REVIEW OF REVUE
Revue. By Beverley Nichols. (Jonathan Cape. 7s. 6d.)
MR. BEVERLEY NICHOLS' latest book comes as a relief after his crusades for God and Harry, England and Saint George. The artificial atmosphere of the theatre suits him better than those rarer spheres.
The story is a simple one. The hero is a young Australian who writes the words and music for a revue, and the book describes the trials and tribulations, upsets, upbraidings and uproars before the curtain rises and falls on the first night. The villainess of the piece is the leading lady, Miss Thelma Ganges. Temperamental, as Hollywood understands the word, she is blatantly and fiercely out for herself and herself alone. Although Mr. Nichols describes her fluently, puts cruel, witty and occasionally vivid words into her mouth, she remains a dummy; the public's idea of a leading lady, full cf fight, glamour and spite, but a dummy nevertheless. Leading ladies with these qualities exist; but they are a good deal more subtle in their methods.
In contrast to Miss Ganges, who is too bad to be true, the heroine, Fay Pearl, is too good to be true. A ravishing blonde, she can dance, act and sing divinely and becomes a star over- night. This is also possible; but not likely.
There is genuine comedy in Dushan Starr, the Yugo-Slav juvenile lead, who arrives announcing that in one month " he will speak him like the Oxford." He is highly entertain- ing and comes alive.
For the rest, there is a theatrical party of the usual ingre- dients; a sadly true description of an audition to pick the chorus; an interlude among the blossoms and daffodils of Kew which should delight Mr. Nichols' vast Middletonian public; an approving pat on the back for the Lord Chamberlain (inci- dentally there is only one Comptroller of that office); a final hectic, distracting hurly-burly of the first night; and a song complete with words and music.
Revue is like many revues : amusing in patches, sentimental in patches, a light entertainment for the tired business man, a safe pis aller for the stalls and gallery. The more discriminat- ing pit will hardly stomach it. CELIA JOHNSON.
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