Newspaper Article – On the Stage

ON THE STAGE

CLEVER NEW ZEALANDER

Miss Patricia Nelson, who left New Zealand about two years ago, has both been fortunate and proved her ability, as she has had engagements on one stage or other almost continuously. Her specialty is dancing, but she has been doing all kinds of stage work. She was in a company that made a very successful provincial tour in England with Edgar Wallace’s No. 1 Company, playing ‘‘On the Spot’’; then Miss Nelson received offers to go to Paris with & smart revue as the comedienne, to go on tour in ‘‘Leave it to Psmith’’ (a Wodehouse play), and another to play in a ‘‘talkie.’’  She decided to take the Paris engagement, and, though the work was hard with many matinees, as well as the evening performances, she enjoyed the experience.

In writing she remarks: ‘‘I do all my parts, songs, and sketches in French, and it is immensely hard to be witty in French in Paris.’’ Miss Nelson says that they opened at the Empire in March, and were to have gone on to the Palace, but the success was so great at the former that the time had been extended. She was taking part in a “military number,’’ in which she wore a smart uniform. For another she had silver tissue and fur, while a dancing costume was of green and fawn. The settings were all wonderful, and there were some beautiful sets, especially that for Edith Laraud and her German Orchestra, playing Strauss music. The lady wore a delphinium blue crinoline frock, and the men were in grey picture suits against a black curtain with moonlight setting. Before leaving London Miss Nelson had an important audition for film work and show, which she hoped would be useful in the future.