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Before Compiegne, Hey Rube,
The Mechanic—and now The
Golem of Venice—all are thea-
trically experimental, inventive
and thought-provoking shows.

The current production coin-
cided with Holy Week, a very
appropriate time to see a play
about racism, polities, war and
the atom bomb.

The mythical golem was a
man-made robot, a magical, me-
dieval monster, a cabalistic
creature conjured up to defend
European Jews from terroristic
persecution.

In the Workshop play the
golem is the atom bomb around

isis theme

of CBC-TV play

her first child and has to quit
work, Reg has an accident which
lays him up, and without com-
pensation.

The film from that point chro-
nicles a steadily-declining stan-
dard of living for Cathy and Reg
and their family, which ultimate-
ly includes three small children.
They go from one unsatisfactory
dwelling to another until, final-
ly, even the slums reject them.

They can find no place at all -

to live.

The drama by Jeremy Sand-
ford is given a documentary-
style treatment, fusing a fictional
story and voice-over narration
so skilfully that the viewer is
scarcely aware of the technique.
The narration, sparingly used,
conveys some shocking statistics
on the housing situation in Bri-
tain.

When first telecast in Britain,
Cathy Come Home stirred a
wave of controversy — in the
daily press, in the House of
Commons, and among the public.
As one result, the London hous-
ing authority stepped up its
program of slum re-development.

First seen on BBC-TV in No-

vember, 1966, Cathy Come Home
was repeated in January this
year.

Joventive, thought-provoking

which generals, statesmen, scien-
tists, anti-Semites and rabbis
alike establish a united front.

The action occurs during the
Spanish Inquisition, but- from
the loudspeakers sound the
voices of Dr. Oppenheimer and
General Groves discussing, ar-
guing, rationalizing, quibbling
and justifying the military ap-
propriateness and the moral
virtues of atomic murder — be-
fore and during Nagasaki and
Hiroshima. And interwoven in
the action on stage are simple
little nursery songs and char-
ades whose relationship to the
events in Venice are not alto-
gether clear.

We realize this is a play about
man’s innocence, about racism
and atomic politics and the
many money civilizations pre-
ceding our own commercial age.
But this conclusion is arrived
at only after considerable con-
centration and speculation.

There is altogether too great
a profusion of ideas, themes,
maxims and declarations for
one play. Audience attention is
the object of competition from
dialogue, public address system,

stylized stage business, lighting

and design.

There is little plot; there is
much symbolism, though it is
not always clearly defined.
There’ are no rounded charac-
ters: rather they are stylized al-
legorical figures. Yet the produc-
tion holds one’s attention, de-
mands alertness, _ constantly
challenges one to form an opin-
ion. Surely this is a function
of the theatre art.

Mr. Luscombe’s cast, who
play with vigor, depth and pre-
cision, consist of Victor Garber,
Francois Klanfer, Sonja Living-
ston, Frank Norris, Geoffrey
Read, Milo Ringham, Mark
Stone and Frances Walsh.

The Golem of Venice was
shown in open-air park perform-
ances at Stratford last summer,
but in a much shorter version
covering only one act of the
play. The current production
has received all too little atten-
tion in the Toronto daily press.

—Martin Stone

Environment

TINY TELEVISION
“Microvision,” the world’s first pocket-size television set was
displayed for the first timé recently at a television and radio show
at Earls Court in London, England. The set has a two-inch screen and

weighs only 10'/. ounces.

Radio Havana
calling Canada!

By WILLIAM DEVINE

Tribune Staff Correspondent
HAVANA

If you’re a bit jaded from the
fare regularly offered on TV and
radio, a good way to spice up
your leisure-time diet\ is to tune
in to Radio Havana Cuba.

You may be surprised at its
up-to-par methods of broadcast-
ing, and you'll certainly be
pleased with the wide variety
of entertaining and informative
programs offered.

Programs range from daily

“newscasts (except Sunday)

through editorial comment to
sports highlights and the best

of Cuban music. And the best :

is pretty good.

Presented in lively fashion,
other items include Why Social-
ism? (Mon.), Spotlight on Latin
America (Tues.), Negroes in To-
day’s World (Wed.), Truth About
Cuba (Wed. and Sat.), Our Youth
.Thur.), Vietnam Today (Fri.),
Sports (Sat.), and Guerillas and
Tricontinental News (Sun.)

Guerillas, incidentally, is cur-
rently presenting excerpts from
Che Guevara’s book on guerilla
warfare. <

Radio Havana began its broad-
casts in 1961, after the Bay of
Pigs invasion, to bring listeners
in other countries the facts
about the new Cuba. It broad-
casts in eight languages, includ-
ing two South American Indian
languages, all over the world.

Its programs come Canada’s
way daily in three different time
segments, all in EST, and all on
the 49-metre band. The first is

from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on 6,170
kc; the second, from 10.30 p.m.
to 1 a.m. on 6,135 kc; and the
third, from 1.30 a.m. to 3. a.m.
on 9,655 ke.

In the French language, Radio
Havana broadcasts to Quebec
Monday through Sunday from
10.00 until 10.30 p:m. Six days
a week there’s a news bulletin
and commentary. On Sunday
there is the Tri-Continental Bul-
letin and a program of questions
and answers. It’s on the 49-me-
tre band also, at 6,135 kc.

All you need is a short-wave
radio to tune in. Happy listening.

Halifax theatre
e 6,@ e
visiting Ontario

As part of Canada’s Centenni-
al celebrations, Halifax’s Nep-
tune Theatre will start its first
Canada-wide tour in Sudbury,
Ontario, on April 10 with a
showing of O’Casey’s Juno and
the Paycock. Alternating with
this production will be the Cana-
dian comedy success, The Sleep-
ing Bag.

The Ontario tour will visit
Lindsay, Guelph, -Fort William,
North Bay, London, Simcoe, and
Brockville, with other engage-
ments pending.

Juno and the Paycock is a
story of the joys, sorrows and
frustrations of a Dublin family
at the time of the Irish Rebel-
lion. It is considered to be
one of the masterpieces of this
century.

April 7, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 9