REPERTORY PLAY

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 151, 23 March 1938, Page 4

REPERTORY PLAY

Period Frocks in "The Marquise" With the dressing playing no unlm-, portant part in its success, Noel Coward’s comedy, “The Marquise, was presented at the Concert Chamber of the. Town Hall last night by the Wellington Repertory Theatre. Set in a French chateau in the eighteenth century, the dressing has the elaborate touch of the' period, and silks, satins and brocades play a prominent part in the clothes of both women and men. Mrs. John Hastings, in the title role, makes her first appearance in a travelling dress of bottle green,, dull silk and satin, the wide hooped skirt being of silk and the bodice of horizontal pleats of satin. The dress is trimmed with gold braiding and with it is worn a little matching cape. A hat of the period, with bow tied under the chin, completes the ensemble. Her next dress is of lovely old rose brocade, the bodice and the sleeves having- touches of mauve and gold. Little bunches of flowers are caught to the skirt. Her third appearance is in moonlight blue brocade trjmmed with lace and diamante. Miss Geraldine Litchfield, as Adrienne, wears a dress/Of white taffeta trimmed with ruchings of pale pink net and tiny flowers. Later she appears in a palest blue negligee with sky blue long-ended sash, and finally she wears a graceful frock of reseda green trimmed down the front of the bodice and the skirt) with dark green bows. A bertha of white muslin is worn with this. Miss Litchfield dresses her hair after the fashion of young girls of that period in masses of curls. The only other woman in the cast is Madame Finlayson, who plays the part of maid to the Marquise and who is an attractive figure in an ankle-length dress of black, trimmed with a fichu of white muslin, and a white muslin cap of the period. , All the women’s frocks, which are the work of Miss Mollie Cook, under ■the direction of Miss Pauline Shotlander, feature the square neckline, long pointed bodices, and pompadour skirts. i

The men cut very dashing figures in their l° n S satin Avaisted. coats, lace jabots, brocaded vests, knee breeches and buckled shoes. White wigs were worn with these and the colours favoured for the suits were silver grey, blue, pink, violet, wine, brown, green and red.

Eighteenth century furnishings in the room at the chateau make an attractive setting.