A LOT OF TALK

Grey River Argus, 8 December 1928, Page 4 (Supplement)

A LOT OF TALK

PERCY HUTCHISON AGAIN. CRITICISES NEW ZEALAND TASTE. Percy Hutchison, the London actormanager, has done a lot of talking since he came to New Zealand, addressing Rotary Clubs, Navy League, etc. lie has also expressed his views in the press, regretting that his company has not received the support to which he considered it was entitled. Mr Hutchison stated recently . in Christchurch: “Although I have not been in the country long enough, to form an opinion, still I think the lighter forms of amusement seem tq attract the masses. Racing, . sport, and the cinemas come in for a good deaLof attention. Our audiences have been mo t appreciative of our comedies, but unless the theatre has more stable and generous support" it will die in this country. I certainly think that drama is given a better hearing in Canada and South Africa.” Perhaps New Zealand playgoers are not s 0 indiseriminating as Mr Hutchison would have us believe. The plays he presented—“ The Laughing Optimist,” “Mr What’s His Name.” “The Luck of the Navy,” and “The Joker.”—can hardly be claimed-to be the best of their kind, and even Mr Hutchison’s acting despite the fact that he came to us as a Lon.lon ac-tor-manager did not impress New Zealanders overmuch. Given the right kind of entertainment—and. in spite of Mr Hutchison, we are not interested only in the lighter forms of atnusen»ent —New Zealand playgoers will rise to the occasion. —“Fra Diabolo” Waikato Times.

: Muriel Starr Loses £2OOO. : Rumour says that Muriel Starr, af : ter reaping a tidy fortune with hoi E recent Sydney season, lost, £2OOO ii : ono week, in Melbourne with “De- ; c.lasse.” With this p'ay she played r : lone hand —shouldering a’l the expens : es—having infinite faith in it. Prev ■ iously she had been in shares with the ■ J. C. Williamson management. • * * * • Through Fire and Flood. ■ Ihe Midnight Frolics, who return tc ’ New Zealand next month, are doubt- : less praying hard that their coming season will be less eventful than their last. Doubtless you remember that they v.ere in season at the Opera House, Auckland, when that theatre was destroyed by fire, and later they suffered loss by flood in the south. Clem Dawe, who leads the Frolics, is one of the most popular comedian-i seen in New Zealand. * * * An Actor Divorced. Known on the stage as Dennis Hoey, Mr Samuel David Uy : ms. actor, was respondent in a petition for divorce heard in London. The proceedings were brought by his wife, Mrs Sarah Pearl Hyams, on the ground of his m i sconduct. Mr Justice Bateson pronounced a decree ni. i with costs. * * * Fullers get “Show Boat.’’ Jim Gerald, just back from a tour of the United States, states that he was fortunate in securing the following proved winners for Sir Benjamin and Mr John Fuller:—“Rosalie” (in which Marilyn Miners appears in New York), “Sunny Days,” “Lucky Girl.” “Present Arms,” “A Night in Spain,” and the record breaking “The Show

Boat.’ Kir Gerald re-appears in Australia at the Victoria Theatre, Newcastle, tonight. * * * No More Mystery Thrillers. After the Melbourne season of “The Silent House” Maurice Muscovitch will not produce any more mystery thriller plays. “I am firmly convinced that the day for this type of production is passing,” he said. Moscovitch must have made a fortune out of “The Ringer,” “The Terror,” and “The Silent House.* l