“SIX CYLINDER LOVE.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20930, 21 January 1930, Page 10

“SIX CYLINDER LOVE.”

o com :dy at princess theatre. Fr< in time immemorial all sorts of peopl have found all sorts of, reasons for matri nonial failure and domestic discord, some raditional, some surprising, but few Lave :onceived the novel idea of laying the hole of the responsibility at the door f a motor car. Yet this is what Mr_V lliam Maguire has done in his play " Six Cylinder Love," which was presentee for the first time at the Princess Theat 3 last evening by Mr Wyrley Birch andih i American Comedy Company. He proSes the uselessness of a motor car to those r ho cannot afford one, and by means of fle brly mingled humour and satire picttirfc the havoc that can be wrought in tjvo* families by the same car, new and secolid : band. There is a lot of sound common sense in "Six Cylinder Love," andsa very shrewdly disguised homily in its lines; but the playwright has sugarcoated all his pills, and his audience never gueaes that it is being lectured at all theftime. The play abounds in those intriguing catch words and ■' phrases that are pore at home in musical comedy, but its pfcints are adroitly made, and although its tfchnique may be a little primitive it has £ frankness about it that is typically Amefican in its sharp and reetlesa representation. _ As a play there is nothing outstanding in it. but it is neat, quizzical stuff Kiich makes few mistakes. The dialogue ftives it snap and idiom, and the actingnnd the story are good enough to make K very popular indeed with future audienKS. Last night's house clearly enjoyed Jpelf. and Mr Birch and his company stored another signal success. The story ii simple enough, going over the old ground igain. issuing a warning against fair we tner friends at the same time that it poin i the moral about cutting one's cloth, t( suit one's measure. One family falls lin d the trap that a clever motor salesi la sets for it, and to extricate itself it hi i > lure someone else into making the iat e mistake. It is cleverly done, and th i tale moves freely and easily throi ;h ;a hundred humours to an inevitr able injipy ending. Mr j Wyrley Birch gives excellent point to th i story with the inimitable mannerisms yhich have now become so familiar to P incess Theatre patrons. He ie a real bowman on and off the stage. He acqui b himself with an engaging- distinction in the limelight, and Dehind the scene as producer of the play, his work is eq ally effective. His acting of the part If Richard Burton was typical of the irgand-out swing of the play, and he took I delight in flaunting the semimorallies with which it is packed. His style .makes the whole thing interesting, and gwes his colleagues a definite starting pilnt, without which it is to be feared«ome of the juvenile members of the coKpany would undoubtedly have been flkndering hopelessly in the mental and pslfchological suffocation that clouds the issle 'at times. The. cue was certainly mis last evening, and the rest of the cojjpany succeeded in their parte only in proportion to the fashion in which they Mok it. One or two failed to do so, aid consequently failed to impress. Mr »rch has what might be termed the graCl manner on the _ stage, a manner wlpfch never leaves him in the most frjlnzied or ordinary of scenes. After sieing him in half a dozen different roles ofie is impelled to believe that he has Buman nature ticketed and docketed for pis personal use in the pursuit of Mb profession. His polished acting and intelligent producing have been important factors in the success of the present season, and his latest role is one that will make a visit to the Princees Theatre well worth while during the few remaining nights of the season. , Miss Leona Hogarth has the leading female role, playing the part of a newlywed matron, full of rosy ideals and hopes about the married state, content with everything until a motor salesman commences talking at her. He puts her at the wheel of the ca;\ and the transaction is as good as completed. Miss Hogarth appears in entirely new colours, drawing a portrait of simple innocence that is in marked contrast to some of the more sophisticated characters she has impersonated, but the change disturbs her not at all. With an easy grace she presents a variety of emotions, and at one stage in the second act attains to dramatic heights which, without belittling her in any way. one might have considered to be beyond her, judging her by previous performances. The young lady she presented would be very hard to find in this particular age, and one might almost imagine that in America her type is extinct, but that was not her fault. She overcame the several dubieties of her part very neatly, and earned the hearties appreciation of the audience. Mr Leonard Doyle was very much at ease playing opposite her. He filled the eventful ™lo h.s best delineations to date. His lines included a great many of those witticisms that are known in America as wise-cracks and he delivered himself of all of them effectively, but he would make a much better impression if he studied Mr Wyrley Birch's unstudied naturalness, instead of goose-stepping every other time he has to cross the stage. He uses an expressive face to excellent advantage, and has a host of significant gestures and movements which stand him in good stead, but that fatal habit of exaggeration asserts itself with disconcerting frequency. Miss Molly Raynor has little to do on this occasion, but she has demonstrated her ability to do more when it is asked of her. Miss Mary Curtain does another good evening's work for the company as the wife of Richard Burton, and Miss Lucille Lisle and Miss Eve Dawney fill comparatively unimportant roles effectively. Mr John Warwick had less to do than the preceding plays demanded of him, but he was convincing at all times. Mr Compton Coutts kept his audience in good humour with that idiotic manner of speech which he affects, while Mr Norman Wister, Mr Reginald Roberts, and Mr Norman Scurr fill their respectives niches with every satisfaction.

"Six Cylinder Love” should certainly be seen. It will be presented agaiii this evening and for the rest of the week, the season, which includes a matinee performance on Saturday afternoon, concluding on Saturday evening.