" THE SHOEMAKERS' HOLIDAY"

It is a bold man who produces an open air play in an English summer, and the recurring sight of the actors dashing for cover during rehearsals or spreading tarpaulins over the already drenched and bedraggled scenery led many to assume that Mr. Hutton and his Eyases would surrender to the elements and cancel the production. However, two performances were given as planned, and not a drop of rain fell during either of them.

     The production was vividly costumed and made a splendid spectacle. It also revealed a wealth of promising young talent (which was part of the object of the exercise) and gave to a large number of boys some excellent practice in enunciation. One of the main drawbacks to an open air performance is that any subtleties of gesture, facial expression or intonation are lost on the audience, and are therefore of no use to the actor. This, of course, is less of a drawback with young boys than it is with adults, for the former have a very much more limited range of facial and vocal expression to draw upon. That they should speak clearly and move smoothly and naturally was all that was required of them, and this almost all of the large cast succeeded in doing. Outstanding in both these respects were Barta and Howes.

      But the highlights of the play were the ensemble pieces - dances, hunting scenes, parades of soldiers, drinking songs, all of which were carried out with great zest; and it was these which, more than anything, justified Mr. Hutton's choice of an outdoor setting.