WONDERFUL CHILD ACTORS

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16848, 26 September 1922, Page 7

WONDERFUL CHILD ACTORS

l (Bv H.H. THE RANGE OF SARA- . j WAK. m the- “Daily Mail.”) - i 1 think one of the hardest workers I ; have ever seen in my life was a- little ■ | Chinese boy playing the leading part in ail open-air theatre in the Kuching : Bazaar. Sarawak, Borneo. "j He was an artist to iiis finger tips. I <ffo held the centre of the stage and I attracted everyone’s attention, like a : small bird of paradise placed in a. gilded cage. He spoke his lines fluently and rapidly. They told me he was only ten I years obi a ' star " player in that ! little spun of years! One mistake, one hesitation, a slight j weariness, and he would lose his post. ■ ' Trained from babyhood to be play- i actors, these children are taught the | secrets of sound ancl action as soon as > they can walk. I could not help comparing him with f j think themselves ill-used because twice j j a week they are obliged to play twice ! j a day. Why, this child played all day j ; and every day until midnight, with j j only a few hours rest between ! ! Not only that, but also ho played in } i the open sunshine, with the sweating, j ! steaming crowd below him in the i J street. I And he played in a head-dress of j such weight, that 1 could hardly lift it: | his clothes were thicknesses of gold. | The story of a Chinese play is hard to follow. The characters always seem to me angry and excited. There is no. repose in their dramas. The stage is never empty for one mo- ! ment. Lighting, love, cowardice, and j courage, all ai-e there, portrayed by I these child actors. The little hoys who represent the girls flu to and fro with their fans 1 and make great use of their sleepy, slanting eyes. If a scene has to be altered, the j stage hand moves from the wings with | an opium pipe in his mouth and quiet- . ly hitches up some fresh curtain on a ; pole, and you have to readjust your i mind as rapidly from a palace to a- : river-bank. ! The “orchestra” consisting of a j Chinese flute, adds to the general effect of vivacity and sound. The little boys shriek their amorous songs. The comedian performs Chinese antics in the corner. And through it all, unperturbed and glorious in his finery, the little “star” actor plays his heroic part, until at midnight tlie tragedy or comedy is ended. Can ho sleep—will lie sleep?—this child who should have been in bed three hours ago, or ha« the teaching of perpetual motion l>een too much for him? One wonders how long they live these children . -or if they die, like Little tropical birjis. trapped for the , self-indulgence of mankind. I t ■ —.