AUCKLAND NEWS-LETTER

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 56, Issue 4044, 6 May 1938, Page 2

AUCKLAND NEWS-LETTER

A BUDGET OF ITEMS. (An Occasional Correspondent.) LAST OF THE LINERS. With the departure of the Franconia, the tourist season draws to a close. The past has been a record year both in the size and importance of the tourist ships,, and city merchants are coming to the conclusion that not the least of” our crops is the tourist one. HEIL, HITLER! An interesting comparison might be made between British and German methods in the light of the contests between the crews of the Empress of Britain and the Reliance. The former ship was run on the traditional free and easy British methods, the latter close to the Nazi ideal of militarisation, with its saluting and physical training. In competitions between the crews, the Germans triumphed at football and swimming. The British won the table tennis! ELECTORAL ROUNDABOUT. Considering that there remains less than a week before the municipal elections, there is strangely little excitement noticeable concerning the campaign. Even the advent of the new Citizens’ Association seems to have done little to rouse public interest; perhaps because of the generally expressed opinion that there will be little change. Despite a solid Labour bloc on the City Council it has not been noticeably different from past Councils. With the Labour Government over-shadowing everything else, municipal government seems rather unimportant. SOOTH-SAYEGH. There seems no doubt that Sir Ernest Davies will be returned as Mayor, although Mr Joseph Sayegh, Labour’s official nominee, is reported to be very optimistic. Apparently even his best friends will not tell him that nothing short of a miracle will unseat one of the most popular Mayors Auckland has ever had. ON WITH THE SHOW. Evidence of the public taste in entertainment can be seen in the fact that four major city theatres are showing musical films to packed houses, one such film having now been running several weeks. It is not often that theatre audiences in this country make a demonstration, so that it was the more remarkable when on a recent night a section of an audience “boohed” a film showing Hitler’s entry into Austria. With the excellent type of newsreel showing now, no one can remain unaware of the serious trend of affair® in Europe.

DEATH OF A THEATRE. When the Little Theatre recently decided to go into recess, attention was focussed on the activities of the thirty-odd repertory societies in Auckland. The handicap in the past has been the absence of a suitable theatre available to amateur theatrical companies and it is gratifying to see that this want is now to be filled in some measure, the Grafton Players having secured a hall in a suitable position. A considerable sum is being spent in adapting the hall to the needs of the theatre and it is understood that it will bo available to other societies. Despite the spasmodic successes scored by the legitimate theatre it is evident that the ordinary professional “flesh-and-blood” show cannot compete with the cinema and it is the hope of all lovers of real acting that the future of the theatre will be safe in the care of the repertory societies. There is no reason why a city the size of Auckland cannot support a full-time theatre and thirtyodd repertory groups should be able to supply at least thirty shows a year. AND BERNARD SHAW? Last week the Vagabond Players presented two plays before a city audience: “Fumed Oak,” by Noel Coward, and “Buttered Bread,” by R. McIvor, a local playwright. A disgruntled play-goer later wrote to a local paper objecting to the plays in question and declaring “both Coward and Mclvor should be run out of New Zealand.”