You Never Can Tell

You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw (1931)

Repertory productions of the more demanding plays met with mixed success. However The Telegraph’s theatre critic greeted Shaw’s comedy You Never Can Tell directed by Rhoda Felgate in 1931 as a “Repertory Success”:

In the first ten minutes of this show it was clear that it would ‘go’ and it looked improbable that there would be any amateurish work perpetuated – such as too often creeps into repertory performances, which pursuing art for arts sake, so to speak, are not bound by the commercial necessity of conforming to a standard. (The Telegraph, September 12, 1931)

Babette Fergusson (later Stephens) in the lead role of Gloria was singled out for special praise: “She has a voice positively alluring in its modulation and control. She gave easily the finest interpretation of Shaw in the whole company – which is saying much”. Felgate was congratulated on her achievement – “Her judgment, her sense of stagecraft and the fruits of her coaching were everywhere apparent” (ibid.).

Writer: Christine Comans