Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 24, 1964, Winnipeg, Manitoba ,1 r Winnipeg free press thursday september 24, 1964 Hay fever at Mac but was 1925 a Vintage year Hay fever an Early com Edy 1925 by Noel Coward. Directed for the Manitoba theatre Centre by Warren enters. By Christopher Dafoe when Noel Coward wrote Hay fever in 1925 he had three other plays and a revue on the boards in London s West end. For any one other than the richly gifted or. Coward this would certainly have been a Case of spreading one s talents around with too la Vish a hand. But London was enchanted by or. Coward s flare for Hasty yet Brilliant composition and it has remained so to the present Day. By the mid thirties James Agate was speaking of Coward As the peer of Sheridan and Farquhar. The recent cow Ard revival in London has prompted similar outbursts. I do not propose to take part in the debate. Much of Coward s work seems to me to be Brilliant. Private lives is certainly a great play of its kind and there Are things in conversation piece that set Coward far apart from the usual run of playwrights. There Are times however when it seems that inspiration came to Coward just a Little bit too easily. Hay fever alas seems to have been written on just such an occasion the same sort of off Day in fact that produced such Coward clinker As nude with violin and sail away. Plays quite like Hay fever Are to be found in almost any West end season and it could easily be mistaken at first glance for Vintage Douglas Home. As such it would be perfectly acceptable in a Small Way As a sort of filler Between More adventurous pieces. But since it is by Coward the disappointment is that much greater when it fails to live up to expectations. All the things that Are Good in a Coward play Are there All right but they Are still undefined the playwright has yet to come to terms with them. We have the horrible people but there Are masses of them and they Are far too horrible to be of any use. We have the great quarrel brought to perfection in private lives but in this Early work lacking refinement. We have the apparently mis matched but really perfectly mated couple but Coward has yet to discover what he really wants to do with them. He fills his stage with people most of the time but in the rare moments when he turns to the duet we see glimmers of his Best writing. For Coward is at his Best when two or three Are gathered together when the goes and mrs. Rockett tear strips off one another when the red peppers Are at daggers drawn or when the great feud in private lives erupts into a verbal Duel to the death. In Hay fever we see cow Ard learning his Craft cutting his Teeth on the worn Bone of weekend House party comedy. The Mac production does Little to improve matters. The players Are trying so hard to please that they use Cannon balls where Bird shot would have been sufficient. Betty Leighton i fear is the worst offender in this regard. She is called upon to play the part of a bad actress. To bring this sort of thing off and still create a character people can believe in is an almost super human task. Olivier did it with Archie Rice in Osborne s the entertainer. Miss Leighton uses too much steam and her charac Ter becomes a caricature. The same error is made by almost All the other players too. Restraint is required in almost every Quarter. Hay fever is not revue. Characters have time to establish themselves. Funny faces Are not required. Or. Coward s humor flows freely All on its own. To distract attention from a Clever line with a wild Grimace in no service to the author. Mary Banning playing a be mused flapper to be most at Home in this piece. She resists All temptation to pull out the stops. Her performance is controlled intelligent and in a Way moving. David Britton seems to be in the wrong play. He does not appear to be at Home in his surroundings the flow of Coward s dialogue does not sit easily on his Tongue. His style of playing too is at Odds with those who share the stage with him. Ivor Barry puts a bit too much steel into the character of David Bliss author and husband to the emotional Judith. It Al most seems Odd that the Mem Bers of his family Are so fond of him. One would almost suspect that he had no blood in his veins. Peter Kaczmarek s decor suggests no particular period and adds nothing to the mood of the piece. The country Home of the Bliss family looks like the sort of place they might have rented sight unseen for a summer hol iday. Robert Doyle s costumes Are Gay and appropriate. The program cover is decidedly hand some. Meeting postponed Moncton . Up a progressive conservative nominating convention to choose a candidate for the nov. 9 fed eral by election in Westmorland has been postponed until oct. 13. The convention was to be held saturday. Louis Landry vice president of the Westmorland conservative association said wednesday the change was made because the special convention speaker Marcel Lam Bert member of parliament for Edmonton West will be unable to leave Ottawa due to import ant legislation before the House. London British motor corporation exported More than vehicles Worth nearly in the year ending july 25. This is 15 per cent More than the previous year. Invitation to Galbraith protested Salt Lake City Salt Lake City mayor j. Bracken Lee has expressed sur prise that the City Library Board invited a Man of such Liberal leanings As John Kenneth Gal Braith to make a speech. The Board invited the former ambassador to India to speak when tiie new City Library is dedicated oct. 30. If Galbraith shows up Lee said in a letter to the Library Board i might take advantage at the dedication of my right to express my opinion in such a manner that would not Only be embarrassing to or. Galbraith but to everyone Lee is on record in favor of abolishing the income tax and ending . Participation in the United nations. Best for Quality Best for variety Best for value Safeway s big pork Sale serve pork a apples this weekend. Shoulder roasts fresh Young Grain fed pork. Picnic style. Hock on. Pork butt roasts 4 5 leg-0-pork Bologna fresh Grain fed pork. Tender delicate flavor. Whole half or Quarter. La. Sausages r Jubilee Brand. Pure pork.1 la. Tray Maple Leaf Brand. In the piece. La. Side Bacon Eversweet Brand. Sliced. 1 in. Package minced beef Safeway Quality. Freshly ground. La. 43 3 la. Pkg. 1 la. Pkg. 1 smoked picnics r ready to serve. Fully cooked. Thankless pork shoulder. La. Premium. 39 f f _ _ vacuum packed to ensure fresh m. Ness and flavor. 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