The Author's Memories To the Editor of the "Norm-Cuusa Dany News"
"Dick Whittington and his Cat" on Sin—The enthusiastic reception of Not" coming over the footlights in all its pristine glory. Donne was probably wise in taking the part of Dame Buncombe, in which extraordinarily good, for the old Brigade would thave wanted him back as "Cristabel the Suffragette Instead of the film star into which she has developed, quite rightly since the suffragette movement dead, buried and forgotten. itraits revival after 31 years enecera wes tional of us, of course, but under recall the genesis of the fest peo.
thin that it may be of interest auc riy Tong standable. Tt is sad fo think that duction, now that many long' yeu this is Donny's swan-song but som thing will happen at home with Jman whose red corpuscles are more the early days of 113. dear old than half grease-paint.
George Wingrove,, whose name "is Mtll'One that lo evergreen in ADE And our verdict! Twenty-one Cire, decided that he. would like years ago we said, with pride and {o put ona Pantomime the following justideation, a Great Show. To-day Christos and having Obtained" the we can say with equal truth, a assent of "the ADE. Commitee, Greater Show. T have been at pains asked me if T would write the "book He gave me the choice of T think, author and how great a share the three fairy tales, one of which wad Producer has in the success of "Dick -'Wittingion® but "stipulated pantomime: it is of a case there= that whatever it was, the pantomime fore of blowing any trumpet but should proceed on. traditional ines, 'Mrs. Jory's. It is a different show Hood, in the end, prevailing over evi in many ways. We had not so much {nother words. the 'Good Fairy and talent to draw upon: we certainly the' Demon King bad to "function. did not have the business of dancing "Dick: Whittington" was my Selection that could put on the stage the really Yecatse had an ambition to play professional work of the Bateman-the cat to which George said "O.K.
King or the Ralph Lynn schools. [by me" o its equivalent in the slang And that the dancing numbers have those and demande a largely contributed to the success of synopsis and a scenario within 24 the pantomime cannot be denied. hours. He got them, simply because JAt the same time it is only fair ho had a decided leaning towards say that the present production hai "Sinbad the Sailor" and 1 till want nothing Uiat quite comes up, from ed to play the cat. Afterwards when purely spectacular point of view, to the Pantomime had got into. the rethe Naval Ballet of its predecessor. hearsay stage, I often wished it Rad Ballet is perhaps a misnomer, been "Sinbad": the roc's egg would fave been a much more restful part pageant would be a better word. 'There was Little dancing but a great ing' been, approved. (and a certain The synopsis and the scenario hav-deal of marching and countermarch~ ing worked out by George Wingrove fand carried out by the chorus with the precision of a company of of the scenery was sent home, and /Guardees. The. costumes were amaz—with it, meticulous descriptions of ingly good and largely accounted for what Wingrove wanted and expected. the delleit with which the produc And of how good it was can still be tion wound up in spite of playing to judged to-day by those visiting the eleven crowded houses.
Pantomime now running.
'My pen, I om afraid, has run away. with' me for which T apologize: it is 3 enthusiasm which has ted it astray.
Twill therefore close by thanking all those behind the footlights and. behind the scenes for combining to give Shanghai so excellent an example of that very typical British form of entertainment, a Christmas Pantomime.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.