaps it is the notorious “vanity” of the criminal being aired again. A lot of the force of the scene is destroyed for two reasons.

The audience know what Mr. Fothergill will do, and he does it. The second reason is that he has to make his momentous decision and act upon it without saying a word of any consequence in the midst of furious and distracting action as the safe-breakers work with drills and explosives. The play has been presented in Loudon, with Owen Nares in the leading rfole of John Fothergill and Ursula Jeans as the leading lady, Sally. “Charlotte Corday,” by Helen Jerome, who wrote the dramatic versions of “Jane Eyre” and "Pride and Prejudice,” is nbt impressive. Its entire appeal necessarily lies in its dialogue an'd its revelation of character, as the story is, in the main, historically correct,' and the story of a French aristocrat going to the guillotine is not new. When the aristocrat is a beautiful young girl the story still needs something more than its'plot to carry it through. In reading the play Charlotte lives, loves for a few hours, and dies a little smoothly. Perhaps a little glamour and a spirited interpretation on the part of the player would remedy that fault. The play as a whole hardly conveys the air of stark terror and brutality of the time in which its action takes place. “The Children’s Hour” has been refused a licence for production in England. despite its success in America, as a stage production and as a film. Lillian Hellman has achieved an extremely dramatic situation in a girls’ school. The lies of a vicious pupil, who manages to control her class mates in an evil manner, wrecks the lives of three adults. The impotent terror and rage of the two women and the man, who is in love with one of them, provides as powerful a climax for the second net cui tain as could be wished. The third act is entirely tragic irony, and does what a third act should do. develops and rounds off the theme with complete satisfaction. The film based on the play, and remarkably faithful to the script, was entitled “These Three,” and has already been shown to Wellington audiences.