The Province from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 1

THE PKOYINTE, Thursday, June 3, 1971 Playhouse 71-72 Theatre's leading ladies leading lights for fall season Sagas' If? I i til mkhK i 3 i in Toronto and Hcrschel Hardin's new play, Esker Mike and His Wife Agiluk will open at the Factory Theatre on June 9 in Toronto. This may be the year for Canadian playwrights to come out of the bottom drawer, if only there are sufficient theatre administrations prepared to accept an original script as a working base for a production and then retain the author to work with the director to get it into shape. Paxton Whitehead may just be the man to convince our Playhouse Board that writers do not produce immaculate, finished, guaranteed successes in first draft. In the meantime, Whitehead is quietly making changes in staff. Terence Thompson comes from Los Angeles as publicity and public relations director to replace Dorothy Metcalfe.

Thompson is a Canadian who, before going to Berkeley, worked with the Alley Theatre in Houston and the Stratford Festival Theatre, Ontario. Don Shipley is appointed artistic director of Playhouse Holiday, a very bright, dynamic young man who founded the Stratford Children's Theatre, received the Tyrone Guthrie Award, and has spent the last two years with the Children's Theatre and Education Department in Calgary. John Fenney replaces Margaret Ryan as costume head, and Margaret Rushlun, retiring after 40 years in the theatre, is replaced by Carol Arnott. By JAMES BARBER Kate Rcid may tome to Vancouver next January, to star in the Playhouse's January opening, which will be Beverley Simons' play, Crabdaace. Kate Rcid has been called "the greatest leading woman in New York." She has starred in Stratford, on Broadway, in countless television plays and opposite Natalie Wood in a dreadful movie called This Property Is Condemned.

She is a quiet, warm person, and a "shatleringly good" actress. Time magazine described her performance in This Property Is Condemned as "a sleazy old bagful of Southern Comforts who snaps like a lizard." Which sounds exactly what Beverley Simons' play needs a really strong lead. II has never before been professionally produced in Canada, but when Malcolm Black directed it in Seattle he made very little of it. It is a fierce and horrifying play, the best of Mrs. Simons' work to date.

It is to be hoped the Playhouse will do it justice in choice of director. Frances Hyland, who opens the season with Paxton Whitehead in The Chemmy Circle, has been asked to participate in the season as a sort of assistant artistic director. There is hone that she will direct Crabdance, which may he the clincher, in persuading Kate Reid to come. Captives of the Faceless Drummer, George Ryga's controversial play, will open this fall at the St. Lawrence Centre 1 I MHMMMijlW mi KATE IJEID, who might be persuaded to come, if FRANCES HYLAND clinches it with Crahdance.

Booksellers take stock of fall styles Ecology shares shelf with astrology, nostalgia and print, range from reprints of The Poky Little Puppy (Golden Books), to The Vampires (Grove), and from A Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies (Houghton Mifflin) to Radical Politics in West Bengal (M.I.T. Press). There seems to be a shift away from some of the harsh themes that have dominated the hook scene in recent years student radicalism, racial strife, Vietnam though they are still the subject of some new books. Instead, there has been a spectacular increase in books on ecology and nature, the revolution in education, films, health foods and gastronomy as well as in thoughtful critiques of America's lifestyle, especially on (he need for better cities, deeper humanism in the application of corporate and technological principles and a new concern for consumer welfare. Former U.S.

interior secretary Walter J. Hickel addressed a luncheon meeting of booksellers as the author of the forthcoming Who Owns America? (Prentice Hall). Describing his book as World chess match American shuts out Soviet By HENRY RAillONT New York Times BOSTON America's honk publishing industry, generally regarded as the world's most dynamic anil diverse, though not necessarily the most selective, has opened the covers on its big fall and winter season. lake French wine growers who let experts taste the new vintage before shipping it to the market, 300 publishers are holding their annual preview with some 3,000 new titles that will be reaching hook slorcs across the United Slates from now through Christmas. Only a few of the books will achieve best-seller slatus or literary fame.

Many will have nominal sales and be remaindered at a fraction of their cost next spring. Many more will go by almost unnoticed and will merely augment the statistics showing that annual book production in the U.S. is approaching 125.000 new titles a year. The occasion for the preview is as it has been for the past 70 years the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association. More than 1,000 booksellers and three times as many representatives of publishing houses are in attendance.

Their literary wares, which turned the spacious convention hall of the Sheraton-Boston hotel into avenues of pictures rf Ilingo to star "a handbook for those who think about the year 2000," Hickel spoke critically of those who still believe in technology and growth as ends in themselves. "In our rough and tumble effort to discover economic prosperity the needs of the heart and Ihe spirit were left behind," he said. "We were left with a society where the 'good life' was measured in tangibles, instead of those intangibles, such as friendship and service the thing that can make life a joy to live." Paradoxically, and perhaps responding to an escapist twinge, astrology books continue popular, bringing bright signs of the Zodiac lo hook jack-els on Time for Astrology. A teach-yourself book by Jess Slcarn (Coward McCniin), The Occult: A History, by Colin Wilson (Random House) anil The Riles of Modern Occult Magic, by Francis King (MacMillan). Nostalgia for the golden age of movies, musicals and Ihe theatre is reflected in more than 20 titles, among (hem a new edition of Ihe 11)40 book Fields for President, by W.

C. Fields (Dodd Mead), A Life on Film, by MaryAstor (Dclacorle) and three bonks about Grcla Garbo. Ruth Gordon, the youthful 75-year-nld actress, was one of the speakers al a luncheon for booksellers. She combined promoting her chronicle of Broadway Myself Among Others, (Alheneum) wilh lender words for a new book by her husband, Garson Kanin, Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Portrait, (Viking). With the US.

presidential election campaign still a year away, the political shelves have been left improbably uncluttered, leaving the field to former president Lyndon B. Johnson's first hook of memoirs, The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency (Holt) and Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt: The Story of Their Relationship, by Joseph P. Lash (Norton), draw when play resumed Wednesday. Instead Taimanov chose to resign the game Wednesday morning, giving the match to Fischer by a score of 6 0. The deciding sixth game was adjourned on the 43rd move after nearly five hours' play.

Fischer was in a commanding position with a two-pawn advantage. For the third time that he has played white in the current match, Fischer opened with the confident P-Kl move to set the stage for a Sicilian Defence. Fischer took control of centre early in By PAUL RAUGUST American Bobby Fischer's hid to make a sweep of his world chess title elimination match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union was temporarily hailed on Tuesday night when the Russian grandmaster asked for an adjournment in the sixth game of their match. Taimanov hail lost all five games previously played in the match, the worst drubbing a grandmaster has taken in recent, memory. Fischer was expected to lake the match with either a win or KX-ltKATLK HINtiO ST A If lias Mailed to pluy his first straight dramatic rule in a tilm called liliiiiliiian, (hit; U) go before (he cameras next weeh in Spain anil Italy.

The former rock drummer appeared in comedy roles in Candy, The Magic Christian and Ihe luo Itcallc films, Help and A Hard Day's JAMES SPEARS the game and forced Ihe Soviet grandmaster into a defensive position. The American's foraging bishop's split Tai-maiiov's pawns into three vulnerable groups. At adjournment two of Taima-nov's three remaining pawns stood unprotected. Experts regarded the game as a certain victory for Fischer. The American's win makes him one of four men in the running to unseat world champion Boris Spassky of Moscow.

The four are survivors of the quarterfinals of the challengers' tournament that will reach a climax in September when two finalists battle for the right In meet Spassky in Moscow next year. Soviet grandmaster Tigram Pctrnsian, who lost the world title to Spassky in 1069, was Ihe first to reach the simi finals when Holier! Huchncr of West Germany gave up eight days ago. Pe-Irosian was leading 4-3 in Seville, Spain. On Monday Bent Larscn of Denmark and Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnot reached the semi-finals. Larscn, playing at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, defeated Wolfgang llhl-mann of East Germany Kor-chnoi beat countryman Ycfim Geller S'2-'i' in Moscow.

Semi finals are lo begin on July 4 wilh Knrchnoi playing Petrosian in Moscow. Larscn will meet the winner of the Fischer-Taimanov match at a site to be determined. Of the semi-finalists, Fischer will be the only newcomer to that elite upper level of chess competition. He previously shunned Ihe challengers' tournament. Briton could use Irish lessons Val Doonican is brought lo you by the makers of Civilisation, The Forsyte Saga and The Six Wives of Henry VIII, not to mention Tom Jones and Engle-berl liumperdinck.

performers Montreal pays lish soil too long doesn't irrilale, which is more than can be said for Hie light-panls acts of Jones and Humperdinck. The CTV debut of the show illustrates how difficult it is to get away from U.S. cultural domination. Direct from London (via Ireland) Val introduced viewers to country singer Jerry Reed, who proceeded In lay on such thick Georgia accent that Doonican himself started to whislle Dixie. By more than coincidence, the very same show will be seen Saturday on ABC.

Which probably means Ihat Val was being nice lo an overwhelming number of new U.S. viewers by atlempt-ing lo speak their language, I iniaranlccd British television is strange that way. The drama we import from England is very, very good and the variety is awful. Val Doonican is in between. His easy going imitation of a folksy a daily income White While Itliiik Tiilimmnv F-UH4 I' Ist'hcr I'lhrhfl I DC Irishman who has been working on Eng 23.

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It's nice to get Johnny Cash from Nashville and it would be nice In gel a look at what the British Isles have to offer, loo. Pelula Clark, the first week's guest, filled in some of the gaps with a good interpretation of Jesus Christ Superstar; comedians Bernard Cribbins and Boh Tod took part in one of the worst IS minutes of Laurel-Hardy style slapstick I've seen. What's worse, rumor has if llicy'll be back from time to time. When the Irish Rovers fly across the Atlantic this summer, perhaps they'll be so kind as to instruct Doonican how lo run an Irish show. Canadian style.

JUST THIS SIDE of Ihe Allanlic, Anne Murray's final special of Ihe year is probably a relief to everyone concerned. She's a talented performer in limited amounts, and usually brightens any sort of variety show when she appears for 10 minutes as a guest performer. As the hostess of a 60-iiiiiiule show, however, her ehulance produces about Ihe same effect as Lawrence Welk's very first Champagne Lady. Attempts lo liven her Tuesday special wilh film clips helped, and it's ton bad lhal more entertainers appearing on the CBC aren't given the same treatment. Television variety would improve tremendously.

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B3 43. HxP 31." N-il S3. K-qi David Frost cancels show in Vancouver Ir If. Mi fT-y "The unanimity of attack was astonishing, the intonation flawless and the tonal balance well nigh perfect in a program wilh a wide range of styles," be wrol e. The Financial Times wriler was equally enthusiastic.

"At first sight a jumble of schools and slyles, if look shape as a many-sided introduction to the singers' talents virluoso technique, brilliant attack, discipline which does not stultify hut encourages a degree of giving we loo rarely meet even in our crack choirs, marvellous control, a kind of guslo I can only describe, quite inadequately, as brccziness," he wrole. Criclilon especially liked the Festival Singers' rendering of Dolman's Make We Joy brilliant opener sung with a precision lhal made the ears The Agnus Dei from Joasquin's Missa de Beala Virginc movement of ineffable loveliness, with long, sinuously expressive lines immaculately unfolded by Ihe The 40 ineniber chorus will be doing performances this week at Norwich Cathedral and in Cardiff, bciore travelling to Paris for Ihe final slop on their lour. By GORDON I'AI'E Province Loudon Bureau LONDON Canada's Festival Singers put on a performance in an old London church Tuesday night Hint left two of Britain's most knowledgablc music crilics gasping with delight. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, David Money called the group "astonishing" and said the Toronto based chorus "easily belongs to the best inlcrnalional teams in existence." In I hi: Financial Times, Donald Cricli-ton called the performance "dazzling" and "brilliant." "Rumor had murmured of their excellence, hut nothing prepared one for the electrifying effect of their London appearance," he said. The Festival Singers, founded in I'M by their present conductor Elmer Isel-ern are on their first ever European lour, a five week trip thai is taking them to Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, Britain, and France.

Tuesday night's performance in St. John's Church in Smilh Square, only recently restored after being badly damaged during the hliU, was their only London appearance. The Daily Telegraph critic called 1 1)9 niie-night stand "stunning." LOCAL film-maker Byron Black is showing his works at the Vancouver Art Gallery at noon today, and from what I've seen of his stuff, it's a good example of what can be done wilh almost, no money plus a camera. Chuck Davis al Newshour has been running some Black shorts, and a recent showing al the Colonial Magic Theatre proved entertaining. Black narrates as he goes along, sometimes with the help of a cheap tape recorder for sound effects.

Having worked in Japan, lie brings with him some of Ihe ullra-fasf editing technique seen in lhal country's TV commercials and aniinalions, Television personality David Frost has cancelled bis scheduled appearance in Vancouver next week. Frost, who earlier in the week cancelled a Toronto engagement, told promoter David Lui on Wednesday lhal. he is unable lo come here because of work on a new U.S. television show. Work on Ihe new David Frost Review show also was given as the reason for the Toi onto cancellation.

Lui said thai Frost, who wan lo appear next Thursday and Friday in Ihe Queen Elizabeth Theatre wilh singer Delia Reese, "has promised lhal. when Ihe new series is launched, he will try lo make Vancouver one of his first destinations." MAN AND IMS HOW I), Hie ily of Montreal's iiin.iirip.illy sub-iddicd sequel to (i7, lias signed live well-known entertainers for performances (his summer, guaranteeing; earli of Iheni a day. Included arc Jerry Lewis (above, led) Aiin-iUargrct (centre) and Paul Aitl.u (right), 'lino Hossi and Annie (only. Tw instrumental groups, Mountain and liirhie Havens, will receive Ihn same Amount. The liyrds, Taj Mahal, Caul Itullcrlicld lilucs It.inil, Procul llariim and linger William have also Im cii signed for.