Expo-bound Old Vic is youthful, highly skilled — ORONTO recently enjoyed a small Shakespearean fes- tival—three plays during one week at the Royal Alexan- dra Theatre: Measure for Mea- sure, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. The 20-year-old Bristol Old Vic of England stopped over on its way to Ottawa and then Expo. Its home base is the 200- year-old Theatre Royal. Apart from its drama school and its little theatre for, experimental productions, the Old Vic has five advantages: It is a full-time, year-round organization, assuring continuity and the growth of the collective interplay so vital to a theatre company. It follows the reper- tory system, so that actors may play several roles in the course of a week, thus developing their versatility. It performs the clas- sics as well as contemporary scripts. It is government-subsi- dized, thus relieved of the chron- ic money crisis most theatres encounter. And it is very, very good. It has a youthful spirit, it is highly skilled in the theatre arts and techniques, and its people speak clearly and fluently and with respect for the meaning of the lines. Although the Royal Alex has “the traditional proscenium arch (as opposed to the open platform stage at Stratford) the Old Vic’s use of a revolving stage gave its Toronto presentations fluidity and dramatic contrasts usually. thwarted by pauses for scene changes on an ordinary stage. Ingenious use is made of the basic structure and the ramps and stairways mounted on the revolving stage and adapted to the scenic needs of each play. Lighting is rich, costumes are splendid, background music and sound effects are judiciously em- ployed. The Old Vic’s production of Measure for Measure is by Ty- rone Guthrie, first director (in 1953) at Stratford, and his dis- tinctive touch is evident—in the over-all style, in the theatrical- ity, in the impudent comic ac- tion, in the gallows humor, in the colorful groupings and move- ments and the balanced use of all levels of this stage. Perhaps Guthrie understressed the sombre elements in this co- medy, but they are not obscured. The Old Vic’s version of Ham- let, directed by Val May, is overlong, yet it is a polished, handsome, controlled produc- tion. There are some exception- ally good scenes—especially the “play within a play” planned to asSail the king’s conscience, and the final scenes of swordplay and Hamlet’s revenge and death. One concludes, however, that the characterizations were not too deeply probed and that there was some miscasting. Keynote of Old Vic’s produc- tion of Romeo and Juliet is youth: the young people in Ve- rona are really fun-loving, good natured, normal young people— except when they are caught up in the hysteria of the feud. They dominate the stage most of the time, and we see their elders mostly through the eyes'of the young. : * * The Old Vic’s touring com- pany is large, and space permits only a sketchy estimation of some of the principal players. John Franklyn Robbins as the Duke (in Measure) is a blend of amiable Mephistopheles, am- used wizard and Puckish schem- er. In Hamlet he is the cunning killer king, hearty, outgoing, oily. Richard Pasco, as his deputy in Measure, is the cold, unswerv- ing spirit of the law, finally de- moralized by his own morality. As Hamlet he is the obsessed prince, but he is more an angry young man than a heart-broken young man. Only towards the end, after Ophelia’s death, -do we find him capable of grief. Gawn Grainger plays three roles — the pathetic condemned youth in Measure, a_ spirited Laertes in Hamlet, and a decent and ardent Romeo. In each role he paints an honest portrait, though he lacks the necessary extra coloring to grip the watcher. Frank Middlemass plays three “character” roles — the comic whoremaster in Measure for Measure, a_half-wise, half-fool- ish old Polonius in Hamlet, and a simple, humane, honest and warm-hearted old man as Friar Lawrence, devoted to the cause of the young lovers. Madge Ryan, as the queen in Hamlet, does not regiSter; she is almost bland. But as Juliet’s nurse, she is very real, very much in command, and very colorful. © Frank Barrie, as Lucio in Mea- sure, Horatio in Hamlet and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, is one of those young actors who give style and dash, humor, elan and animal drive to their roles. And finally, there’s Jane Asher, the Juliet, -believably a teen-ager, believably only 14 years old, joyously in love, contesting her parents’ choice of a husband, suffering her fears, her depres- sions and her panics, and pour- ing out her adoration of Romeo in a flood of beautifully-spoken speeches. She is a radiant Juliet. —Martin Stone. DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS. Mexico’s greatest contemporary artist, from his home in Cuerna- vaca, sent an open letter to Can- ada’s artists and_ intellectuals soon after the opening of Expo 67. Following is the text of the letter: For the first time in 17 years —notwithstanding Mexico’s tra- dition of magnificent expositions abroad at Rome, Stockholm, Paris, Tokyo, Brussels — our country’s mural and graphic art is excluded from the Mexican pavilion at Expo ’67 in Montreal, despite the fact that the exhibit is chronological in character em- bracing the pre-Hispanic and co- lonial periods, the 19th century and folkloric art. It is well known that Mexican mural and graphic art in the past 40 years have earned great international pres- tige for our country. Responsibilit ordinary fact rests with Senor ; boa, director of erie of the Mexican pal a In response tO tee dented anomaly the of and graphic artists © ve try are urging the & of Mexico to send wi fp mum of delay ue group of photograpié tions of murals 4? I must state en wh nando Gamboa, Wine cussed officially over ed of a year, had Bae plan for the pavie murals of mine 4 wot productions of mY oft posal which in vieW™ sion of my fellow es graphic artists, means agree to. : This sporting life Beloved Argue-nots to finish last again - owe at» EDITOR’S NOTE: For some time many of our readers have asked for the development. of sport coverage in the Canadian Tribune. We hope with this issue to partially: meet this demand, Jimmie Jimmie, is the pen name of an avid sports fan. He has agreed to write a sports column on an irregular basis. His first name is not Jimmie, this is used to protect his family. His second name is not Jimmie either but he couldn't think of another name. Jimmie Jimmie is not very imaginative but he is the best we could dig up for the time being. By JIMMIE JIMMIE Y WAY of an introduction and as a lead-in to my first column, _ I would like to give you a glimpse of my background. I was born in the West, close to the town of South Toebone, Saskatchewan, on the banks of the Goin Nowhere Creek. This is a land fabled in song: “Where the deer and the antelope play, and where never is heard, etc.” (We'll get to that part later.) The Deers and the Antelopes were two junior ungraded teams in the Wormfoot region football circuit. The Antelopes were the South Toe- bone entry in the league. This is the point where the, other part of that song—“Where never is heard a discouraging word”—comes in. About the South Toebone Ante- lopes there was the odd discourag- ing word, in fact people were gener- ally outright negative. Not only could the Antelopes never defeat the Deers, they could never beat any- body. They languished in the cellar for generations. Coaches came and ‘of Torontonians, went, but the Antelopes went down forever. : The interesting thing was that mediocrity bred success. For years people came to see the Antelopes. They came to razz them, they came hoping to witness an upset, and they came to see and react to inepti- tude. The point is, though, that they came. This makes money, and the team was always a financial success. When I left South Toebone for Toronto it was easy for me to trans- fer my allegiance to the Toronto Argue-nots. They are a team in the South Toebone image. For years I have watched Toronto lose, as have many other thousands not all of them from South Toebone. We have won- dered all these years if Toronto would ever break up their losing combination. We have never been disappointed. Coaches have come and gone. One, Norbert wire pieced together such @ lousy ype two seasons that he weple ‘director of personnel to &? atic to concentrate on his P knack. Now we look forward football season in Tore will be a new coach as © é to § defensive players for on€ ; - real’s. ef For a perceptive reporter ei self conditions are TaPl0” east created for another 108% — for our beloved team. bound to finish last agai™ ig For us traditionalists “ise pi comforting thought. All argue” change, but the Toronto oo remain forever themselve> — al uN May 26, 1967—PACIFIC TRO"