REPERTORY PLAYERS

Evening Star, Issue 19614, 21 July 1927, Page 9

REPERTORY PLAYERS

* GP.iiACH,' AND 1 0P-0-ME-TI!UMB ' To-morrow (Friday) evening, at S o’clock, tho curtain at His Majesty’s Theatre will rise on Gordon Bottomley’s drama of subtle charm, written as a prologue to Shakespeare’s ‘ Macbeth,’ and bearing the Scottish title of ‘ Crunch.’ The name part is to be enacted by Miss Bessio Thomson, who has already appeared in London in the same part with success. 1 The Times,’ in ite review of ‘Gruach,’ says: “Mr Bottomlcy docs sizable things, and he needs to ho read by such as maintain that only writers of yesterday show mind. Mr Bottomlcy has assuredly taught ns that he is capable of Elizabethan quality, such as ho shows us in 1 Gruach,’ a gi'ft of dramatic dialogue, presented in the form of lovely and passionate verse—full of color, of poetry, and tense situations.” ‘ Gruach ’ is a typical example of the repertory play in vogue in England at the present time, and the opening scene depicts the baronial home of Conan Thane, of Fortingal, tho night previous to tho wedding between him and his cousin, “Gruach,” and has been arranged by “ Morag,” the Lady of Fortingal, his mother. The pair are really not in harmony, and when Macbeth, an envoy of tho King of Scotland, who has lost his way on a treacherous night, seeks for shelter for himself and his steed, meets “Gruach,” the inevitable l happens, and when tho household retired sho comes to him, and they ride away through the falling snow on Conan’s white charger. This is just an outline; withal the atmosphere is that of pure romance despite the semi-histori-cal setting, and a certain latitude of probability or the reverse is therefore allowed. In complete contrast to the above ‘ ’Op-o-me-thumb ’ i.s brimming over with humor of the purest type, the central figure in which is Amanda Affick (Op.), a girl from the workhouse. Mandy is longing to join in the holiday festivities with her fellow workers of the laundry in Soho, but sho finds no one wants her. Romance comes to her, however, in quite an unexpected manner, and to let readers into the secret would he to spoil the enjoyment of this sweet little epic of the London slums.

An orchestra under the direction of Mrs W. Haggitt will lend the atmosphere to these delightful plays.