Item 55 - Letter from Donald Tovey to R. C. Trevelyan

1 item

39 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh. - Trevelyan should not worry about [John] Tainsh, who now knows his part [Theseus in "The Bride of Dionysus"] very well; his voice is the 'best of either cast' and he will be 'far better than the other man'. Wishes he had coached Mrs Everitt [who was to play Ariadne, but has dropped out] once more before putting her out: what 'the old stagers & chorus of the company' say about the second cast is not evidence, and they 'give themselves away about Harford' [the second Minos] but it is true Mrs Everitt was not learning quickly. Coached Harford this morning, as well as Tainsh, Miss Burnett [the second Phaedra] and their 'now only Ariadne' [E. Naysmith Young]; Simpson, the other Theseus, is coming this afternoon. Instead of a floor rehearsal on Saturday, all the principals from both casts, except Ariadne, are coming to Tovey's house, and Miss Benson [now producer] will also be there. Trevelyan could do 'some useful gesture work' on Saturday to help her on Sunday. If Miss Morris, the first Phaedra, 'turns her nose up at such help' they can always say they have no time to considered 'the professional feelings of local amateurs [nobodies struck through] who don't want to learn', that even now they could easily replace the whole double cast, and that the second cast is quite safe to do all four performances. Miss Grierson will be back now, and will be 'a great help, as always'. Will want Trevelyan to lose his temper if the theatre arrangements are not better this Sunday.