Bill Sheat, co-author and co-producer of "Carry On Phil," thinks that 1960 may see the last of the "big" Extravaganzas. He hopes so. He is more in favour of a subtle and intimate revue. And this may well be possible next year when the Student Union Building is in use.

The new building will have a small, but well equipped theatre. It is quite possible that the student Executive will decide to stage Extravaganza 1961 in the "new Little Theatre"—there are strong reasons for doing so, and the ever-increasing rentals at the Opera House is only one of them.

With the passing of every year Extravaganza is getting further away from its original form. It has become a slick and polished show, stereotyped and "lowbrow." According to Bill Sheat "Carry On Phil" will cost over £2,700 to stage. The show he produced in 1954 cost less than half the amount. This speaks for itself. With so much money at stake it is of paramount importance to keep the Opera House full. In other words, a "spectacular"—a lack of real satire, a glossing over of political themes.

Ian Rich Said

As Ian Rich said in 1957: "It is significant that the most popular and most widely remembered lyric from the 1954 Extravaganza is the neatly ironic number "Botanical Garden Rakes." Old Extrav. diehards may have been a little puzzled at the success of this number; but for the fresher, just new to the chorus line, it fitted smoothly into what he thought was probably the only pattern of Extravaganza presentation. The music for the "Botanical Garden Rakes" was taken from a new American musical comedy "Guys and Dolls"; its theme was not political but more broadly satirical.

Satire Replaced

"We have replaced satire with burlesque, ignored allegory for the easier, occasional pieces of wit in a roughly localised scene. Now, when we want to strike out at public affairs or public themes, we do so only occasionally, and then only after we have prepared the way by giving the audience a colourful background such as the Taj Mahal or a Western saloon, with jokes and chorus to match. The purist may have something when he complains that the modern Extravaganza lacks form; and perhaps those responsible should not ignore his suggestions that we split our talent and present a revue instead of the present mixture of colour, burlesque, variety acts and occasional satire."

Indeed they might—particularly with the "new Little Theatre" and more selective audiences in the offing. With intimate review, groups in the University could produce "skits" from their own outlook-political or otherwise. Telling satire could replace proletarian humour. Anyway, it's a thought!

But the fact remains "Carry On Phil" is big. And, it must be admitted, has a good deal in its favour. Extravaganza now holds an important position in New Zealand musical comedy. Extrav. with imaginative staging, and styling, in the mood of recent Broadway hits like "West Side Story," contributes more to the development of musical comedy in New Zealand than the small companies that are still producing unrealistic "oldies" like "The Desert Song" and "The White Horse Inn."

The style of "Carry On Phil" is largely dictated by the music used. The producers find current Broadway hit songs the most suitable, so, of course, we get a show with an attempt at Broadway slickness. The main problem is to link the chosen songs with a typically New Zealand script.

Extravaganza 1960 will have the smartest production ever. There will be many scene changes—10 in the first act alone. This has created problems. Finally large back-drops were abandoned in favour of two dimentional cutouts against the background of a large fixed cyclorama.

More Scenes

The increased number of scenes presents another problem—lighting. Equipment has been borrowed from as far afield as Christchurch and Masterton.

Although "Carry On Phil" will have a partly political theme, it will be by no means the whole story. One reason for this is the negative state of New Zealand politics at the moment, and the lack of personalities on the national scene.

About Sheat

All in all, "Carry On Phil" promises to be a very polished Extrav., and Bill Sheat is in no small way responsible. He was first connected with Extrav. in 1949 when he was a cast member. Since then he has been producer, co-producer, author, co-author, administrator, backstage bod, and prompt. Bill was, for some time active in the V.U.W. Drama Club. He has written, acted and produced for Wellington Reportory. In 1958 he produced the opera "Martha," with the National Orchestra (John Hopkins on the rostrum) supporting. This year he will also write and produce, again with Terry Browne, "She'll Be Right" for Wellington Rep. This revue, to be staged in July, will show highlights in the life of a typical New Zealand family unit.