ON A HOLIDAY VISIT,

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18875, 20 February 1933, Page 5

ON A HOLIDAY VISIT,

LADY WILFORD AND MISS WILFORD On a short holiday visit to New Zealand, Lady Wilford, wife of the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, Sir Thomas Wilford, returned by the Bangitiki on Thursday. She is accompanied hy he? daughter, M’iss Isotoel Wilford, who has won a considerable measure of success on the London stage, and they will spend about eight weeks in the Dominion before returning to England. Lady Wilford paid a tribute to the perennial kindness and genuine interest in New Zealand shown by important personages in official circles in London. “It is quite true that In England one- feels proud of being a New Zealander,” she added. Lady Wilford also said that Lord and La dy Jcilicoc and Sir Charles and Lady Alice Ecrgusson continue to take a keen interest in everything appertaining to New Zealand. Miss Wilford has been in England for about seven years, during which time she has appeared in several notable plage successes in London. She is looking forward keenly to meeting old friends in New Zealand, 'flic most recent London stage success in which Miss Wilford has appeared were “Lean Harvest,” J. R. Priestley’s "'Dangerous Corner" and a revival of Milne’s “The Dover Road.’’ She has bad the privilege of understudying several leading West End stars —Tallulah Bankhead among others—and replaced several of them for varying periods when they were absent through illness. “The theatre in London provides an interesting life,” Miss Wilford said,

“but anyone who thinks it is an- easy life is sadly mistaken. Stories of n stage success overnight are very j charming, but they arc seldom true. \ Natural ability, of course, is a great | asset, but it has to he rounded off and ] polished hy hard work and experience.” 5 Miss Wilford quoted the case o' B Miss Flora Robson, who was now re-- B garded as one of the most promising | actresses on the London stage. Slie had first come into .prominence through &! a magnificent character sketch in “The Anatomist,” and had now come right p to the front in Somerset Maugham’;i [| latest play, “For Services Rendered.” ffl But behind that success lay several itf years of constant hard work and fj study. Miss Wilford said that after her |Sj holiday in New Zealand site intended §t to return to England and take up |8 stage work in London. ffl