Theatricals, 1913-35

J. B. Dixon, in the exacting part of Mr. Twigg, added to his laurels, , and M. B. Marwood made a typical son of the house. B. J. Eastwood did not quite come up to the expectations of last year, but he is young and should have plenty of time for further experience. J. M. Dickenson, on the other hand—a newcomer to the stage—showed distinct possibilities in the small part of the groundsman. J. W. Stead, with a large voice, an eye for colour in neckwear, and a capacity for handling unruly small boys, made an admirable publican turned scorer. The ladies' parts were both too small and insignificant to give either of the players a chance, yet it was evident that this, Miss Turner's first appearance, should not be her last. Of Miss Marianne Toyne, we can only say that she played a poor part well.

So far as team work was concerned, the climax came very fittingly in the last act, the cricket match, where the ingenuity of producer, actors, stage carpenter, and "noises off" were taxed to their utmost. Special mention should be made of the voice of the anonvmous umpire, which, even if it destroyed the illusion that the village green in question was as far away as Hampshire, certainly belied the fact that outside the thermometer was well below freezing point and visibility was nil. The contribution made by the -small boys in charge of the telegraph showed that there is promising talent amongst the younger members of the School. From Newman we naturally expected a great catch, and it was inevitable that a little emphasis from the stage was necessary to -convince the audience that he had dropped it. The silence of P. N. Baines was probably more eloquent than anything else in the whole play.

Ebeatricals, 1913=-1035.

No account of the School Play this year would be complete -without the recognition of the past services of Mr. Toyne in the .encouragement of acting in the School. The triumph of his production of the last act of " Badger's Green " was merely the •culmination of his many performances in the past.

When Mr. Toyne came to St. Peter's, he found that the School Plays had been abandoned, and he at once revived them. From 1913 to 1935, with the exception of 1914, at the end of each Christmas term there has been a play. " Doctor Faustus ' was the first play to be produced, and many will remember the asphyxiating fumes which were emitted from " the mouth of Hell." In those days the stage was considerably smaller than it is now, and there were no doors through to the adjoining rooms, which complicated the matter of production. The stage was extended on somewhat unstable trestles, while for the audience,