AMUSEMENTS.

NZ Truth, Issue 76, 1 December 1906, Page 4

AMUSEMENTS.

OPERA HOUSE. MacMahon's Dramatic Company. The promise of the Macmahon Management of a, series of potable dram-: atic novelties during the present seaI son is being ampiy fulfilled, and at-. I tractionii follow fast and follow faster. Of the masterful adaptation to the stage of Marcus Clarke's immortal story "His Natural Life" just, produced, a high standard of drama-, tic excellence has been reached. The characterization so vividly limned m the story ; is . powerfully accentuated and graphically portrayed m repre-v seritation by the experienced ajftists of this highly capable and admirably equipped organisation. The sequence of events, from the fatal quarrel at the old ihanor house m England oh a winter's niglut throughout the- longalternating tropical and tempestuous! conditions and incidents of the voyag^ o.f the convict ship to, Australia arid later m the. thrilling and yet- withal; fascinatingly, trafeic life of the eairly settlement of Tasmania, affords a wealth of dramatic ma^eEial tha^; IpM .■■»'.. doZ^iplaryS; m this,, /drarfiatisatiorn the sub--jeot is so r ,4dt«rra;^y.baiidled, that one .scarcely realises that Hii its tliree hours of living depiction hoiw v m.uch : of human life's strange destinies he has witnessed, so absorhingly interesting has. been the experience. The specie adjuncts and accessories generally g! this production call for the. highest commendation. The realistic* meeting on the high seas, the contrast of the old horiie m England with the stmny prospect of the beautiful but dread Tasman peninsula have been executed, with consummate sKill.- The cast of characters- is so uniformly- well distri-? buted that distinctivf! refereiice niisht be riiade to every individual member of the comp&riy-.' $uj[Re6" it to §aY that as Lady DeVinfe Miss THeJen Fe?-r Kave- a rendHibn/eif Rr^at dig-? riity and power, 1 MisSj May" GraSviilfej irt-the- strongly^dtawS-cßftracter 6£ gaf-ah Puvf'oy looked &Up6r¥-an4 imparted a! nOWerfulriess to the r'6preseri= tatiOji which won* marked admiratitfn; from, the large afid efithtifeias^tic a«dience. Little Miss Sinclair played the. child Sylvia with charming naivete, and as -Sylvia- tlie jsirl, and the womarj m the later acts, Miss Oriel Hotson displa-yed higfh a;nd judioiou^ 1 applicability , \p, . the . peculiar require--ments of the part. As Jittf \ts . DfaWes Mr .Qh'arteS' .Blakji. ■4pp'e"are.d..tQ as great advantage as inanHitiriS'lie h^s hitherto done,; his work . Bein^ earnest and. effective to a degree, Mr Booth-? man' as Lieutenarii; J'rexe g^ave;' ;a. poweriui. repreßeritatjdii of .tKis dfe-: serVedly hated chara'cterj While, fttfiot^ the lighiei' pejsottaiitfes \Me,ss^^. "l^i B. Russell ' as Gafibe'tt ,(he iriaria%es| to makd Gabbett a cheerful ruffian) ; and Messrs. Nable, and' Lynch were itp-f mensely successful! m "the nierry veinj they infused. 'Mr Ha^ty Norman'^ characterisation Cff the Rev. Mr North was quietly and effectively- artistic. ' "For the Term of His Natural Life" Will be followed -on 'Saturday evening .next-. v by the firsts Rrpdjict^pn k^clM in^ton of yet another dran^a^i^ novelfcy. '^The Executioner's daughter, _"< which is a romantic story of '-real life of ithe great French metropolis, and which ts just nowv running -with great success m England. In compliance, with general demand the management promise their • patrons a VP"vival of^ "The Kelly Gang" before the conclusion of the season.