KIWI CONCERT PARTY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 86, 8 October 1943, Page 3

KIWI CONCERT PARTY

TALENTED PERFORMERS

All that had been said -about the Kiwi Concert Party was enthusiastically endorsed by the packed audience in the Opera House last night, when the first of two performances was given. His Excellency, Sir Cyril Newall, was among those ...who attended. It was a grand show', a bright and happy show, that moved .briskly from one number to another, and one came away feeling adequately entertained. The centrepiece of the unit is the orchestra, and around that has been grouped a versatility of talent that is astonishing. The members of it were selected from their normal units in the 2nd N.Z.E.F., and since its formation it has given more than 300 performances, under all manner of conditions, to thousands of troops. The only dull moment in the show last night was the interval. For the rest of the time sketches, solo items, instrumental items, arid so on, wrapped up in plenty of fun, some of it perhaps censored, kept the audience en-

tertained. Under the leadership of Second Lieutenant Terry Vaughan, the orchestra did a great job, collectively and individually. Lieutenant Vaughan, who is also the producer of the show, was probably the hardest worked of them all. His energy was boundless, and into all he did he put everything he had. The performance of the orchestra on the stage was one of the high lights of the evening. In their white jackets, they switched from modern swing to Mozar^ and back again to a parody on William Tell, wherein Lieutenant Vaughan kept the audience bubbling over with laughter at his interpretation of a temperamental conductor.

Wally Prictor as the blonde and Phil Jay as the brunette supplied the glamour for the show. It was remarkable how Wally Prictor managed to sustain a surprisingly sweet soprano throughout. It was so good as to sound almost genuine, particularly in the "Ave Maria" scene. Phil Jay's performance as the duchess at the village concert party was splendid, and Tim Bonner as the precocious child was instantly popular. The male voices were heard to good effect in a series of sea songs, and also" in a scene from "Show Boat," in which Taffy Owen and Tony Rex did fine solo work. The compere was Bill Moore, who .delighted the audience with his monologueSj and who was highly amusing in his radio skit with Phil Jay. Ces Morris provided an interlude of legerdemain, and did it skilfully. Hec Bell's efforts on the xylophone were appreciated. At the conclusion of the performance, the Mayor, from the stage, thanked the "party for its splendid entertainment, the proceeds of which, he said, would go to swell the Wellington patriotic funds. Captain G. Colledge, officer commanding the unit, replied.