FIFTY-FIVE YEARS ON STAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 7

FIFTY-FIVE YEARS ON STAGE

Sir Philip Ben Greet was guest of honour in London last month at a dinner at the Criterion Restaurant, in commemoration of his flftyrfive years on the stage., Calling himself "an inveterate theatregoer," he described some of his early impressions of such famous players as Samuel Phelps, Irving, the. Terrys, and the Bancrofts, and contrasted his memories with his experiences today. • "■

"I like to sit at the back of the pit and* hear what the funny young people of today have to say about the actors," hesaid. "I am bound to say-that half of them cannot be heard; and when the play is published I often buy it to see what it is all about. There is something so confidential about acting in these days." (Laughter.)

.Lady Keeble (Miss Lilian McCarthy), who presided at the dinner in the absence of Miss Sybil Thbrndike, described Sir Philip Ben Greet as "a wizard and a mascot for every youngster who goes on the stage. I am one of his oldest youngsters," she said, "and I think of him as a gardener, always hunting for and collecting rare plants. I went for my education to Ben Greet. He was a wonderful father to me—and how many children has he fathered!"