CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THEATRE
“music at Midnight." A Play with Music. By Guy Bolton. (1-hs Majesty's.) " ARTLESS " is perhaps the least churlish of the epithets which can be applied to this entertainment. It gives an implausible account of apocryphal episodes in the early career of Offenbach (the pro- gramme, describing him as an unknown composer," heightens this particular illusion by appearing not to know his Christian name). The plot is disarmingly puerile, the humour is elementary and 'only the music—being- happily, mostly by Offenbach—redeems the occasion. Mr. Andrew Osborn plays the composer in a very agreeable manner, and his air of being slightly bewildered by the whole thing, but not quite liking to mention it, in no way detracts from the merits of his performance. Miss Genevieve Guitry is the heroine, and Miss Joan Heal and Miss Hannah Watt' do their loyal best witn characters clearly intended to be comic. But the play, bur- dened by impractical scenery and by lavish but tasteless costumes, never looks like recovering from its own basic inanity, and I am afraid I cannot speak highly of it as an evening's entertainment.
PETER FLEMING.
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