THEATRICAL NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 15 (Supplement)

THEATRICAL NOTES

COMING PRODUCTIONS THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE April 29.—Lone Tuck Sam. W.E.A. HALL April 30.—New Zoalnnd Plays. TOWN HALL CONCERT CHAMBER May 14.—Auckland Dorian Choir. School of Drama A comprehensive programme has been prepared for the school of drama to bo conducted by the New- Zealand branch of the British Drama League at Wanganui from June 20 to June 23. Several acting classes have been included , during which a study will be made of short scones illustrating particular points such as exits and entrances, building crises, love-making and meals. Attention also will be given to mime and stage movement and there will be a lecture and demonstration on make-up. The school will conclude with the performance of a one-act play for discussion and rehearsal. Auckland Actress In London Miss Noni Wright, well-known 111 Auckland dramatic circles, who left for London last December to pursue her studies in dramatic art, received, within five weeks of her arrival, an engagement with the Wyndham Theatres, Limited, to understudy Miss Ursula Jean's part in " Short Story." Included in the cast are Marie Tempest, Dame Sybil Thorndyke and Grahame Brown. The company after completing the London season is now touring the provinces. Miss Wright says the experience she is gaining is invaluable and that she is " simply mopping it up." She has met many interesting persons, including Noel Coward, Merton Hodge (author of "The Wind and the Rain"), Ernest Thesiger, Walter Montgomery (of screen fame), and Sir Barry Jackson. Shakespeare's Handwriting The chance discovery of a set of three volumes, comprising the second edition of Holinshed's "Chronicles," is causing considerable interest and speculation in British, Continental and American literary circles. One of the volumes is believed by experts to bear notes and jottings in the handwriting of Shakespeare, and to be the actual copy he used as the source of many of his historical plays. Handwriting experts in London, Paris and Geneva are unanimous on the matter. They declare that the marginal notes, sundry phrases,

quotations and an epigram jotted down in various parts of the book are in the same hand as the signatures to Shakespenre's will, the deeds of his Blackfriars property, the Mountjoy lawcase, the Ovid's "Metamorphoses" at the Bodleian Library, and the Florio's "Montaigne" at the British Museum. New Zealand Plays Two outstanding plays by New Zenland playwrights will be performed at the W.E.A. Hall on Thursday evening in connection with New Zealand Authors' Week. The first, "The Oak and the Axe," by J. A. S. Coppard is a poetic drama presenting unusual forms of stage technique, which will be of considerable interest. The lighting effects and choral speaking are features of this production. The second play. "The Cross of St. Cuthbert," a chronicle play of historical interest, was recently produced with considerable success during the anniversary celebrations of St. Cuthbert's College. The same cast, including past and present pupils of the school and members of the stnff, one of whom, Miss Kathleen Goulding, is the author, wilj present the play. Seventh-century music, including Gregorian chants, under the direction of Progessor Moor Karoly, makes this play an exceptionally interesting one. Slow and Missed Cues One of the besetting weaknesses of amateurs is slowness in performance, particularly in comedy. The pace drags, tempo gets slower and slower, and the timing goes to pieces. No play can survive such treatment, and it is this weakness in timing which separates the amateur from the professional. How to improve on timing? Practice, and again practice, on proper lines. One of the best methods is that adopted by Miss Consuolo de Reyes of the famous Citizen House, Bath. She has found that "quick practice" half-way through the rehearsals is the only remedy. All the cast sit m a row and pick up their sentences as quickly as possible. Heleased from all need of movement and gesture, their minds can concentrate on the words. If the least pause occurs between the completion of one speech and the opening of the next, a bell is rung to denote a missed cue. This reveals the fault to the actor, who, in his desire to avoid the hell, soon attains something like professional speed. Menuhin's Stradivari Copied Yehudi Menuhin's father reports the young violinist's satisfaction with a new-made French, violin, a scrupulous copy of his own Stradivari, the so-called "Prince Khevenhuller." This Stradivari, for which £12.000 is said to have been paid, was a present to the young Menuhin on his 12th birthday from Mr. Henry Goldman, of New York. The maker of the new instrument is Ernile Francais, a well-known Paris luthier. !He was invited to copy Menuhin's Stradivari as exactly as he could, and for this purpose the instrument was taken to pieces. All possible care was taken over the new instrument. Eighteen layers of varnish were applied, each being allowed two weeks to dry. The copy is said to ho so close that no casual glance could see a difference. On his 19tli birthday this year Menuhin played the instrument for the first time, and ho is said to have declared that in his opinion it possesses all the qualities of a Stradivari, save only the ripeness which timo brines I