CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THE THEATRE
IT is immaterial, though extremely difficult to decide, whether the colour of Sir George Basingstoke's suit should properly be described as rust or tan or strawberry roan ; what is important is that Mr. Peter Haddon, wh a plays the part with immense brio, completes his vivid costume with a shirt and a handkerchief of cobalt blue. Sir George is a man about town, and only the colour blind can fail to discern in his sartorial surrialisme a warning that we are in for a farce.
Mr. Whatmore's play is not a good farce, and I am not sure that it was meant to be a farce at all. Mr. Briggs is required by his wife to arrange for a divorce, in order that she may marry Sir George. Mr. Briggs' solicitors arrange for him to spend a night at an hotel with a young lady, but the young lady's place is deftly and firmly taken by his devoted housekeeper, for whom, after many misunder- standings, he discovers an affinity. It is not perhaps a very striking plot, but the play might have had a better chance if its central theme had not been so heavily overloaded with the strenuous vul- garities which the public is supposed to demand tram any piece in which Mr. Robertson Hare appears. This admirable actor is strangely disappointing as Mr. Briggs. He is essentially a foil, a butt, and when, as in this play, he is not being bullied and chivied all the time, we are aware of something missing which he cannot from his own resources replace ; it is as though we beheld the Dor- mouse unflanked by the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Mr. Haddon plays a crypto-cretin with unflagging attack and Miss Constance Lorne's friendly, persuasive study of the housekeeper is a very attractive performance. But it is fairly silly entertainment.
So, in a different and less obvious way, is the Dublin Gate Theatre's production of Mr. MacLiammoir's III Met By Moonlight. Connemara is the setting, and banshees ululate off-stage. By a pro- cess of psychic squatting the little people take possession of one of the characters, causing her to attitudinize dreadfully and to behave in an anti-social way. The times are not perhaps very auspicious for people who want to make our blood run cold ; but if Mr. MacLiammoir's magic is not compelling some of his comedy has the inconsequent grace which we associate with Irish drama and he, Mr. Hilton Edwards (the producer) and Miss Maureen Cusack give lively and distinguished performances in a play which some-
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