THIS year we counted ourselves fortunate in securing the co-operation of our sister school - the County Grammar School for Girls. All who saw the play considered that this union of forces had a happy outcome, and from the boys' angle we are grateful to Miss Moss, the Staff and the Girls who made this joint effort possible.
We are indebted, too, to Mr. Eric Emery, the County Drama Adviser, who, at a very busy time, came to one of the performances and wrote the following criticism for the School Magazine:-
"The Rivals" is a period piece in its manners and the relationships of its characters and demands, therefore, 'period style.' The critic then must approach an amateur performance with some misgivings, realizing, too, if the actors are young, that they will have seen few if any, examples of players on whom they can model their own 'creations.' This is not a question of mere imitation which, of course, can be the 'death' of good acting.
It was the great merit of this production that it had achieved so much of this primary requirement. The simple and most pleasant scenery - cleverly designed and well carried out - was a valuable contribution, and the slight but eflective changes were mercifully quick and provided all that seemed necessary to show change of locale. The 'gold' background did perhaps take too much light, detracting from the comparative clarity of faces. The few 'choice' pieces of furniture - just enough - would surely be envied by any producer.
In the production of a 'manner' of speech, whether it be foreign, dialect or the convention applied to another century, there is always a danger that the method of speaking and the new ' tune' involved may seriously interfere with the context and make the meaning hard for the audience to grasp. The compromise here was generally very satisfactory. There was much of the accepted 'period' delivery, yet the context with good emphasis generally, came through and I rate highly the extent of this achievement with a young cast.
The pace was a little slow at first and, as often happens with this style, occasionally too measured. There was, too, a certain stiffness of immaturity and nervousness at the beginning, but by the second half, movement and speech were remarkably 'freer' and most members of the cast did much more justice to their natural abilities and the producer's work.
The stage arrangement allowed full scope for movement, which seemed free and natural, with good relative positioning of characters and obvious attention to grouping. There was perhaps a little too much use of the seat up stage in the centre, and the 'conglomeration' of the last scene seems a producer's problem that I have not seen satisfactorily solved. The positions of the characters in the mock-proposal scene, which can go astray, seemed particularly happy. Occasional masking, probably accidental, could have been avoided with this amount of playing space.
The incidental music was most pleasing and, happily, an integral part of the production. There was a notable excellence of concentration in the individual performances, not always a strong point with young players, and a real attempt at characterisation, though the problems presented are, it must be realised, not all equally easy.
Bob Acres, though perhaps among the easier parts, was a great success with a full and humorous understanding of his part, well conveyed to the audience without succumbing to the danger always present in this part of 'overdoing.'
David is a small part, often comparatively negligible, but this delightful little character study brought fresh life to the stage on his every appearance. Just a slight tendency to 'shuffle' too much.
Mrs. Malaprop is a very tricky part and the 'derangements' of speech are so often either overplayed and soon become boring to the audience, or are insufficiently stressed with loss of essential characterisation. For a young actress this was an excellent attempt both in speech and character with points well made, and I felt would have been very effective indeed if she could have been made to look older. Why, indeed, should the men reject the offer of such charm? She should beware of excessive head movement.
Lucy had a very good sense of character with a right admixture of sauciness, but also must 'take care of her head.'
Lydia has the constant danger of being excessively 'Languish,' and, considering the difficulty of making much of this part except through personality, did very well indeed with a good sense of period speech and improvement in correct emphasis after the first act.
Julia presents similar difficulties with fewer chances, and, like Lydia, brought considerable charm to the playing. Speech was good, but needed more variety in her 'big' scene with Faulkland, where her run off stage was not very convincing.
Sir Antony is a tough proposition for a young man and this good attempt lacked, not unreasonably, the weight it should carry in the balance of the play. He had improved immensely by the second half, but ripeness, richness and enjoyment of 'her eyes-her lips' are perhaps too much to expect. Did the producer underestimate the effect on the audience of the constant banging of his stick?
Captain Absolute was a straightforward, pleasant portrayal which might have had more humour in the 'official' proposal.
Sir Lucius was flat and needed more life, a not infrequent failing in this potentially rich part.
Faulkland is always a problem, which there is more than one way of tackling. A good attempt here did not really succeed in creating a character and there was lack of humour in the scene with Julia. The constantly clenched hands did not help.
Fag created a definite character, well in period and Thomas and the Boy made their small but adequate contributions.
Even to attempt "The Rivals" with a School cast is a hazardous undertaking and the producer must be congratulated on getting the greatest possible effect, if one rightly estimates his human material. The 'jaded' critic who has seen several plays a week throughout the winter may well approach such a performance with a heavy heart. "The Rivals" should be a delightful experience but is alas, not always so. To one 'jaded' critic, on this occasion, it was most definitely a real enjoyment.