BRITISH DRAMA LEAGUE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22468, 11 July 1936, Page 14 (Supplement)

BRITISH DRAMA LEAGUE

ANNUAL ENGLISH AWARDS The Old Vic., London, was crammed with enthusiasts of amateur drama, from all parts of the country, to see the final award of tho British Drama League, that magnificent body which hae done so much to keep alive tho theatre. The Howard de Walden Cup was won by the Abbey Players of Abingdon, Berks, for " The Spartan Girl," a very witty modernisation of Euripides, played with a rare style and grace. Two teams tied for second place. One was the Glasgow Corporation Transport Players, whose " And So to War," proved a trenchant satire of the future radio station, ending on a decree that only men over 50 must fight. Here Malcolm McArthur gave a glorious study of a Labour leader. The other, " The Last War," by the Shrewsbury Amateur Dramatic Society, was an even more pungent effort, showing all tho animals of the earth, except the dog, rejoicing when man has destroyed himself by war. The choice of war's bitter folly as a dramatic theme is very significant today. The Treharris (Glamorgan' Amateur Dramatic Society presented, in " Twentieth Century Lullaby," a poignant forecast of the future of a baby in his cot, impressionisticallv created and well acted Most ambitious was tho smothering scene from " Othello." by the Montague Burton Players, Leeds. 1 he Moor of M. Steinberg and the Emilia of M Wood were very good, indeed. Ten years ago the league had only six entries for the Cup; this year there were 747.