Theatricals

" FIVE BIRDS IN A CAGE." By Gertrude Jennings. Susan, Duchess of Wiltshire Leonard, Lord Porth J. Biggin. R. White.

Bert Wilson (a Workman) M. Prince.

Nelly (a Shopgirl)

M. Hollway. Liftman W. H. H. Hanks.

The Scene : A Lift on the Underground Railway.

" THE WILL." By J. M. Barrie. Mr. Devizes (Solicitor) K. H. Rhodes, Esq. Robert Devizes (his Son) N. L. Dodd. Surtees (a Clerk) J. B. Dixon. Philip Ross R. M. Cooper, Esq. Emily Ross (his Wife) Miss M. M. Toyne. Sennet (a Clerk) C. H. Vasey. Creed (a Clerk) M. B. Ma rwood. Scene : The Office of Devizes, Devizes, and Devizes, Solicitors. The Plays produced by Mrs. Toyne and K. H. Rhodes, Esq.

Stage Carpenter and Electrician : A. E. Schofield.

Orchestra under the direction of P. H. Sykes, Esq.

The theatricals this year took a somewhat unusual form. Unfortunately, neither the Head Master nor Mrs. Toyne was able to play a part, actors of experience were few and far between, and time was even shorter than usual. It seemed, therefore, that latent ability was likely to be revealed by the production of three one-act plays, each with its separate cast, rather than by the usual three-act play of some two-and-a-half hours' length ; and as an experiment (one, by the way, which is not without a precedent) it was amply justified by results : Mr. Pendlebury, B. J. Eastwood, J. B. Dixon, and Miss Marianne Toyne can all claim to have been " discovered." " The Monkey's Paw " is gruesome, harrowing, and macabre,. but well written. At the outset it was clear that Mr. Pendlebury was fortunate in making his debut in a part to which he was so well suited ; together with Mrs. Surtees Atkinson, who, as the wife and mother, made a welcome reappearance with the St. Peter's Players, he carried the play very largely on his shoulders, and established a right to further consideration in the future. D. Lupton, the one really old hand left amongst the boys, had, perhaps, his happiest part as Sergeant-Major Morris. B. J. Eastwood made a pleasantly youthful son of the house, and played with a self-assurance which should hold possibilities.

" Five Birds in a Cage," a pure farce, is very much of a one man, or rather one woman show. It was admirably carried through by J. Biggin as the Duchess, whose extravagances repeatedly raised the laugh so opportune after the gloom of W. W. Jacobs. R. White was the typical man about town, who, with a little more effort could, perhaps, have been a trifle more blasé. M. Prince was essentially workmanlike, and W. H. H. Hanks might have spent all his days in a lift of doubtful reliability, shepherding Londoners to and from the depths of the 'Ampstead. and 'Ighgate ; of the three whose characters demanded it, his attempt at the Cockney dialect was the best. M. Hollway looked the part of the shopgirl, but otherwise, compared with his performance last year, he was disappointing, and frequently inaudible. " The Will " is almost entirely dependent for its success on a high standard of acting if its sombre theme is not to obscure all else and reduce the play to the level of mere propaganda on the part of the moralist—and from this the cast saved it. Mr. Rhodes' treatment, in the last scene, of the old and doddering solicitor will rank with the best examples of fine acting ever seen on this stage, and the son (played by N. L. Dodd) became noticeably more alive and real with each performance. The small, but difficult part of the managing clerk, staunch under the shadow of fatal disease, was excellently handled by J. B. Dixon, of whom it is reasonable to expect great things in the future. Philip Ross was a trying part for anyone, and Mr. Cooper made the most, if not a little too much, of it : for even with an imagination attuned to J. M. Barrie, it is asking much to believe that the quiet, meek little man of the first scene could develop into an upstart quite so loud and blatant ; but it is, perhaps, a matter of opinion, and, as acting, Mr. Cooper's was, undoubtedly, a clever piece of work. Miss Marianne Toyne starts with a great natural asset : no matter how softly she speaks, every syllable is plainly heard in any part of the hall, a gift which she exploited to the full in the modulations of her voice to suit her varying moods ; in her transition from the Victorian newlywed to the Edwardian woman of early middle age, she had obviously captured the spirit of the author, who, it is to be regretted, had precluded her from appearing in the last scene, and so from showing us what she could make of the present day woman of the world, well on into the fifties. She must , certainly have other opportunities.

Minor parts were adequately taken by C. W. V. Kennedy, C. H. Vasey, and M. B. Marwood ; the last named is still quite young and will probably be heard of again.

The plays were produced by Mrs. Toyne and Mr. Rhodes, to whom the congratulations and thanks of all are due for such an enjoyable and useful show, manufactured, as it was, from material so much of which was raw and untried. Scenic effects were, as usual, in the capable hands of Schofield : to both eye and ear his impression of the lift was perfect.

Entertainments.

" MAKING A MAMMOTH LINER."

The first School lecture was given in the Big Hall, on Saturday,. February 9th, by Edgar Marsh ; his subject was " Making a Mammoth Liner." Although he chose the Aquitania as his model, the methods described, amply illustrated .by slides, would fit any large liner of to-day.

Mr. Marsh showed us the whole story from when the giant started, a mere drawing, to her maiden voyage. Having seen the liner built before our eyes, we were taken a very interesting tour of inspection by Mr. Marsh, whose brain showed an amazing capacity for statistics. No doubt many School Certificate candidates went away feeling very jealous of Mr. Marsh's ability.

This was Mr. Marsh's first visit to the School, and we are all hoping that he will favour us with a few more, if this lecture was a typical example of how he can capture an audience's attention.

" AMERICA."

On Saturday, February 23rd, the School assembled in the Big Hall expecting to hear a lecture on " Humour in English Literature," but we were informed that Mr. H. J. C. Mackarness had changed his subject to " America."

First of all he gave his qualifications for talking on such a subject. Then he proceeded to delve deeply into the character of the average American. He gave some very amusing examples of American wit, and, on the whole, gave our neighbours across the water a very " square deal."

Mr. Mackarness spoke strongly—perhaps rather too strongly —against a certain " festering sore " on the West Coast— Hollywood. It is evident that he is not an ardent picture-goer.

Having heard Mr. Mackarness lecture with such ability on America, perhaps " Humour in English Literature " might have been full of entertainment.

" THE MERCHANT OF VENICE."

We were fortunate enough this term to have Mr. Roy Newlands to give us another dramatic recital. On Saturday, March 9th, he recited excerpts from Shakespeare's " Merchant of Venice."

This year the audience could hear much better than last year, when, perhaps, the strangeness of his surroundings rather affected Mr. Newlands. A slight interruption occurred when the electric clock decided to wind up.