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The Spike or Victoria University College Review September 1927

"To Have the Honour"

"To Have the Honour"

The fiasco of the extravaganza apparently gave the Dramatic Club their opportunity—it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good—and they boldly accepted it by allowing Mrs. John Hannah to produce in a very capable fashion for them on June 17th and 18th A. A. Milne's clever comedy "To Have the Honour." The plot of this three-act play is rather slight, but it makes up for this by its possession of a spontaneity and infectious movement which serves to carry the whole performance off with a swing. It revolves about a man and woman married and separated in the confusion of post-war life in England, who meet by chance at a later date in an English country house as Mrs. Bulger, the young and charming widow of a mysterious General Bulger, who was apparently killed in an Indian frontier skirmish, and as Prince Michael, ruler of a somewhat nebulous buffer state in Central Europe. After an amusing series of encounters, these two decide to discard their pseudo personalities and attempt once more the task of living a happy life as plain Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

Miss Mary Cooley, as Jennifer (the widow of an invented general) was indeed excellent. In giving a finished and artistically-satisfying personification of a rather difficult part, she made the most of her chances, with the result that she has added a further laurel wreath to her already laden brow. Miss Margaret Watson did not seem to us to have quite caught the spirit of her part, and appeared too restrained.

Miss Rosa Bullen, as Mrs. Faithful, a prim designing mamma, and Miss Edna Purdie as Imogen, her repressed though still romantic daughter (when her mother was away) gave excellent characterisations of their respective parts. Mr. A. D. Priestly has developed into an actor of surprising capabilities; to our mind, his impersonation of the dual role of Prince Michael and of plain Michael Brown was exceedingly well done, especially as the page 29 playing of a double personality like this is fraught with pit falls. Mr. Priestly, however, managed to avoid them in a very creditable fashion. Mr. R. E. Pope was thoroughly at home in the part of Captain Holt—a monacled, affected, not too intelligent, fairly harmless Englishman of the military sort. Mr. R. J. Mayne and Mr. D. Edwards in their interpretations of the characters of a radical doctor and a fussy father respectively were again not entirely lifelike in our opinion. Nevertheless, they formed a satisfactory relief to the principal's parts. This applies also to the slight characters filled by Miss Dorothy Had-field—the parlourmaid—Miss Zena Jupp—wife of Captain Holt—and Mr. A. Watson—secretary to Prince Michael.

The College Orchestra played the overture and entractes, and their services were much appreciated.

—E.B.