Canadian pianist Ronaldo Turini is Performing at a concert which he gave te shown —TASS Photo cently at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire Con- cert Hall in Moscow. UJPO evening sparkles A near-capacity audience at the Peretz School last Sun- day evening witnessed an eve- ning of topnotch drama, humour and folk operetta, when the Drama Workshop of the United Jewish Peoples Order presented an evening of three one-act plays. The offerings were: ‘“Bontche Shveig,”” by I. L. Peretz, “The Bunker,” by Vancouver ~ play- wright Ray Hull, and Act 1 and the Finale from the folk oper- etta “Doires Zingen,’’ (Genera- tions Sing). All three were pro- duced in a highly entertaining fashion. * * * “Bontche Shveig’’ is the story of a poor man who goes up to Heaven—his reward for living a compromising, uncomplaining Sort of existence on earth. The lead roles were played by Al- bert Stein, Colin Saddler, Soli Jackson, Betty Schiller and Sylvia Friedman, but the real Stars were Fraser Wilson, who de- Signed the sets, and Clive Kap- lan, whose lighting brought them to life, This merging of competent act- New Foreign Policy Roy Reid, Saskatoon, Sask., Writes: Canada needs a foreign Policy calling for trade with all Countries, especially with the newly independent countries of Asia, Africa and Cuba. Markets Should operate for the mutual benefit of all who trade. This fact of life makes it necessary for a realistic Canadian govern- Ment to make a clean break with our present foreign policy of the ~~ WORTH READING Higher Education in the USSR, by Professor V. P. Ely- utin. Price 10c. Professor Elyutin describes the structure of higher educa- tion in the Soviet Union to- day and how cadres are being trained to take their place in all branches of the economy, Science and culture. He also deals with the Problems now being tackled by the country’s higher edu- Cational establishments in the fields of the humanities and technology with a view to Tinging education still clos- €t to the requirements of life. ing and brilliant effects assured the success of the first production. * * * “The Bunker’ was a_ well written satire that just barely fell short of being 100 percent effec- tive, due to a tendency to treat it as a drama. Satires are always difficult to project and one was torn between the desire to laugh (which, after all, was the play- wright’s intention) and the pull DRAMA to reflect seriously on the play’s message, so serious were the actors: The entire action takes place in an underground shelter, occupied by a provincial premier and his cabinet and yet the point was never made quite clear as to whether the situation ‘‘up top” was an H-war or a ‘‘conventional”’ conflict. The many good features far out- weighed the negative, however, and the net result was most pleasing. integration of our economies with the political economy of the United States. Our Free Enterprise tends in practice to sabotage the industrial growth of the former colonial countries leaving them always at our mercy with a very weak purchasing power and our- selves with stockpiles of surplus goods, unemployment and relief. Leaders in control of our capl- talistic society carry on like puppets in a show. The stage is not just Ottawa but Canada wide. The plan to brain-wash the elec- torate into accepting war pre- they call defence. It system parations works like a machine. Behind the scene it is being well oiled with monopolistic money, in the ser- vice of the United States. Maxi- mum profits for them is the de- sired result, A deluge of election promises is to be expected. Will the people of Canada fall for and support a policy of suicidal ther- mionuclear war?” : It is time for a show down. The is ‘‘no nuclear weapons for Canada.”” In the coming elec- tion . only the candidates who wholeheartedly support this peo- are worthy of a vote. e world slogan ples slogan The masses of the whol ; need general and complete dis- armament guaranteed by inter- national inspection and control. This could be based on a world policy of peaceful co-existence. The “Doires the open- selections from Zingen’’ immediately won audience—right from the ing scene in a synagogue. The highlight of the evening was, to this reviewer, the vocal trio. ‘‘Raisins and Almonds’’, with Claire Klein, Winona Zuker: and Marlene Kobylansky. Miss Klein showed once again, in her solo passages,- that nobody in Vancouver (or few other places, for that matter!) sings Yiddish songs the way she does. For she is that rarity among gifted singers—one who sings with her voice and feels with her heart at the same moment and the listener is continually aware of this. The Drama Workshop's efforts were finely complemented by the Instrumental Ensemble of the AUUC (conducted by Karl Koby- lansky), thus maintaining the fine tradition which has_ been established by these two out- standing progressive organiza- tions. The entire evening will be re- peated on Sunday, Feb. 24. —J. SHACK BORD PRAISE THE Clearence E., B.C., Jewitt, Lang Bay, writes: ‘Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.’” I have of late read considerable of J. Edgar Hoover's writings, mostly fiction, in which his theme song is a ‘‘free and Godly people.” Now I would like to draw his attention to some few of the atrocities of the past by a ‘“‘free’’ people which had, I believe, the sanction of the Church, and does Mr. Hoover not think that such things could happen again? The rape, pillage and murder of the Incas in Peru, the Aztecs of South and Central America, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The gladiators of ancient Rome. The old Souix Chief Sitting Bull and the remnants of his people at Standing Rock, Dakota Territory, who were brutally slaughtered. The American revolution and Hit- ler’s coneentration camps and death ovens. My oh my, but the apes in the trees must be laugh- ing at J. Edgar’s ideas of “‘frec- dom and godliness.” NUCLEAR ARMS L. A., Vancouver, writes: In reference to Canada’s stand on nuclear arms, and some move- ment towards disarmament, I would like to ask the various candidates now seeking election the old question: ‘If not we, Who? ‘If not now, When? VIF already aiming for '67 centenary he Vancouver Internation- Ee al Festival, in outlining the program for its sixth sea- son, has moved the schedule forward from mid-summer to the beginning of June. The new Artistic Director of the Festival, Dino Yanna- poulos, of Metropolitan and San Francisco Opera fame, has built the program around a British theme. He plans, in the next five years leading up to the Canadian Centen-; nial in 1967, to cover many of the countries of origin of the Canadian people. * * * Such an attitude is to be welcomed most sincerely. It is in keeping with one of the proposals made to the VIF by the Cultural Committee of the _Vancouver Communist Party at the close of last year, when the very future of the festival hung in the balance. It remains to be seen, how- ever, whether this noble at- tempt will mature to its natu- ral expression — the involve- ment of our city’s many eth- nic amateur groups and or- ganizations — or whether it will be scuttled by rigid cold war psychology. At any rate, the proposal is certainly a step in the right direction and should be en- couraged by all progressive forces. * * * The British theme for this year will include works by British composers and writers and works of other nations based on British stories and content. The festival, starting May 29, will present the Grand Opera “Macbeth” by Verdi, based on Shakespeare’s play. The cast will include Frank Guarrera and Irene Dalis in the title roles. Both have sung these roles at the Metropoli- tan Opera in New York. “The Merry Wives of Wind- sor’ will be performed as a comic opera and the operetta "Florodora’ will be presented as a period piece of the Gay Nineties. * ca ae The major dramatic pro- duction will be “Saint Joan” by George Bernard Shaw. Along with “Macbeth”, this will be directed by Yannopou- los. The title role will be. played by Susan Kohner. The Dauphin will be performed by Mike Nichols. “The comedy “The Import- ance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde will be presen- ted with an outstanding cast including Mike Nichols. For the children, the Festival will produce “Pe- ter Pan” in its original James Barrie version. The best of fifteen years of the Canadian revue “Spring Thaw” will be adapted, written and directed by Mavor Moore. The musical portion of the program will continue: with the popular series of “Music At Six”. This year they will feature a cycle of Concerti Grossi by Handel and another cycle of modern Elizabethan works for solo voice. A major symphonic work will also be presented with a world-fam- ous guest conductor. In a press. release issued recently, the VIF has stated that “the development of a theme as a base for the fes- tival has received consider- able support from the Van- couver public.” The festival will run from May 29 to June 22. It will be carried on entirely in the city-developed Queen Eliza- beth Theatre and Queen Eliz- abeth Playhouse. Britten in Soviet Union ; ne of Britainis foremost O contemporary composers and a musician of world re- nown, Benjamin Britten, will take part in a two-week festi- val of British music. The fes- tival will be held in Moscow for the first week, beginning on March 6. Its site will then shift to Leningrad. The Soviet State Symphony Orchestra will join British soloists and conductor Nor- man Del Mar in two sym- phony and five chamber con- certs in Moscow which will feature Britten’s works. V ‘BENJAMIN BRITTEN And others look away; Peace Shall Win The Day However dark the day may be, Though War Dogs loudly bay; ‘The ‘warming sun will shine again — Peace yet shall win the day! Though some will bend a lackey knee Our people see the gleam ahead — Peace yet shall win the day! The rumble of the northbound train, Yankee missiles on their way; That death-bringing rumble must be stopped — Peace yet shall win the day! Across the land from sea to sea, From Vancouver to Glace Bay; The mighty voice of Reason booms — Peace -yet shall win the day! i ® AL RANKIN Feb. 22, 1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page