STAGE SEASON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26842, 5 August 1948, Page 4

STAGE SEASON

RETURN TO FORMER ROLE REVUE MAY OCCUPY THE ST. JAMES For the first time since March. 1930, the St. James Theatre is expected to be occupied by a “flesh and blood” show when the “ Under the Counter ” musical review company commences its Dunedin season on; September - 18. Cicely Courtneidge, a perennial favourite of the- British light comedy stage, has the lead in this show, which has just completed a highly successful seasofi in Australia. Since it changed from the vaudeville programmes which made it famous in its day as the Princess Theatre, the St. James has been virtually restricted to showing films, although on one or two occasions solo artists have been heard in the theatre for brief seasons. The last stage show was the Jim Gerald revue company, following which the policy of using the theatre for • films was commenced with “Disraeli.” The clearing of the dressing rooms, with which the theatre -is wellequipped, will be a major task before the “Under the Counter” .season is started. The debris of years has been stored backstage at • the theatre—broken “props,” old seats, backdrops, leftover costumes, playbills,- old programmes and the dozens of other things which are to be found in the forgotten

corners of every theatre. Unfortunately, coats of naint applied in comparatively recent years have obliterated the scores of autographs of well-re-membered vaudeville players whose names once adorned the walls. Built on the site of an old livery stable, the original horse stalls can still be seen in part in the vast, dark basement of the theatre. Battered trunks, and suitcases are filled with yellowing) press clippings of shows dating back before ,the turn of the century, while a grinning papier-mache mask or a plaster head may give cause for momentary alarm as the rays of a torch explore the rooms. The St. James has an excellent reputation for acoustic properties, and it is cne of the few theatres to-day with something of the, atmosphere which meant so much in theatre-going of another day. It has, indeed, been suggested that it would be the most suitable theatre for the season of the Italian' grand opera company, which is expected to tour New Zealand after its Australian programmes are completed. While lacking the scarlet plush and gilt flamboyance of the San Carlo or La Scala, it has nevertheless an old-world elegance suited to operatic productions.