THE BEST APPRECIATED.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 June 1932, Page 18 (Supplement)

THE BEST APPRECIATED.

SYBIL THORNDIKE’S SUCCESS.

Naturally, the firm of J. C. Williamson, Ltd., through whose enterprise the visit of Dame Sybil Thorndike to New Zealand has been made possible, is delighted at the unprecedented success achieved by this most famous of British actresses and the London company supporting the star. Mr. John Tait, one of the directors of the firm, who is at present in the Dominion, is. kept in close touch with the activities of the various companies appearing under their regime, and he is very gratified at tne enthusiastic receptions accorded this noted and most versatile of artists. To a Pressman Mr. Tait said: “We were never in doubt as to the success of Dame Sybil Thorndike and her special-ly-selected London company, but the measure of that success is indeed most gratifying. It surely snows that the the public, despite all that has been written, and said to the contrary, is not losing its taste for true art and ability. It is just as discriminating /as ever: given the opportunity of ; enjoying dramatic ability of the highest standard, it will respond. There is no sign of decadence in the public of to-day. Their tastes have not deteriorated. That they can (and do) appreciate the highest standard of dramatic art and the plays of the best of authors is being proved by the wonderful success of this company. We have never lost faith in the public of Australia and New Zea-

land; the correspondence here” (pointing to a huge pile on his table) “is full proof of my contention. lam grateful to New Zealanders for their kind interest; I appreciate it very muqh indeed.

HORSE SENSE’ A CRITIC’S SEVERITY. Alan Parsons, the London Daily Mail critic, has been visting New York and criticising the plays of the moment. He saw eight plays, including “Once in a Lifetime,” which he thoroughly enjoyed as the funniest comedy, a devastating lampoon on Hollywood, and of the Ziegfeld. Follies he gays; “I was shocked and stunned by the prodigal vulgarity of this mammoth production, ‘Glorifying the American Girl.’ You could not ask anything more lovely than. . the supremely beautiful Follies girls, exquisitely tall and fair (on the New York stage height is admired), who pass and

re-pass in a variety of dress and undress, moving with the careless, almost insolent walk of the thoroughbred racehorse—only with this difference, that the racehorse has every appearance of sagacity, while not the tiniest, dimmest twinkling of an idea ever ruffles the placid surface of those lovely faces.” Mr, Parsons, who is the husband of Iris Tree, has more to say ament the crashing, deafening din; thousands of dollars spent to no purpose, and a troupe of dancers that just hurled sex appeal in indigestible chunks,