CONTEMPORARY ARTS
THE THEAT
Tough at the Top." A Musical Play by A. 1'. Herbert with Music by Vivian Ellis. (Adclphi.)
A PLOT is perhaps too Machiavellian a word for the frame within which Sir Charles Cochran presents a series of stylish, animated and captivating pictures. It is a frame which, though embossed with misunderstandings, scalloped with impostures and gilt with mild verbal felicity, is never in danger of distracting our attention from the canvas. There is a princess, there is a pugilist whom she loves, there is a maid who impersonates her, there are counts and flunkeys
and diplomats. Heels are clicked, aigrettes (for the period is Edwardian) are tossed, adieux are bid, eaves are dropped, all the conventions of this type of entertainment arc observed. But they are observed with a fidelity which at times suggests the mechanism of routine rather than the panache of protocol, so that the tying and untying of the lovers' knots in which the principal players are entangled enlist our interest less than what may be conveniently called the ensemble.
This, within its medium, is a triumph and reflects the utmost credit on Sir Charles Cochran, on his director, Miss Wendy Tom and on his designer, Mr. Oliver Messel. It is a relatively easy thing in a production of this kind to have a good chorus, a good corps de ballet, good costumes and good scenery ; what is rare is to find them all integrated, as they arc at the Adclphi, into the expression of one individual's admirable taste. The achievement may only rank as a minor work of art, but it is certainly a major operation of stagecraft.
The languid interest with which we follow the fortunes of the principals is not noticeably quickened by the personalities of either Miss Maria d'Attili as the heroine or of Mr. George Tozzi as the hero, though they both sing very nicely. More stimulating per- formances come from Miss Carol Raye, as the heroine's lady-in- waiting, Sid from Mr. Brian Reece, as a boorish sabreur from Berlin. All the dancing is good, but Miss Beryl Kaye's is brilliant. Like most things, Tough at the Top might have been better than it is ; but it remains a piece of showmanship which, as such, notably
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