NEW PLAYERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22616, 20 April 1948, Page 6

NEW PLAYERS

SUCCESSFUL VENTURE “ARSENIC AND OLD LACE” LITTLE THEATRE PLAY When Joseph Kesselring wrote "Arsenic and Old Lncc” he became famous almost overnight and deservedly so. for the play is one of the cleverest produced by contemporary playwrights. It is full of merriment and subtle jokes which keep the audience in a constant simmer of laughter. The G.H.S.O.S. Little Theatre chose this play for its first 1943 production, presented in the Opera House last night, and made a very good success of it. The action centres round the mad Brewster family, who are all homicidal maniacs, and the setting for this veculiar family is the old Brewster home —a delightful setting with antique nieces and comnlete with two-flight staircase and visible landing.

Tlie chief praise regarding the play, must centre, however, round the fact that the cast is almost universally an inexperienced one. and in attempting a play like “Arsenic and Old Lace” they and the producer are to be commended in aiming at so high an objective and not falling short. There are a lot of traps for new players—the telephone and door bells ring almost constantly, there is a whole sequence enacted in the pitch darkness- There are a large number of entrances and exits, and the audience’s laughs punctuated most of the dialogue. Despite this, the cast skilfully handled all these things, though there were one or two faults, as in all plays, principally talking through unexpected laughs (particularly after Teddy’s “Charge!”) and leaving doors open. The Brewster Sisters As Abby and Martha Brewster, Annette Hamilton and Edna Heighway gave delightful ' interpretations and were excellent foils for one another. Their work had just the right touch of unison about it, and they managed to retain their own characteristics without spoiling the idea of “The Brewster sisters ”

Miss Hamilton’s best speech was perhaps her determined effort to get rid of Jonathan after her consultation with her sister in the kitchen; and Mrs. Heighway deserves top marks for her handling of the descent of the staircase just after Jonathan’s arrival when she was sheltering behind her sister. They were also splendid as they tidied up the house after Mortimer had left, lighting candles and lamps with no perceptible break in the dialogue. This was Mrs. Heighway’s first appearance and her performance could hardly have been bettered. Miss Hamilton has had stage experience before, but her assignment demanded very much more work than any other part she has done, and it is to her credit that she bridged the gap in years to reach her “stage age” so well. Gisbornians have not seen Gordon Forrester before, but after his portrayal of Mortimer it is obvious .that they will be seeing him again. He was first-rate and his frenzied coping with dialogue and telephone conversations was excellent, as was also his pushing of Elaine and Mr. Gibbs out of the door. Some of his early lines were a little hard to hear when he was conversing with Elaine, but from his discovery of the body his performance could scarcely have been bettered. Another who impressed very much was Lionel Neill as Teddy, who gave a completely unself-conscious interpretation and uniformly good performance. He never dropped his peculiar character" once, “charged” with gusto, and never appeared awkward, either when coning with Jiis eyeglass, or the more bulky “bodv ” Dr. Einstein IMeases Playing Dr. Einstein was David Lee, and this" character study was another in the '’excellent” category. Despite loud laughter from the audience, lie got his lines across when he fell into the box, was just drunk enough later, and his staggering up the stairs was excellent. Carrying a big part with a lot of responsibility was Fred Ball as Jonathan Brewster. His sinister voice and threatening tone were good, also his bullying of Elaine, and his feint with the scissors at Mortimer, but occasionally his voice dropped and slowed up at the end of lines and it became difficult to hear him. Nona Allen personihed Elaine, and as tire only young girl in the cast provided the romantic theme. Her terror when she came in in the dark and her struggles with Jonathan were perhaps her best, although she was uniformly good and easy to hear. Those taking the smaller parts included Harold Gibson as the Rev. Dr. Harper, whose characterisation of a somewhat staid minister was very well done indeed; Bob Moles and Dick Willock as officers Klein and Brophy, looking smart in their black uniforms and easy to watch and hear; Denny Wells whose interpretation of the garrulous Officer O’Hara was very good, especially his pitiful “Can I come over and use the station typewriter?” and Lieutenant Rooney, who put a great deal into his entrance and made a very good job of it. He was convincing and appeared quite at home. Archie Blackburn as Mr. C.ibbs made a brief entrance, as did Gerry Broom, enacting Mr. Witherspoon. The production was in the hands of Mr. John Kitchen and once again his ability to group people was evident. The two sisters moved into natural little tableaux all the time and there were no useless or unnecessary steps. The work in darkness was also very good and the cast generally had been trained in timing and movement. To achieve such a standard with an inexperienced cast is a tribute indeed. Prompt was Audrey Ilarvey, and the B.M.S. players presented musical numbers between acts. The play will be presented finally tonight.