STAGE REVIVAL

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19451, 15 December 1934, Page 17 (Supplement)

STAGE REVIVAL

REPORTED FROM ENGLAND. BEST SEASON FOR YEARS. i It is not a hope, a theory, or a prophecy to. say' that this is the best season the theatre in Britain has had for many years. It is a simple fact, states the theatrical correspondent of the Sunday Express. “There are more and bigger queues, more long runs, more new shows certain of success, and more entertainment on tap for the public , than there have been for a long time. The theatre is making money again. The variety halls in the West End are turning people away at every performance. It is not that the public are flokle. They only want value for money. Now it is available, and the money is coming in. “I heard £BO,OOO given last week as an expert estimate of the weekly turn-

over at the West End box-offices at present, not counting the halls. Don't let’s talk about dramatic renaissance. There are more good entertainments, that’s all. Variety Also Popular. “Variety’s resurrection has been slow but complete. Programmes competing with attractions like Sophie Tucker, Grade Fields, Dave Apollon, the Mills Brothers, Teddy Joyce, and the Three Radio Rogues have done the trick. “No great plays have burst upon us, no Shaws, Ibsens, or even Lonsdales have blossomed overnight. But the personalities who draw the crowds—• Gladys Cooper, John Gielgud, Marie Tempest, Lilian Braithwaite, Seymour Hicks, Ivor Novello, Fay Compton, Edna Best and Godfrey Tearle, to name a few—have found worthy parts in sound, interesting plays. Here and there lack of big star-appeal has been compensated by an unusually good story."