TRIUMPH OF YOUTH

Southland Times, Issue 20207, 18 June 1927, Page 7

TRIUMPH OF YOUTH

LITTLE SOUTIILANDERS

LAST NIGHT’S THREE PLAYS

HUNDREDS TURNED AWAY Many professional managers would have enjoyed the prospect which greeted the opening of the doors on the Little SouthIdnders’ effort on behalf of the KaritaneHunt Hospital last night. When the plans were closed on Friday afternoon there remained a few seats scattered about the stalls and dress circle, not more than twenty, and by seven o’clock those who had delayed in securing reserves, were compelled to take their chances in the gallery. There too a dense crowd awaited the opening of the doors and by half past seven the authorities insisted on the entry of the public being stopped. This meant that many people had to be turned away from the doors, some hundreds in fact, and when the orchestra under Mrs. J. Brockenshire began the overture the Municipal Theatre was

packed in every part. The audience probably was prepared to be surprised. Some of those may have been critical, expecting the Little Southlanders to present their plays in a manner strictly in keeping with the high standards they have set. But if they went to the theatre in a critical mood they realised that the Little Southlanders had nothing to fear from the most livery critic that ever got a seat for nothing. The occasion, apart from its charm as a children’s effort, was of historical importance, because it presented to the public three plays written by Southlanders, the first achievement of this kind and probably the first time in any part of New Zealand three plays by New Zealand authors have been staged in one evening before an audience in the public theatres. Added to this breath-taking fact was the appearance of the children as the players, and as costumiers. The organisation of this effort, the collection of strings came finally into the hands of Cousin Betty, who has built up the Little Southlanders’ movement, but the three plays came from the children and the prosecution of them was made possible by an army of helpers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends of the Cousins who, accepting the children’s effort as a splendid excuse, and the cause for which they were working even a great justification, threw themselves whole-heartedly into the intricate work of stage production. In the theatre and outside of it the Little Southlanders met with cordial help and the success of the evening was really the result of the children, under their Chief Cousin, leading the adults into the pleasant occupation of working for others.

That the audience which filled the Municipal Theatre last night was surprised is putting the situation in mild terms. The three plays and the high standard of their presentation left jthe audience wondering how so much talent could have remained undisclosed so long in the province. Playwrights, actors and actresses, composers of songs and vocalists seem to be in countless numbers, but best of all they retained all the unspoilt charm of natural children, winning the hearts of their hearers by those little histrionic imperfections which kept them from being merely players. They were playing, but not players and in that little distinction lay much of the extraordinary charm of the night’s wonders. Three plays were presented and it would be impossible for the hardened critic, dumfounded by the array of talent placed before him, to make distinctions between them. Each took a different line—though all of them called the fairies in to help tell the story—and each had its distinct charm. “The Sandals of Love” for the production of which Mrs A. Campbell, the mother of the authoress, is entitled to the principal credit, told of the efforts of the Lady Prue to induce Ariella, the child of her sovereign, to smile. This task took her to Rainbow’s End and enabled her to meet the Goddesses of the Seasons, who helped her to gain her noble object. “The Pride of Lady Lois” disclosed how the fairies could intervene and by the administration of homeopathic remedies change a haughty and cruel mistress into one charming, generous and beloved. The third play, "The Flower of Friendship,” was built round the meeting of the Maori and Pakeha and their antagonism until the Elf of the Tree-Fern, a noble sprite with a name longer than himself, overthrew the witch and restored the Flower of Friendship to the fairies, thus making possible the friendly communion of the Maori and Pakeha in New Zealand.

With three plays so distinctive and all meritorious in different ways, comparisons become particularly odious and of small value; but if that is true of the play, what can be said of the players? The casts required actors and actresses by the dozens, and though one may be tempted to select one child as outstanding, there will immediately rise the figure of another to contest that claim vigorously and to establish a right to be on the same level. It is best then to say that the general effect was wonderfully attractive, and this was due to the fact that each Cousin made the utmost of the tasks set by the author. The “team work” was glorious and in every department of stage activity the Cousins acquitted themselves with gusto. In addition mention must be made of the “Song of the Rata and Kowhai,” the words and music by one of the country Cousins who came enthusiastically to the aid of the town clans, because it is recognised in the movement that “town” and “country” are merely names and do not interfere with the unity of purpose of the Little Southlanders. In the programme a number of people were thanked for their contributions to the evening’s success, but it was impossible to mention them all. The orchestra under Mrs Brockenshire was an invaluable help, and Mr. Alex. Sutherland, a resourceful stage manager, was one of the mainsprings of the performance, so much so that one of the Cousins was heard to remark that he must have been in a Little Southlander clan at some time of his life. The audience was enthusiastic throughout, lavish with its applause, and highly appreciative of a theatrical entertainment unique in the annals of Southland and certainly one of the most enjoyable this town has ever known.