... 'THE PLUMBER'S PROGRESS' AT THE PRINCE OF WALES R.B. MARRIOTT REVIEWS Opened October 8 HARRY SECOMBE comes into his own as an actor in a straight play with his performance as Schippel in The Plumber's Progress at the Prince of Wales. The play, written in 1912 by Carl Sternheim, has been freely adapted by C. P. Taylor, one of our most interesting younger writers. The setting is Germany ...

... Sheffield The Great Sheffield Flood' THERE IS no doubt about the entertainment value of Rex Doyle's musical documentary, The Great Sheffield Flood, given its premiere at the Crucible Studio, Sheffield. The songs by Rodney Natkiel cover a wide range of styles-- from a pastiche patter song to romantic Dailaas to a more contemporary ioik sound and there is a bit of comedy, a bit of drama, ...

... 'Nutcracker' lack of style FURTHER VISITS to London Festival Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at the Royal Festival Hall prompt me to ask why this commercially successful presentation should at the same time be so unsatisfactory from an artistic point. In the main the dancers are hard-working and proficient, seemingly interested in their work in spite of two- and-a-half weeks of ...

... 'The Black Women' AMONG its other arts activities, the Keskidee Centre boasts a flourishing theatre workshop for both professional and aspiring actors, and this has produced an impressive showcase of an American play. Edgar White's The Black Women is a college view of some twenty-four hours in tne lives o! a mixed collection of New Yorkers, both temporary and permanent. As its title suggests ...

... Oh What A Lovely War' THE THIRD-YEAR professional acting course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with considerable assistance from their colleagues on the music course staged Oh What a Lovely War as its last production in the old theatre--the school finally moved to its new Barbican premises last month, builders' continuing occupation not withstanding. This particular pro ...

... 'Piaf' THE NAME Piaf strikes a chord in many hearts the world over for her legend lives on. The little French singer captivated audiences wherever she appeared. But it was not only the powerful voice which won her fame. The love affairs and tragic events of her life made dramatic headlines and titillated the gossip columns, bringing her renown of a different kind. Piaf, a new musical play ...

... DRAMA STUDIO AT THE END of the second term of their one-year course, students of the Drama Studio mounted an interesting trilogy--three plays by Maxim Gorky which illuminate the years leading up to and culminating in the Russian revolution of 1917. Although the translations used were standard ones, the versions actually presented were largely the result of adaptation by the directors, ...

... Black Too Black THE TECHNIQUE of the black cabinet, of which Jiri Srnec and his Black Theatre of Prague are skilled exponents, holds few surprises now for London audiences and their la test two-week season at Sadler's Wells Theatre (Sep tember 3) was the dullest programme they have so far brought. Normally the greatest joy in watching this technique comes from the magic movement of the ...

... 'DINGO' CHARLES WOOD'S Dingo, which recently joined Brecht's Schweyk in the Second World War in the repertoire at the RSC's small Stratford theatre. The Other Place, though it also deals with the grotesqueness of war, lacks the perspective of the earlier play. Mr Wood is obsessed with horrors, and he presents some horrific images: the contorted charred body of a tank-trooper mourned by his ...

... 'RUMPELSTILTSKIN' BARRIE STACEY has revived the Easter pantomime tradition with great success, and the books he writes are marked by absolute cleanliness and strict suitability throughout for children. His new tour of the lesser-known theme Rumpelstiltskin keeps the same high standards. Impeccably dressed, ingenious adaptable decor, strong storyline, and appropriate melodies that carry ...

... LAM DA DOUBLE BILL POOR OLD Erik Petterson in Kenneth Jupp's (appropriately?) meandering play, The Explorer, doesn't have much luck. First he discovers egocentric explorer Harry Hamilton's body, punctured with arrows, in a Brazilian forest. Then, just off the plane, in England (and still suffering from jet lag), he finds himself acting as catalyst in Robin and Lena Hamilton's adjustment ...

... SAM SHEPARD TWO EARLY Sam Shepard plays have made up an early evening double-bill at the Little. They were performed by a largely American cast directed by David Amitin and concern the author's particular attitude to the America of the Sixties, the years of that country's equivalent of you've never had it so good, of the rise of the drug culture, of the youthful awareness of older futilities ...