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although everyone knows the famous Tauber song 'You are my heart's delight' the operetta from which it comes is not so familiar. After hearing this, the first amateur performance in Liverpool, one is puzzled to know why more of the delightful and tuneful songs are not better known. One certainly feels they deserve to be after hearing them sung by the Bank Operatic Society at the Crane Theatre. This was an ambitious and taxing production which took courage to introduce to a part of the country more used to a diet of old favourites staged by amateur societies year after year. Eileen Bonner (producer) and Geoffrey Kelly (musical director) had good reason to feel proud of themselves for being able to cap last year's highly successful 'Utopia Limited' with a show which general opinion—G & S fans possibly excepted—rated even more entertaining. The quality of acting and dancing equalled that of the singing, which was excellent indeed, and the orchestra gave pleasure even to those who went primarily to hear the singing or to see friends or loved ones on the stage.
Land of Smiles In full swing, and full colour at Liverpool’s Crane Theatre
The story opens in Vienna in 1912 at the birthday party of Lisa, played by Pat Carrier with great feeling, whose singing of a charming love song That's when the nightingales sing' which she had learned in Peking introduced the Chinese theme on which the operetta is based. The entry of Clive Jones as Prince Sou-Chong gave us an opportunity to enjoy 'Patiently smiling' in which he told us he had emotions too, although they were not displayed on the surface. This part was a great triumph for Clive and we agree with the press report that 'he carried all before him'. We met Phyllis Ritchie as an ageing battle-axe after her man (we never discovered if she was successful): in a spirited song and dance she and Harold Dixon showed us that the older generation had plenty of exuberance, while a glimpse of Phyllis's garters in an extempore can-can brought the house down. Jim Roberts provided comedy with slapstick overtones as Rudi, the lieutenant who couldn't do anything right: one could imagine him as a natural comedian in real life, so well did the part fit him.
Pat Carrier and John Bowen	The secretary to the Chinese embassy (Harold Carefull), bringing news of Sou-Chong's appointment as governor and his imminent departure, precipitated a confession from Lisa of her unwillingness to bid her lover goodbye for ever. They forthwith announced their engagement, to the despair of her rejected suitor, Gustl. John Bowen took this part with such sincerity that, even allowing for the commendable British habit of sympathising with the under-dog, the audience was wholly on his side. Act 2 took us to the Land of Smiles six months later, dancers and chorus having changed from Austrians into Chinese in only fifteen minutes—quite a feat with about forty people's costumes and make-up involved. Lisa, unable to accept the subservient role of a wife in China, was not happy although she loved her husband. The appearance of Gustl with the ever-clowning Rudi in tow, explained by their posting as attaches to the Austrian embassy, showed that Gustl had not given up hope of winning Lisa's love. His encounter with Sou-Chong's sister Mi, played with great charm and conviction by Jill Kelly, led to the awakening of her love for him, resulting in a touching scene when she discovered his feelings for her sister-in-law. Jill's acting here caused many a tightened throat among the audience.
When Marshall Hesketh as Sou-Chong's uncle and head of the family, with enigmatic expression, three-inch long finger nails and grey beard, prevailed upon Sou-Chong to marry four Chinese maidens in accordance with custom, we began to have doubts about a happy ending. In spite of her husband's insistence that the new wives would mean nothing to him, Lisa determined to leave him and return home. He, revealing the Chinese autocrat beneath his superficial veneer of Western culture, declared 'You are only a thing, a worthless toy' and kept her prisoner. Gustl, however, planned her escape with the aid of Chi-Fu, major domo of the women's quarters, played hilariously by Kenneth Jones, abetted by Harold Dixon in another comic role as his attendant. Mention must be made of a very effective episode on the darkened stage with the company wearing fluorescent gloves so that only hands, weaving patterns, were visible. This led to the final scene with a heartbroken Sou-Chong agreeing to let Lisa go, evoking more lumps in throats and even several handkerchiefs applied to damp eyes.		Pamela Rooke and Jim Roberts
Clive Jones and the Ladies of the Chorus
This was a most successful show, appealing to a wide cross-section of people, and marred only by the rather unimaginative scenery. However, the Chinese atmosphere came over very effectively and as everything ran so smoothly one can only hope the audience appreciated the tremendous amount of hard work and talent involved.
© gut informiert! 2007 to date

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