Fashions For Men

Fashions for Men (1933)

Of Fashions for Men, a farce by Ferenc Molnar directed by Jum Pendleton in 1933 and set in Budapest, the Telegaph critic had these harsh words to say: “There have been occasions in the history of the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society when we have been able to forget that it is essentially amateur in its status. Unfortunately last night was not one of them”(July 6, 1933).

Evidently unable to capture any of the ‘continental’ atmosphere of the play, the production was ridiculed for the set that looked more like “the interior of one of Queensland’s country town emporia” than a sophisticated European gentlemen’s fashion showroom, and for the casting of the Count, who had “the faint aroma of our eucalyptus, surrounding, like an aura, both his deportment and his speech”. It was a matter, the critic wrote, of the play deserving better casting – “If the Repertory Theatre Society wishes us to partake of a sparkling vintage we would prefer it served in appropriate crystal rather than in homely enamel-ware” (ibid.). 

Writer: Christine Comans