Tans Merrimai "John Harford Brian Connell William Howard Steve Gavin Steve G:
Lady Bracknell. Pauline Hon. Gwendolen Fai.. Ann Cecily Cardew Dorothea Brooking Miss Prism Vera Deas The XCDN amateurs put over another excellent show on Wednesday when they successfully overcome the limitations of invisibility and—with the help of the delightful witticism of Oscar Wilde—afforded two-&nd-a-half hours of first-rate entertainment to all those who listened in to the "Voice of Democracy" programme between the hours of 9.30 and 11 p.m. In presenting "The Importance Of Being Earnest" over the ether, these talented amateurs added very considerably to their already enviable reputation, for it, is a highly stylized play, demanding an extremely high standard of acting to make that scintillating little cameo of artificiality seem at all plausible, Last, night the players worked under the added disadvantage of having to depend entirely on the faculty of our hearing alone. It, is an undoubted fact that radio playgoers need training; for the majority will listen much more intently to a commentary on a big boxing match OF to a speech by the Prime Minister than it will to a play. In all probability this is because in broadcast plays one too seldom gets full satisfaction through the ear, and the producer's devices to provide us with eyes have to fall to the level of description and explanation. both of which are destructive of illusion. In this one essential the plays of Oscar Wilde are admirably suited for reproduction over the ether, for they make a direct appeal to the intellect, rather than the sight.
Meditation on the sorrows of the very rich is among the few lasting pleasures that remain to the poor. Similarly, a glimpse into the idle intricacies of the effete society that Wilde so idealized with his rapier wit'is among the few pleasures left to a more prosaic world. And anybody who can appreciate comedy that glitters and sparkles in its dialogue must derive the keenest satisfaction from this priceless gem. this "Importance Of Being Earnest."
In last night's production premier honours must go to John Harford. who gave a wholly delightful interpretation of John Worthing. Clarity and modulation of tone—those two chief essentials over the microphone—were very much in evidence here, and he carried the listening audience through a pleasantly varying scale of emotions with a facile and natural skill. Close on his heels came Brian Connell as Algernon Moncrieff. Here was another good voice portrayal. although at, times Connell was altogether too serious and verging on the heavily pompous for that, light creature, Algy. He seemed to lack the necessary smoothness the part calls for—he was peremptory with the dogmatism of old age rather than the over-confidence of youth.
The' ladies were uniformly good. With a memory of her outstanding performance in "Tony Draws A Horse," one gained further delight in Pauline Crow's Lady Bracknell—a type she plays to perfection. Ann Crow as Gwendolen Fairfax was also pleasing.' as was Dorothea Brooking; though the*latter was at times inclined to be ear-splitting.
Steve Gavin gave a remarkably different rendering of his two parts, Lane and Merriman, but William Howard was apt to be too obvious in his attempts to reproduce the episcopal tones of Canon Chasuble; it was parody overdone and, therefore, never natural.
Taken on the whole, the performance reached a very high standard; indeed. it reached the standard we have "all come to expect in all XCDN: produ¢tion'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.