MANY PLAYS CRASH

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20587, 28 November 1936, Page 14 (Supplement)

MANY PLAYS CRASH

SHOW FAILURES IN LONDON LOSSES FOR SEASON TOTAL £50.000 LONDON, October 24. Two more plays were added this week to the longest list of show failures the West End autumn has known for many years. “Antony and Cleopatra” at the New Theatre was taken off after four nights the season's short-run record.

“The Night of January 16th” finished at the Phoenix after a fortnight’s run.

Total losses by West End managers are now more than £50,000. These two plays accounted for £9OOO.

The closing of “Antony and Cleopatra” was more than just another failure. It was the end of a dream for Eugenie Leontovich, the Russian actress. Ever since she left Russia as a refugee and found fame by way of Broadway she wanted to play Cleopatra in London. When London acknowledged her performance in “Tovarich” she said that she would not appear in another play in London until she had done “Antony and Cleopatra.” Since January she has spent every day studying the part, trying to improve her pronunciation of English. She arranged for the money to put it on. That dream cost about £4500. “The Night of January 16th” was producer-manager Jack Waller’s second failure this season. His big Robey-Houston musical at the Hippodrome ran for little more than a fortnight. He estimates his season’s losses at £15,000.