A TRAVELLING THEATRE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3378, 13 June 1927, Page 7

A TRAVELLING THEATRE.

(By Judith Wogan.) When in 1919. a company of actors and actresses conceived the idea of taking the art of the theatre to remote English (jpand Scottish villages, they little dreamt how their work would develop in a few years. Naturally, having high ideals, we had no money, but a kind friend gave us! twenty-five pounds, another lent us ' a motor shooting brake and a set of blue curtains, and a third some beautiful costumes. On our first tour in the spring of 1919 we visited the Sussex villages and aroused such interest that the travelling theatre became a permanent institution.

Hitherto we,have relied on the hospitality of the villages and towns which we visited for our night’s rest, but our new caravan has sleeping accommodation, and many remote villages which until now we have had to neglect are included ou our tour. in the eight years of our existence we have toured in many curious vehicles which have provided us with all kinds of adventures. After the shooting brake we were lent a curious motor, which was kept together by string and sticking plaster! • * Another of our cars had a habit of breaking its back axle and getting ' puncture's. It was nicknamed “Oh,” as this expression was used simultaneously by the whole company every time she stopped—which was pretty frequently. In 1923 the Carnegie Trust gave us a grant, and we bought a new car, specially built to our requirements. Our programme is a varied one, and includes little plays, poetry, song, mime, color, and fantasy. By combining the different arts of the theatre — action, music, dancing —we are able to introduce our audiences to the best of each. Whilst watching dancing and mime, for instance, they unconsciously absorb the music of Rossini, Couperin, Debussy, and others. The taste of village audiences is by no means as poor as many people imagine. Indeed, because they are less sophisticated than their town brothers, they show a greater appreciation of real art. A little play by Tchekov, acted with synthetic backcloths, is one of the most popular items in mining villages. Another of our sketches is a skit on the popular •novelette, complete with pine-eyed, innocent heroine, dark villain, hero, and vamp. This appeals tremendously, even to those who read and enjoy the type of literature satirised. Some of our audiences’ remarks about us are very amusing. One of our actresses, going into the local shop on the morning after a show, was greeted by the. proprietor with “Aye, you’ll be the lassie fre the travelling theatre? 1 didna recognise y6, lassie, ye look it sae bonnie the nicht!” While a girl who had come to the stage door to admire one of our actors remarked in a disappointed voice when he appeared, “Make-up do make a difference!” I would like to correct the impression that we are amateurs. Although we have to be our own porters, scene setters,-electricians, dressers, and managers, we are professional actors and actresses with experience, and several ; of us have been with the company since it started. The work is, of course, very hard, but the variety and humor make it well worth while, and our spring and autumn tours are never more than about 15 or 1.6 weeks each.