A CELEBRATED ARTIST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23577, 13 August 1938, Page 31

A CELEBRATED ARTIST

MISS RUTH DRAPER Dunedin theatregoers sat enthralled for two hours and a-half in His Majesty's Theatre on Thursday night, when the celebrated American artist, Miss Ruth Draper, completely captivated the audience with her amazing character sketches: Miss Ruth Draper, incidentally, neither plays bridge nor golf. She works for six months and forgets her work for the remainder of the year. Chatting to the writer yesterday, Miss Draper said that she made her audiences work hard. They had to concentrate on what she was doing. She paid a tribute to the Dunedin audience, who appreciated the character she depicted the moment she set foot on the stage. Thursday night's audience, she said, was the most appreciative she had played to during her tour of New Zealand. It was an English monologuist, Beatrice Hertford, who gave the American artist the idea of presenting acter sketches by herself. Since 1920 she has been appearing throughout Europe and America with extraordinary success. Miss Draper speaks Italian and French, and she has a nameless language 'which she uses in some of her sketches for foreign effects. But to hear her delightful English is to realise that the common tongue is spoken Eerfectly in New York as well as Edinurgh. A New Yorker, the visiting artist disclaims ever having cultivated her speech. She doubts whether Americans as a whole will ever speak English as the English do. Only three of the sketches in Ruth Draper's repertoire have been produced by her from conscious observation or suggestion. These are in County Kerry, based on an incident at Killarney; Vive la France (which is based on something contained in a letter received), and Three Generations, which is founded on an experience. Of all the emotions she expresses, the visitors finds comedy which calls for economy in effort and timing, the most difficult in performance. Present on Opening Night Among those present at her first night's performance were:— Sir James and Lady Hutchison, Professor and Mrs R. Lawson, Dr and Mrs Williams, Mr and Mrs Maurice Myers, Mr and Mrs L. Barrett, Mr and Mrs O. T. Harris, Mr and Mrs S. L. Wilson, Mr and Mrs A. G. Dunningham. Mr and Mrs Denis Sumpter (Milton), Mr and Mrs Hugh Speight, Mr and Mrs L. J. Black, Mr and Mrs George Ritchie. Mr and Mrs A. Lawn, Mr and Mrs R. T. Little, Mr and Mrs A. C. Matheson, Mr and Mrs John E. Finch, Dr and Mrs J. B. Dawson. Dr and Mrs Norman Speight. Mr and Mrs Charles Sutherland. Mr and Mrs H. D. W. Brewer. Mr and Mrs S. E. D, Neill. Mr and Mrs Norman Buchanan, and Mr and Mrs W. R. Brinsley. Mesdames Arthur Sidey, W. 0. McKellar, J. R. Paterson, Charles Speight, E. R. Harty, Edgar Shand, D. Smeaton. E. T. Moller. W. F. Forrester, A. C. Stephens, A. Bidgood, J. B. Dawson, James Duncan, I. Miles, C. H. Tait, Young, Quin, Hazelwood. H. E. Abraham, John Edmond, Gerald Fitzgerald, C. W. Birch. T McKibbin and Edgar Hazlett. Misses Joan Buchanan, Barbara Williams. A. Stevenson, Pat and Pam Miles. Katharine Begg, Ida Lawson, Peggy Brewer. Jean Paterson, M. Gibbs, Betty Reeves, E. Moloney, Winna Johnstone, Judy Gallaway, True Neill, Mary Jolly, Isobel Newlands, Lois Blank. D. Theomin, Prue Todd, Molly Birch. Margaret Webster, Mercia Hardman. Anita Winkel, H. Denniston (Christchurch), M. Scott, Farnie, Isobel Fraser and Borne and Professor A. G. Strong.