STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 287, 2 December 1911, Page 14

STAGE JOTTINGS.

■ HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Nov 27 to Dec. 9Auckland Competitions' Society. Dec. 1C to 29—"The Speckled Band" Co. Dec. M to Jan. 13—11. It. Irving Co. OPERA HOUSE. Fuller's Vaudeville. PICTURES. King's Theatre. Royal Albert Hall. Lyric Theatre. Newton Picture Palace (continuous). Queen's Tlieutre (.continuous). I Over 300 ladies put in an appearance ; at Her Majesty's Tlieatre. Melbourne, the . other day, in response to an advertise- ; uueut for ciiorus and show ladies for 'lie [ J. (_'. Williamson pantomime of " Sinbad ; the Sailor." There was plenty of good material, and a line selection was made, i There was an amusing incident tnal j cheered the labours of the producer, Mr. .steyiie. A young lady approached Mr. j oteyne, and said: " 1 think there is some i mistake. 1 don't want to go into panto- j mime. I came hero with a friend, ana ! was pushed >n.' She exhibited a card, '' which, she said, had been put into her ; nand as she was going out. It read; ! "Voice, little; appearance, nil." "I don t think it was intenae.l for mc," the addud naively. She was certainly what night be described as of "prcpossessivc appear- j I auce." j Miss Marie Tempest, entering into management at the London Koyu.ty, be gins her enterprise wiui a n-'W play written by Arnold Bennett, and cilie.l "The Honeymoon." Jerome K. Jerome is also writing a play for her, the scena of which ,is laid in America; and he has already completed the lirst act. Miss Eva Balfour, the New Zealand ac-iiv.-j, who is playing .locate in .-~ir Herbert tree's pro.nut.on of "Macbeth" at 1 His Majesty's (wri.ua uur London Cor- ■ respondenti, product-.I a new play at the Aits and Dramatic I lu-b, Uavier Haii, Hanover-square. The play, which is by i .'c editor of the "(Mtloo's," is a very . clever little trag. dy entitled "T.ie Last i Flicker." Miss Balfour's part is that of . a model discarded hy an arlis.—who is i brought back to h.:n .supposedly dead, . but lounl to be stii! Hung. In her ' coming to consciousness there is mutual ! recognition, and the model, intending to I stab herself in a frenzy, stain the artist. by mistake and thus g.ves him his dv? reward. The dire-tors of the Aria and Dramatic Society arc anxious that Miss Balfour should again give the play, which was an unqualified success. • I The famous English numorist and olo- • cuiioni-st, Mr Joseph Blascheck, will visit Auckland during his lour in New/ Zea • land, which common' at lnvtreargill , ou December itlth with a musical bum >r i ous entertaoinment which he entitles . "Society Snap Shots.'' Mr Blasche k had i the honour of appearing before 11-s Majesty the late King Edward VII., wh") was much impressed with the rellnement and excellence of his various characterisations. Supporting Mr Blascheck will , be Miss id red Wright on, a very charm ing and accomplished vocalist and mu«ic- . ian, and her songs nt the piano are quite unique in their daintiness and their artistic merit. This lady is the daughter of tho well-known <orrr[>oger, -the l»la W. T. Wrightcn, whose son;?, "Her Bright Smile Haunts Mc Still," 'Bright Stir of Eve" "Thy Vol c is Near, 111.' Postman's Knock"—to mention only a few of the many— the delight of our parents twenty years ago. J There is a fine jrroup or character studies in "Alias Jimmy Valentine," which has been staged with marked mrocesa at the Sydney Theatre Royal. One of these falls to Mr J. 1!. Atholwood for treatment- the part of l'.lickendolfenbach, who lias spent a lifetime inventing a patent look. He is a scientific crank; but sad disillusionment awaits him when one of the gaol "vrooks" opens it with a hairpin. The lock-picker lis played by Mr George Chalmers, and he gives tho part a fir,,- criminality. Another excellent piece of character-drawing is given by Mr Ambrose Manning in the part of Bill Avery, a criminal associate of Yalcn tine, while George Bryant is also at home in a study of brutality as th? dire-tor of the gaol. The cast ii one of larpre .interest, and includes many we'll ; known players. The central names are (Jimmy Valentin* (Cyril M.'ieKay), IV■tcctive Doyle (W'i'liarn Desmond —at his bestl, „nd Rose Lane (Miss Dorothy ; Dix I. The play never b-ts go its hold I of the audience, and is easily tho most, i ingeniously constructed of all the series . of recent crime dramas. ': The Quealys— Harry and Nellieare leaving for l-mgland next Saturday, breaking the journey in China, to play for Ramos and Ramos fur six months. Tho -pair are booked to open in London in July. lftl'J, and they are engaged for pantomime at Christmas —Nellie as principal boy. Harry as tho Dame. The Quealevs hope to return to Australia in 1913. | Power, who used to play Svenand other things in Australia, is iv a big American success, '"Thias" dramatised from Anatole France's novel. He is the monk who sets out to rescue the lady from Sin. and finally gets caught himselfonly by that time she is dyin?. A New York critiv calls it "a play, in > which Satin and Sanctity travel in doable ' harness, under the la-sh of Conscience, - and says it will bo popular with all "who discovered true works of dramatic art in 'Ben Uur,' 'The Sign of the Cross,' and other dramas of that illustrious line." Power has a fine emotional John Storm kind of part, and the loading lady (Constance Collier) "wears as little a's possible." , "Every Woman," the remarkable morality play shortly to be introduced to Australian playgoers by the J. ('. Williamson management, has an immense cast. Each of the characters is symbolical. and has reference to the order of our dailylife. The long list includes Wealth. Love, Youth, Beauty, Modesty. Conscience, Truth, Passion. Time, and so on. A recent issue of the Elbert llubbart magazine. "The Philistine." was completely devoted to a review of "Every Woman,'' which was praised by the philosopher-author in glowing terms of pancgyii.-. In the performance of "The Chocolate Soldier"' at Her Majesty's. Sydney (says the "Referee") Miss' Winifred O'Connor.; as Nadina, had encore honours for the' waltz son:: "My Hero." "Sympathy." '. "Hailing in Love,"" "The Letter Son;." : "Alexius the Heroic.*' "The Talc of a Coat." "That Would IV Lovely." "The ' Chocolate Soldier," and "Never Wits There Such a Lover," were the other! popular nujnhers. Mr. Ix-siie (iaze aLieutenant. Bur.ierli and Mr. Noel Flem.ing as Major Alexis were again successful. On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week Miss Amy Murphy appeared as Na- ' dina. Tho New Zealand soprano acted i with animation, and her bright vo : oe was; effectively used in the concerted numbers as well as in "My Hero" and "The j Letter Song." Judging by the booking, tho comic opera should bo able to hold tho ntßgo at Her Majesty's until the [ChrUtmu season. 1 v

Mail advices show that Mr. Harry Rick, arris' death was preceded by a fortnight's illness. He was staying with his brother at Stanmore, Thornton Heath. Death was due to apoplexy. Touring the English provinces Mr Harry Rickards saw the accomplished musical and vocal act given by Olga, Elgar and Hudson, and immediately secured them (through Tom Paooy's Agency) for a tour of his Australian circuit ill 1913. The popularity of Mr. W. S. Percy has been advanced another step by his handling of the part of the Divorce Court President in "The Uirl in the Train " at the Sydney Criterion, the "Referee" says. The role lis one 'Of the longest ever handed to a comedian, and the verdict is that Mr. Percy has reached the high- ; water mark in musical comedy. | I Some interest has been aroused iii--1 theatrical circles by the news that rzaak Walton, beloved] of anglers the world ' ; over, is to appear as a character on the ! ..stage in a play called "The Golden Mean," ■ from the pen of the Hon. Sybil Tyssen- ! [ Amherst, daughter of the late Lord Am- [ i herst, at Norwich. King Charles I. and j Bonnie Prinoe Charlie share honours with J lzaak Walton, anr the scene of the ' drama, which is founded on actual hii torical incident, is the peaceful village j home of Nicholas and John P'errar, who 'at Little Ceding, in Huntingdonshire, in the year 1625, founded the religious community familiar to readers of "John IngleI Bant." It was a community of 30 per- : sons who spent their days praying and f preaching moderation. They followed the driflieult "'middle way" until the com- . munity was dispersed by the Puritans. I The motive of the play is explained in a , rhymed prologue of which the following , is the key: — 1 I They kept that golden mean—that middi« i way, I That works a silent miracle each day. Now it comes out that Goby Deslys '■ was not the inspiration for the Portuguese revolution. In Paris it is told that ' King Manuel never beheld the lady, and , never indicated his tfesire to do so. The ' hoax was promoted by a Parisian jour- ' nalisl known as "Beaupcre," who has an - interest in the lady. . i Mere is another instance of the amazing extent of Professor Reinhardt's great ,' spectacle to be produced at Olytnpia at ', Christmas. As is generally known, the scene represents the interior of a huge ' Gothic cathedral. During the intermezzo , the doors are opened, and the spectator ■ sees a band of huntsmen, with their horses and dogs, traversing a lofty mountain. But to give due effect to the picture it has ' become clear that the mountain must be 'in the middle of the arena. To accomplish ' this Professor Bernhardt and Mr. Stern, t the scenic designer, have arranged to build up a huge mountain capable of support- ' ing hundreds of people, and bigger in circumference than almost any stage in * London. This is to be equipped with 1 motor power, so that it may be easily ' ■ moved from one end of the building to the 1 other. No wonder that the spectacle has I , been named "The Miracle." . J "I remember paying in 'Hamlet' and 'Louis XL' with Charles Kean, in the .same year as he died,' said Mr. 'fit be radge in some reminiscences related to a "Sydney pressman. "I had not been lung lon the stage then, and my idea oi ' KcanHj.. performance in 'Louis XI." was r 'such that I never thought it would bo upset by anyene else But Henry Irviivg * upset it—th* great father of 11. B. Ir- " j 'ring, who bears a remarkable personal , I resemblance to him. I first met Irving is 'OS or 'CO. It was in a pit-co called "Dearer than Life,' by H. .1. Byron, th" - ; man who wrote 'Our 13oys.' Let mo 1 see. ... 1 believe lam the only one ' of that cast alive. Henry Irving, J. L. ' : Toole, Lionel Brough, and J. S. Titherr ;ndgoall gone but one. I never spoke -' to Irving from that time till I went ' back to London 12 years ago. He took '• the chair at one of our house dinners. 1 and I had the satisfaction of telling hin 1 then that he completely effaced my im- ' prcssion of Charles (team's Louis. *j "Bless you, the changes there have • been! When £ first went aching there were some plays being written and ai-ted which entirely revolutionised the British sUugo. There wore such plays ::s T. W. i.obi'■! tsuii's "Caste' and >cnoo!,' ' which were put on at the Prince of .Wales' Theatre in London by the BanI I tofts, these paves introduced a now school of acting—what the old folks call ed 'teacup and sauvor acting.' Just be- ' mum: it was natural! We 1 nude my lirst appearance in Loitdon in '77, under the management of John Hare, and at the first theatre ho ever had, the Court ' j Theatre. Ellen Terry was the Lading i lady. Just before 1 returned to Australia a. couple of years ago I was ongijed bySir John Bare to play Captain Haw trey in 'Caste,' when ho was taking his stage farewell. It was strange that 1 should have opened with him and have taken part iv his farewell. But I was speaking of revolutions. There had .been another revolution. The new style of acting which ,in the early sixties had revolutionised | the English stage had gone. It was as 1 deal as the dodo. You saw Ethel Irving the other day. Well, she is one of the exponents of the very latest style of a-cting. Acting, like dialects, alters from year to year. You won't find anybody in London now who speaks with the Cockney dialect of Sam Weller. ! "1 have been acting for 45 years long time,"' continued Mr. G. S. Tiiheradye. " 'One man in his time plays many parts, but 1 suppose I have j played more parts than any man breath-1 ing. I was 17 when I went on the stage, j and lam 62 now—ls years of it. .And I I love my art to-day as much as I ever I dud. I started at Portsmouth, in Octo-1 ber, 'OH, playing comic business in pan- I ' tomimc, and being knocked about by the I clown; and I have played every line of: business from Harlequin to Hamlet. I ' •have played utility, I have played the i walking gentleman, I have played juven- ' ilo business, and 1 have played leading business; I have played for "nearly halt" i a century; and in that time I have seen three entiirely revolutionary styles ofacting. Actors are no longer" judged by former standards. I had my early training in the days of stock companies —a thing of the past. I graduated in the same school its Rignold in Bristol, under James Henry Chute. Ellen Terry ! , Lady Bancroft, and Mrs. Labouchere . (Henrietta Hodgson) are among those i "-ho also graduated in the same school." : Mr. Titheradyo, however, is best remem- .; bored in connection with the Brough and Bottvicault Company. For ten years he , delighted the people of Australia in the . splendid plays which that firm put on tho stage. Ho was the original Aubrey Tanqueray in this country, with Mrs Brough as Paula, as he was the original of the "silver King" uuder the maoa-tre-ment of Williamson, Garner, and Musgrovo. .Most people will say his biggest su.vess was in "The Silver King."' fit -i I popular sense it was. It was a "showy" part. Artistically. Mr. Litheradgo has | made higher successes than that. ° "Personally." In- says, "1 ..ever cared two pence for it. 1 think . like the 'Village Priest' as well as any'hing." THE DEADHEAD.