CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THEATRE LIKE Ambrose Applejohn's, Mr. Coward's sleeve is, stuffed with aces ; and, though he has been known to lead lower cards, he plays the Ace of Clubs in a manner which leaves no doubt that he intends to take this trick. I think he takes it, too ; but the suit is significant, for the rubber of his reputation was not won by bidding clubs. He seems—if one may vary the metaphor—to have lowered his sights..
The Ace of Clubs is a night club in Soho. It is not an establish- ment of the highest class, a circumstance which gives Mr. Coward the opportunity to introduce a welcome and characteristic under- tone of parody into the chromium-plated spectacles which are staged upon its floor. Its warm-hearted and tuneful proprietress (Miss Sylvia Cecil) has however on her strength an entertainer of great charm and talent in the person of Pinkie Leroy (Miss Pat Kirkwood). This radiant creature earns something deeper than admiration from a young sailor (Mr. Graham Payn), and when he rescues her from the libidinous attentions of a racketeer he accidentally liberates at the same time a parcel containing £20,000's worth of stolen jewellery. This leads, rather slowly, to a number of complicated developments, some laughable, some dramatic, some neither ; but you may be sure that in the end the racketeer—who in appearance closely resembles Mr. Sefton Delmer and is played very well indeed by Mr. Elwyn Brook-Jones—is discomfited, and to the not altogether inapposite strains—for it is rather a long show—of " Nothing Can Last For Ever " the performance comes to an end.• It is a very enjoyable performance in its way, and Mr. Coward's allusive wit is not entirely extinguished by the slightly bargain basement atmosphere. I very much liked the tough doxy who, during a heated slanging match between her protector and another gangster, quoted reflectively _" Compliments fly when gentlefolk meet " ; and the song about juvenile delinquency has point and pungency. Miss Kirkwood plays the heroine with charm, convic- tion and complete success, and Mr. Graham Payn sings and dances with great accomplishment. A number of young ladies show flashes of talent in minor parts and Mr Coward has directed the whole thing with dash and expertise should think that most
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