Children’s Pageant To Be Presented In City Next Month

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26816, 6 July 1948, Page 6

Children’s Pageant To Be Presented In City Next Month

The role so far played by children in Otago’s centennial celebra- ! tion has been chiefly passive, but they will be in the public eye next : month, when pupils from all Dunedin schools —primary, secondary, ■ technical and private—will combine in the presentation of a spectacular pageant. Entitled “The Pageant of the Years,” this production will be - one of the major contributions to the centenary from the educational point of view.

A large number of children 'will- . make up the cast for the production, ■* which will be presented at His Majesty’s Theatre on August 19, 20 ; 1 and 21. The pageant will consist of jj a series of tableaux, presented by , 5 different pupils and schools, the whole combining to give a picture of the history of the development of the province. Each tableau will be an entity in itself, but the script, which has been prepared by Mr D. Forsyth, links the individual scenes into a ; | coherent and accurate portrayal of \\ Otago through the years. i| Groups of pupils are busily rehears- . r ing at Dunedin schools at present, ij having been assigned their share in :S the pageant. Although there are difi ferent producers for each scene, the producer-in-chief, Miss Bessie Thompson, is responsible for the performance y> as a whole. The Operatic Society, ■j the Repertory bociety, and the Otago ! i Education Board’s art specialists are providing valuable assistance in the heavy task of supplying adequate scenery for each tableau. The wide scope of the production makes the providing of “ atmosphere ” and background a difficult one. The scenes will include the coming of the whalers, the sale of the Otago block, life on board one of the early ships, a typical old-time Caledonian gather- \ ing, and a graphic interpretation of N the influence on the province of the >' discovery of gold. Such characters as |< Captain Cargill, Dr Burns, James Macandrew and others will brave the ITfootlights and lend an authentic touch -* to the production. A scene depicting }i “A Cotter’s Saturday Night” will give an insight into life in an early Scottish ,*< home in Otago. 1 The final scene promises to be novel. The script writer has taken a dip into the future, and the pageant will conclude with a tableau showing Otago in 2048. It is understood that H. G. Wells and his modem imitators have not been consulted, but that this -tableau will be an honest attempt tc iprophes'y conditions 100 years hence, -taking into account the great progress inade in the province’s first century of Existence. f The part- of the Maoris in the 'province’s history has not been forgotten. Indeed, emphasis has been laid on this aspect of Otago’s development. The pageant is an ambitious undertaking, but there is no lack of talent .among the younger generation, and the Education Committee of the Centennial Association, which is presided Sever by Mr A. Hanna, is confident '/that the production will be an outstanding success. Dunedin school were unfortunate in that the infantile paralysis restrictions presented the presentation of their physical education display, which had been planned along elaborate lines. The opportunity they missed earlier in the year, however, is being provided for them under slightly different circumstances, and theirs will be the outstanding centennial feature to be presented in Dunedin next month.