WILLIAM HEUGHAN

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11954, 26 May 1933, Page 7

WILLIAM HEUGHAN

PLAYING "WALTER SCOTT.”

STARRING IN LONDON

PRAISE FROM “PUNCH. 55 William He ugh an, the famous Scottish actor-singer., who enjoyed one of tlio most successful seasons in Gisborne’s theatrical history, and who made many friends in this town, was Playing in London last.month and winning high praise from Old Country critics. According, to “'Punch'’ of April 12, Mr, Heughan is taking the titlo-pwl of '‘Scott of Abbotsford’’ (Little), at Mass Naucy Price's People's Theatre. Commenting ou the play. Punch says:—

“Stage biographies of intimate domestic character. as distinguished from the traditional large-scale historical pageant chronicles. are now becoming so firmly established that w e shall be compelled, to accept them without even formal academic protest-. And if the author selects his material skilfully and without bias, re-arranges his facts without distortion. and if the actor will study (lie same material with intelligence, as Mr. William Heughan in the ti-tle-part- has evidently done—well, here we have a form of popular biography oxeellentlv suited to our lazy modern minds." "Mr. William Tleugluiu’s performance was o it a consistently high plane. Ho is an actor hitherto, I think, unknown t 0 London; We arc grateful to .Miss Nancy Price and her People's Theatre for this introduction. He defined very cleverly the succeeding stages of his hero's progress, seemed to grow before us naturally and most convincingly. Watch him, for an instance of his subtlety, when sitting at the banquet, listening to Lord Meadow bank’s compliments and see the admirable way in which ids emotions r-'-'e deli-' cately suggested—and masked. ’ The play is naturally a long one, covering nine scenes. In the early stages Mr. Heughan is called oil to play the young, raw, romantic ne’er-do-well. whose arduous first love is unrequited. Sixteen years later he is seen as the successful ballad-writ-er and, nine years on, as the newlycreated "Sir "Walter" just returned to Abbotsford with his daughters, and young Lockhart, and honest Tom Purdie. the poacher turned bailiff. Time rolls on for another six years, and the blow falls, failure fb r £130,000. “The great romantic.” states Punch’s critic, “refuses the accepted way out- by bankruptcy, and sets his cramped hand to his stupeivl ous task. Urn lovely elderly widower, writing in his mean hug-infested Edinburgh lodging, visited by the mother of his first love with a message from the dead and finally a moment of relative peace and relative triumph—the speech at a banquet in the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, anc the belated revelation of the authorship of the Wavorley novels.’

Gisorne residents who recall Mi'. Heughan’s outstanding ability as an actor, will be hi nowise surprised at his success' and, with remembrances of the many happy hours ho afforded them, and of his -charming personality, they will extend congratulations and wish him many further honors.