Western Morning News - 12 January 1932.
"Sunday night's production, well made by Mr John Fernald, was notable for some extremely good acting, especially by Mr Ivan Samson as the officer in command of the submarine, Mr Charles Mortimer, as the captain of the flotilla, on whose nerves the war had taken a toll which, twelve years later, was becoming apparent, and by Mr Jack Hawkins as a young lieutenant."
"Sunday night's production, well made by Mr John Fernald, was notable for some extremely good acting, especially by Mr Ivan Samson as the officer in command of the submarine, Mr Charles Mortimer, as the captain of the flotilla, on whose nerves the war had taken a toll which, twelve years later, was becoming apparent, and by Mr Jack Hawkins as a young lieutenant."
From The Era of 13 January, 1932.
AT THE PLAY Below the Surface Repertory Players at the Phoenix Theatre, after short succession of misfires, the Repertory Players have struck home with an immediately interesting drama. It deserves a trial without delay in a West-End theatre. Taking a unique subject, and one in which the temptations to melodramatics loom large, the co-authors have succeeded in making a play of character primarily, and yet also got into it, quite legitimately, most the natural excitement their subject. It is really an attack on what the authors (Messrs. J. L. Hunt and H. G. Stoker) call promotion-itis." In the play are two submarine lieutenant-commanders with equal chances. When an opportunity comes to one of them, Cramer to send his fellow-officer to sea in his submarine without adequate notice and preparation, he seizes the chance unscrupulously, if the other officer, Berners, makes one slip, it will discredit him and leave the way clear for Cramer’s promotion. In the second act, then, we peep into the control room of the submarine Isis at sea, dive with it to the ocean’s depths, hear machinery drumming and water swishing, and watch with rapt excitement the machine-precise movements of the crew' as they attempt to carry out difficult manoeuvres and torpedo-firing at the (pretended) enemy fleet. The scene is one of the most intense I have ever watched. The momentary expectation of some drastic occurrence kept the audience on the tiptoe of suspense. All that does happen is that the submarine hits bottom and, being almost entirely out of control, has to be taken to port. How Captain Berners escapes the wrath of the Admiralty for failure to carry out orders is left to the third act to describe. The play is written in a direct forceful style, with a little of the inevitable Cockney humour. The one false move of the authors is in the third act, when Cramer is somewhat naively made to attempt to blackmail a girl friend of Berners. That interlude fails of conviction. But it is a minor point. This is a real play of the sea, without romance, sentimentality, or high colour, and the cruel rigidity of the seniority system and its mechanical discipline is forcefully exposed. The play ought to be famously in a small West End theatre. On Sunday evening the acting and production were on sound and competent lines. Given suitable casting, there was little call for histrionics. But Anthony Ireland and Ivan Samson did well as the lieutenant commanders, Charles Mortimer made a fierce captain, Joan Henley and Jessica Tandy filled the requirements of the female parts. Others who did good work in smaller ways were Atholl Fleming, Jack Hawkins, Gilbert Davis, Clive Morton, Ernest Jay, Reginald Smith, Harold Meade and G. M. O'Ferrall. The producer was excellent John Fernald. |