THEATRICAL REVIVAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20841, 7 April 1931, Page 10

THEATRICAL REVIVAL.

POSITION IN AUSTRALIA. DEMAND FOR GOOD COMEDY. News of .1 theatrical revival in Australia at the present time is given by Mr. J. 11. Tait, managing director of Messrs. .7. C. Williamson, Limited, who is a through passenger 011 the Aorangi, which arrived from Sydney yesle v day morning. Mr. Tait is on his way to New York and possibly further, and expects to be. away for about three months. 111 face of the renewed demand for stage plays, Mr. Tait says that one of the chief difficulties has been to got sufficiently good material. Straight-out comedies have been appealing strongly. "The First Mrs. Fraser," for instance, ran for ten weeks in Melbourne, which was quite equal to any old-time run. It is in Sydney at the present time and dofng very well there. The Edgar Wallace drama "On the Spot" ran for about eight weeks in Sydney.

"We ilon't seem to be turning out cither musical comedies or drama," said Mr. Tail. "Undoubtedly we Jiave been affected by the depression, but on the top of that has been the want of material. There are sigris, however, ot good plays coining forward. The present position has arisen to some extent through the talkies commandeering the services of the writers of musical comedies, so that the stage has been neglected, but it has been discovered that musical comedies are not a success 011 the talkies at present, and authors and producers are consequently going back 10 stage work." Air. Tait says there are a number of good plays running in America and in England, and he expects to be able to produce one particularly clever comedy, "Petticoat Influence," which is being very successful m England Much interest is manifest also in the concert world in Australia, and notable visitors are being cordially welcomed. Dame Clara Butt, who came recently from Japan, is doing bigger business in Melbourne now than she did on her lasL visit. Joseph Ilislop, the Scotch tenor, is opening in Sydney this month, and his season promises to be very successful, lie will visit New Zealand before going to Melbourne, and is expected hero in the early part of May. Another distinguished entertainer is Balocoviek, the Czechoslovakia!) violinist, who is coming out to Australia in his own yacht from San Francisco. lie is due to leave San Francisco now, and his skipper is the man who sailed Sir Thomas Lipton's last Shamrock in its races for the America Clip.