'MY THREE ANGELS'
A COMEDY BY
SAM AND BELLa SPEWACK
From the French Play Cuisine des Anges
by Albert Husson
Milner House
Cast
Produced by P. Mangan
A splendid tropical scene provided a fine background to this very topical Christmas comedy, served for our winter fare on 13th December by Milner House. The undoubted highlights of the evening's entertainment came from the outstanding acting of the three angels themselves, those completely unreal and fairy tale characters, three convicts in Cayenne, French Guiana, spending Christmas Eve at the General Store of the family Dulay. Their antics were most convincing, whether they were befriending Marie Louise, the spoilt and immature daughter of the house, abandoned by the man she loved ; or providing a chicken for the Christmas dinner, orchids and camelias for the ladies or even a beautifully decorated Christmas tree-all 'found' in the governor's garden ! But it was the wisdom of their words that afforded most
help to the Dulays - comfort for Marie Louise from Alfred after the strange behaviour of her 'fickle' Paul ; a dash of quite proper romance from Jules for Madame Dulay. The whole play is one glorious fail-%, tale, in which murder, theft and romance do not disturb the general feeling that all will end happily ever after.
Barbet gave of his best, playing Joseph as a sophisticated and gentle convict, guilty only of being 'found out' in a world of crooks. His timing, both in words and actions, was well-nigh perfect : witness his wine-tasting, his banana eating in the face of a puzzled Monsieur Dulay, his undoubted ability to sell non-existent goods to gullible customers-all was beautifully clone. His two companions, murderers condemned for life, were played by Round and Blakemore. Round's performance as Papa Jules was a confident and convincing one, perfectly polished and well thought out ; Blakemore, a youthful and romantic Alfred, making his first appearance on the stage, kept his deadpan face right through the. play and looked very- much at ease. Their best 'pal' must not be forgotten either - Adolphe, the poisonous snake, who finally despatched both uncle and nephew to a better life, and who, in managing to get lost, provided some of the best moments of the play as the three guardians hunted for him high and low.
These three dominated the play in a way which was manifestly correct. Which does not mean to say that the other actors were not good. Mangan had the. right air of bewilderment as Monsieur Dulay, the honest storekeeper with absolutely no business sense ; Hayes in the difficult part of Madame Dulay kept head and heart-just aboutintact ; Applin, as Marie Louise, looked the part but has still to get over a tendency to rush through his lines ; Grewcock gave a very fine interpretation of Madame Parole's greedy and sweetly grasping nature-perhaps it was his hat that made all the difference !
Emilie Dulay
Felix Dulay Madame Parole Marie Louise Dulay Alfred (4707) Jules (6817) Joseph (3011) Gaston Lemare Paul Cassagon Sub-Lieut. Espoir
F. J. HAVES
P. MANGAN
C. GREWCOCK
C. APPLIN
G. C. BLAKEMORE
V. ROUND
A. BARBET
B. HALL_
K. J. MARTIN
N. TASKER