at the Strand Theatre, the original opening being postponed because of the sad death of Celia Johnson. Had I seen Celia Johnson and Ralph Richardson in the play I would immediately have been reminded of William Douglas Home's Kingfisher in which they had also played opposite each other and which had a similar Chekovian flavour as this play has.
Joan Greenwood who took on Celia Johnson's role brings to the part of Ralph Richardson's first love her own sensitive interpretation. It is good also to see Margaretta Scott and Georgine Anderson. Despite excellent performances by everyone the play does not command
-interest-and I suspect that only the older generations who have or are about to grapple with the problems of advancing years will have the patience to see the play develop.
In Dear Liar, Robert Hardy and Sian Phillips relive the story of Bernard Shaw and Mrs Patrick Campbell. The Author, Jerome Kilty, relies largely on letters between these two giants of the theatre. There are few writers today to match G. B. Shaw and no better actors to deliver such dialogue than Robert Hardy and Sian Phillips. Forget the Falklands for a couple of hours and go to see Dear Liar.
An evening at Chichester Festival Theatre is always a gracious occasion. It is a night out. The latest production, Valmouth, is no exception. The scenery is simple but highly imaginative, some of the ladies' dresses to a male eye are stunning and the lighting is quite outstanding. But what of the musical itself? Sandy Wilson's adaptation of Ronald Firbank's work first appeared in London in 1958 and four members of the oiriginal production, Bertice Reading, Doris Hare, Fenella Fielding and Marcia Ashton repeat their performances. The original production did not achieve the success that Sandy Wilson's Boyfriend had done and I wonder if of itself it deserved a revival. A pity because I enjoy a laugh at the Church and Robert Helpmann's Cardinal Pirelli is very amusing — was it significant that he held the crozier in the right hand?
J.K.