THE LONDON STAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 28, 3 February 1938, Page 16

THE LONDON STAGE

PLAY FROM NEW YORK

MARIE TEMPEST.TO REAPPEAR

NOTES AND DOINGS

(By Nelle M. Scanlan.)

LONDON, January 15.

America and England have been making a considerable exchange of their theatrical successes lately, and nbw '.another New York play, which has had a.long run on the other side of the Atlantic is coming to the West End. This is Robert Sherwood's "Idiot's Delight," which won the Pulitzer prize, the highest * yearly award for plays in the United States. Lynn Fontane and Alfred Lunt played the chief parts over there, but in the London, production jßaymond Massey will play Alfred Lunt's part. After a four-weeks' tour in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Manchester (you see the provincial towns are again waking up to the value of real ' drama), the play will reach London at the end of March. Lynn Fontane's part, will be taken by a young Russian .actress, Tamara :Gava, who arrives from America next week to begin rehearsals. We are very kind to foreign actresses in . London, and Viennese, particularly, have had a great run in recent years. Viennese music and musical plays have had a sweeping success, and the fashions of the Tyrol have also insinuated themselves into our staid old London! This winter many a smart woman has worn "a feather in her Tyrolean hat." The author of that successful play "Sweet Aloes," Jay Mallory, who is a daughter of Lilian- Braithwaite, has written a new play, "A Thing Apart," in which Diana Wynyard and Madge Titheradge will be seen together shortly. This will, be produced by Harold French as soon as he has finished the launching of Yvonne Arnaud and Ronald Squire- in' their new production. Marie Tempest is returning to the stage. This will be her first appearance sirfce the play in which she appeared opposite her late husband, Graham Browne, came off. It is called "Mary Goes to See," and it will open at the Haymarket, a theatre closely associated with Marie Tempest's many successes, after a trial run at Manchester. Marie Tempest's association with the Haymarket goes.back to 1902, when she played in a revival of "Caste" soon after she had deserted musical comedy ifor "straight" plays. Others in the ,cast will be Barry Jones, Gladys Hanson; Mary Hinton, Dan Tobin, Valerie ■Tudor,, Angela' Kirk, Ernest Hainesi and' Thoran Kaplet. The.play has1 a short prologue in London, where Marie Tempest;.a forthright Bort;of person ■with a sense -of-"fun, is living peacefully with" her husband. News cornea from, her brother in America which, though' on the face of it' revealing nothing'but content, gives her a feeling that something is wrong. So she goes over to America and joins her brother'3 family in Connecticut. There she finds herself "breathing washed air," and. sets out to expose the skeleton in the cupboard.' Her management of the situation and the gradual tidying up pt 'it-supplies .thejnmin material for "the play. "•• "'"?A"'WESIMINSTEjf' SUCCESS."" London-.managers are rather shy of the unusual, and very often underestimate"''the public's appreciation of a serious drama." This has recently been demonstrated very clearly, when the Westminster'",' Theatre, which specialises in'the type of performance that the West End-as a whole shuns, put on Eugene. O'Neill's play, /'Mourning* Becomes Electra." The* fact that the play'runs for four hours, was one thing against it. This-is-regarded as probably O'Neill's greatest drama, but London never had a- chance to see It'. The 'play was put .on for a limited fun, as most of the plays at the Westminster are. It received enthusiastic notices from the critics, but it made a slow start. It was that most valuable of all publicity, word-of-mouth recommendation, that sustained it. In a short" time, the 'house was packed nightly, and seats were booked well ahead. The run was extended, but this did not,.suffice. The demand to see the play still" grew, and now it is to be transferred to the West End for a regular' "commercial run." I shall never Jorget the magnificent performance given by Beatrix Lehmann; it still haunts me. Laura Cowie, the mother? was good, but I felt that a truly great actress could have made much more of her tragedy. But there was not a weak spot in the whole, and the four hours did not seem as long as the usual two hours spent at a lesser play. The only change in the, cast when it comes to the West End will, be the addition of William" Devlin. The "Play Doctor" is a well-known figure in. London theatrical life. 'So often what might be a good play is ruined by the author's lack of stage experience.' The material is. there, but the handling is inexpert. This is where the "Play Dbctor" is called in. He may not have original ideas himself, but he does know what can and' cannot be done on the sfag6.' St: John Ervihe "is not. very ■ keen on this sort of collaboration, but beirig: the type of' man he is, you would expect this. He writes his plays himself and no one else has a finger in his Pie. He has been very vitriolic about some of the major operations performed on dramatic - work by these - "doctors." However, the system has enabled many young dramatists to get produced at all. A SECOND TRY-OUT. Quite a number of plays by new writers are tried out by, one or other of the-repertory or suburban societies. If the' production warrants' it, it may have its weak parts strengthened) a last act rewritten, and other changes made, and ■ then it may be given a West End run. ■ "Poison Pen," a play by Richard Llewellyn, which was tried out at Richmond some time ago, is to be given another chance at the Embassy at Swiss Cottage, which is another stepping-stone to Mayfair. The play has been considerably altered, various weaknesses pointed out by the critics being remedied. It is not often that a play gets two trial runs, but what finally emerges may outlive many. The play was practically written for Margaret Yarde, who has a magnificent part in it, with which she is delighted. 'fit's always been my, grievance,' she said recently, "that there are so few good parts written for fat, middleaged women. We used to be cast as chaperons, but the chaperon has disappeared from both life and the stage." Pl^s about crazy families have had quite a vogue, and this is another one. Margaret Yarde met Mr. Llewellyn when she was acting in one of his films, "No Escape," and he was so impressed by her work that he wrote ."Poison Pen" for her. Herbert Farjeon is.a most versatile person; he combines journalism, ■dramatic criticism, writing revues and comedies; and is in the front rank of

Shakespearean scholars. He now has a plan for a sort of semi-permanent revue, .very topical, and frequent changes,will be made* to keep abreast of events. He will also,invite guestartists to join thenvfrom time to time, to enhance the variety of. perform-, ances. 4 For this revue ' he has taken the, Little Theatre, and; the principle.of co-operation' among the company .extends--, beyond-the limits'-of finance.' ■There is to be no official chorus in. the revue,-but when.a chorus is necessary 'all' the "artists will volunteer to band themselves together in that capacity. -."'.• : > • ' The1 cdmpleted cast includes Hermione Baddeley, Cyril Ritchard (the dancer), 'George Benson, Charlotte Leigh, Kathryn Hamil,; Betty Ann Davis, Irene Prador; Gordon Little, Eric "Anderson, Michael Anthony, Ronald Waters, John Hoy, and Peggy Willoughby. " •< STIRRED TO CHEERING. H. M. Harwood's new play, "Innocent Wife,", comes, to ,the St. Jame&'s Theatre at the end of the" month.. 'The wife, played by Mary,Ellis, is in this case a temperamental ,lWy of foreign birth,, who demands that her husband, a stoliq Englishman, shall spend .most of his 4 time saying "I love you," and assuring her she is wonderful. The last act contains a long exposition from each of them about their differing point of view. When the play opened in Manchester last week the audience broke into these speeches, with cheers. No doubt "the men cheered the man's, point,of view and the women saw the other side,, and applauded it. ' - Yet another new play, "The Prodigal Mother," is being- tried out at the Q Theatre next week. In,this an important part .is played, by a hen, but so far we don't know if, on the/principle that gentleman prefer blon'des, a White Rock will play the part or a cosy little barndoor. This is not the first time a hen has appeared,on the stage. In the play, "Cabbages and King," Bianca, a large white hen, made her nightly - appearance - when she was brought on by Eva Moore. I gather that Bianca was given to Cyril Maude, and to this,day she lives in luxury, having retired from the glitter of the footlights. George Robey has joined the cast oi the Prince of Wales's revue, making his bow for the first time in non-stop entertainment. Mr. Cochran has just returned after a six months' holiday in America, much of it spent in Hollywood. He has kept his eyes open, and .has brought back with him three productions, about which we will be hearing more very soon. . Noel Coward's new musical play "Operette" will include Irene Vanbrugh, Peggy Wood, Griffiths Jones, and'Madame Fritz) Massary. During the run of the play Irene Vanbrugh will celebrate her silver jubilee on ,the stage. Along "with an astonishing number of her contemporaries, she made her first appearance with Sarah Thome's repertory company at Margate in 1888. Another- silver jubilee will be celebrated ' on' 'February 15; that is Sir Barry Jackson's twenty-five"- years' work at the Birmingham Repertory. Both in its production of plays and its discoveries •of actjng talent, it is considered that the Birmingham Repertory has had a wide influence on the whole of the English-speaking theatre world. . Alexander John Scott-Gatty,. who died last November, left £17,446. an unusual sum for an actor. He had the advantage of being born son of the late Sir Alfred ScottGatty, Garter Principal King of Arms. He died at the age of 61, within a few hours of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson's death, with whom he had been associated for a number of years. ScottGatty left all his property to his wife. The great Bernard Shaw is not, so far as we: know, writing another play at the'moment, but he is not idle. He has just been expressing his view on architecture; he will try anything once. He declared that all the old extravagantly impressive architecture' of the ancient Roman temples, and later their imitations elsewhere, were "not worth twopence." "I lived for twenty years in Adelphi Terrace, which was built to reproduce in London the splendours of the Palace of Diocletian in Split, and for nearly twenty years in -Fitzroy Square, where you may still see what the impressive architect called facades. As to Adelphi Terrace, which has just been pulled down, there wasn't a bathroom in the place, In impressive architecture it is the outside that matters most, and the servants do not matter at all." How did he keep his whiskers so white all these years? There are nearly 1000 rooms in Hampton Court Palace, the magnificent residence which Cardinal Wolsey built and then presented to Henry VIII. The annual meeting and conference of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers will be held in Dunedin from February 22. to February 28.