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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 4, No. 5. June 6, 1941

'Ymn Of Eight

'Ymn Of Eight.

Again, this show was uneven, with its good patches and its bad. The good were principally the puns, which were poor but well put over, Denis Hartley, Jo Pound again, the Confucius set (the best we've seen in any extrav.), and one or two subtle patches which were not appreciated (e.g., Controllia Banksia).

But unfortunately we must criticise. The scenes were of differing merit, and one wished they could all have been of the quality of the Monastery episode; but the last acts dragged. The message of the show, if any, didn't go over, despite the pretentious solemnity of the final chorus—though this may have been due to the chorus themselves, whose words were completely inaudible despite a familiar tune. Choruses seem to find it hard to open their mouths; and one man like Paul Taylor can make as much noise as ten in any ordinary chorus. The Departmental Heads, with a splendid song to sing, lacked vigour and enthusiasm.

The last act was poor, and Hess and Alfred Become little provided a relief that, though great, should have been unnecessary. Hess, by the way, [unclear: had] a decided tendency to slip from German into Scotch, probably a hang-over from last year; McCreary's accent went off the rails too.

The setting of this act grew rather monotonous; one longed for something to break the steady half-circle.