THEATRICAL NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23181, 29 October 1938, Page 20 (Supplement)

THEATRICAL NOTES

COMING PRODUCTIONS THEATRE AND CONCERT HALL HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE To-day.—"Balalaika." November 25.—"The Great Nlcols. TOWN HALL December 17.—"Tho Messiah." TOWN HALL CONCERT CHAMBER November 17.— Royal Auckland Choir. LEWIS EADY HALL November 3.—Classic C!ub , R « cHa November 3.—Sonsr Recital by Winifred Clements. ~ . . . November o.—Recital by Netta Simich and Joan Moody. , ST. ANDREWS HALL November 1. 2 and 3.-A R.T. Production. "Ascent of 1 1 6. November 8-12.—Grafton Dramatic Club Corfiedy, "Housemaster. W.E.A. THEATRE November 6.—"The Insect Play. Piano and Vocal Recital Two Auckland' artists, Misses Netta Simich and Joan Moody will give a joint recital of vocal and pianoforte music in the Lewis ILady«F ill on November 9. The programme includes works by Bach, Brahms, Chopin and Debussy for the piano and songs by Handel, Pergolesi, Schumann, Hugo Wolf, .Rachmaninoff and Quilter. A.R.T. Production The tragic ascent of a and the unfolding of a drama of international rivalry are tho two themes that interweave in the play, "Ihe Ascent of F6," which will be presented by the Auckland Repertory Theatre at St. Andrew's Hall, commencing on Tuesday. The stage settings are as unusual as the story, and fine lighting effects will match tho drama. "The Housemaster" A strong cast has been selected to play in the Grafton Shakespeare and Dramatic Society's presentation of the story by lan Hay, "Housemaster." Ihe title role is taken by Dan Flood as Charles Donkin, and he is supported by F. Walker, as Donkin's associate Hastings; Max Robertson as tho efficient but unpopular headmaster, tho Rev. Edmund Ovington; Mrs. D. Robb, as Barbara Fane; and Linda do Renzy as Rosemary. Stage Magician's Visit Returning to New Zealand after an absence of 10 years, the noted magician Nicola is to appear at His Majesty's Theatre under the direction of Sir Benjamin Fuller. With the exception of a few of Nicola's principal assistants

and some of the most popular of his old acts, the entire personnel, programme and scenic effects have been changed. Nicola carries a great amount of properties and the stage effects are unusually interesting. He does not uso confederates in the audience, nor does he play jokes on the members of the audience •who volunteer to leave their seats to assist him as a committee during his various tricks, and yet he puzzles his audiences by the speed with which he runs through his large programme of mysteries.