REPERTORY SOCIETY SUCCESS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 68, 22 March 1939, Page 9

REPERTORY SOCIETY SUCCESS

THE STAGING OF “GRUMPY” CLEVERLY-ACTED PLAY , A cast of Wanganui Repertory Society members is playing Horace Hodges and T. W. Percyval's "Grumpy.” The season egabn on Monday night and finishes to-morrow. The cast is:—Mrs. MacLaren, Doris Allwright; Virginia Bullivant, Joyce Bancks; Dr. MacLaren, C. Stanley Brown; Keble (a chauffeur), G. S. Sainsbury; Susan (Virginia’s maid). Stella Meuli; Mr. Ernest Heron. Sinclair Bowden; Mr. Bullivant ("Grumpy”), Paul Latham; Merridew (a manservant), Norman Owen; Dawson (a manservant), B. C. Carmody; Mr. J. H. Jarvis, J. C. Fleming; Ruddock (Grumpy’s valet). Geo. Williamson; Mr. Valentine Wolff, R. S. AII- - Tribute for Mr. Latham Paul Latham has played many parts in amateur theatricals in Wanganui, but in none of them has he been better cast than as “Grumpy,” the retired criminal lawyer, whose mental faculties have remained as keen as ever, though his limbs and general appearance have faded with age. Mr. Latham appealingly interpreted the varying moods of the character, was particularly good in them all. even in sleep. His ravings and grumblings, accented with quiet patience by the household staff and almost adored by his granddaughter, Virginia, were very real and the audience came to love the old gentleman and his quaint eccentricities as fully as the author intended it should. Although “Grumpy” depends firstly for its success on the ability of the central character, much of Mr. Latham’s technique would have been wasted had he not been well supported. He looked for that support, m the main, from two characters— Joyce Bancks, as Virginia, J. C. Fleming, as Mr J. H. Jarvis, and Sinclair Bowden, as Mr. Ernest Heron. Joyce Bancks is one of the best artists repertory can produce in Wanganui for the type of character expressed by Virginia. She was natural in all she did. There was nothing forced ahout her acting, a touch of tragedy in her expression now and again, perhaps, but her understanding of the moods of the part was good all through. A newcomer to repertory work in Wanganui, Mr. Fleming played a difficult part well. His acting was restrained, yet effective. Its test came when he called for sharp contrast in emotion, on the one hand, the smooth villain, sure of himself, glamorous to the girl, and, on the other, the man facing exposure, trapped! Most amateur players would have been vigorous rather than restrained in their effort to define the contrast. Not so Mr. Fleming. He retained the sauveness of the part to a nicety and was particularly good in the show-down | scene and battle of wits between "Grumpy” and himself. Playing his first part for the society, Sinclair Bowden, also had some difficult work and his acting was encouraging. Sent home by his firm to safely transport a £90,000 diamond, he is forced by the of the plot from a mood of superiority . to one of inferiority. First, the young man, sure of himself, then the man of ; deflated spirit who knows he has ; failed. A Maid of Contrasts 1

Stella Meuli played well as the maid, providing the audience with delightful contrasts. First she was the pert modern girl, coquettish in her desire to fire the jealousy of Keeble. the manservant; then she became the teartsained maid facing the interrogation of “Grumpy.” This scene was one of the best in the play. It was difficult for the audience to believe that R. S. Allwright actually assumed the accent with which he played the part of the Jewish antique dealer. There was an encouraging note of realism about the acting of this part.

The part of the valet to "Grumpy” was one of the most difficult in the play. It called for facial expression rather than the spoken word to make it real. George Williamson played it splendidly. As a foil for “Grumpy in his worst moods, as a confidant of the old man, even in the passages where the decorum of the true manservant had to be broken sufficiently to allow glimpses of response to human nature, the character was well handled.

All the other parts were ably taken, but the play owed its success mainly to the strength of its principal character and to the Inspiration his acting gave to those upon whom the plot called for most support. "Grumpy,” which is produced by Mr. Latham, can be placed at the top of repertory suc-