LIGHT COMEDY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 16 November 1937, Page 2

LIGHT COMEDY

I 'j “FULL HOUSE” STAGED i REPERTORY CM;P.’S HUMOROUS PRESENTATION ! SUCCESSFUL OPENING NIGHT AT MAJESTIC i I 1 The Nelson Repertory Club, having j .successfully staged a "thriller,” “Dis|languished Gathering," turned to light icomedy lor its next performance, and a l sympathetic audience was well pleased j | with the presentation of Ivor Novello's I “Full House,” at the Majestic Theatre i last night. There was a good sized j audience present. : i There were several members new to Nelson audiences taking part, and the! performance was very creditable, and j proved bright and entertaining. In the j first few sccnps some of the points I were lost through indistinct speech, but this improved later in the play, which ! proved good entertainment throughout. The plot, while not profound, is mod- j cm, and relies on many bright situa- j lions, which were generally made the ! j most of. and the humorous denouc-1 j meats were well worked up to. The j | .‘.lory largely concerns the efforts of j Fyrnno Rodney to run a gambling deni at her home, and the fixes into which j this venture gets this erratic but I charmingly ingenuous woman. There i are also several love affairs which become bewilderingly involved for her 1 simple mind, but. which work out to j the satisfaction of all concerned, includ- j ing a proposal to the lady herself which j solves all her difficulties and worries, i Her surprising lack of general know- 1 ledge, the whims of her hypochondriac i sister, the latter’s “cast-off” husband's' wooing of Lady April, and the side-1 lights provided by minor characters j form the material for the comical picdicamcnts cropping up all through the ; Play. j j

lii the Repertory Club's performance the palm must go once again to the lady members of the east for carrying off the honours. Generally speaking they were more fluent and put more life into their parts. It is fair to say that Mrs Moynihah “carried” the play. As the effervescent and erratic F’rynnc she darted about mentally as well as physically, always saying the wrong thing in a charming way and with delightful candour. This was the character so well portrayed by Mrs Moynihan, and there was always laughter when she was on the stage. An excellent characterisation of Lola Leadenhall was given by Miss Barbara Campbell, who spoke well all the time and was always convincing as the languid wife who was tired of her husband and all else except reclining on a couch while others waited on her. Her awakening of interest when a rival appears was amusing and natural. Lady April Hannington (Miss Mary Macfarlane) improved as the play progressed and played the part with confidence and ease, and was an interesting rival for Lola. Maud, Frynne’s maid, which part was ably taken by Miss Jean Washbourn, invested her part with no little humour. Mr G. W. Wade was fairly natural in the character of Archie Leadenhall, and his acting was creditable. He put life into his part and contributed to the humour in several scenes with Lola and Lady April. Mr P. R. Parker's Reuben Rosenblatt was quite a comical characterisation of the elderly Jew who succumbs to the charms of Frynne, and he was freer than some of the men in his movements. Mr F. . Twiss showed an easy j stage manner and was effective as Lord j Hannington. Mr J. Henderson’s voice got over well and he showed promise J in his first public appearance, as John, j Frynne’s son. In a minor part as Charlie, the i butler, Mr C. J. Du Flou, interpreted ] the character capably and with hum- I our. In small parts Mr N. S. Tanker- ! sley (Detective Inspector), and Mr F. ' W. Foster and Mr Charles Cannington | (policemen) carried out their duties' quite effectively. The first night's performance made a ! good impression and was plainly enjoy-j ed by those present. Mr A. R. Kings- j ford was responsible for producing the j play, and the performance showed evi- j dence of painstaking work on his part, i The scenery was charming and realistic. The enjoyable overtures and entr’actes were played by Mr Clarrie Lee’s orchestra. The quality of last night's performance will ensure a “full house" to-night for the final presentation of the comedv.