STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 128, 30 May 1914, Page 14

STAGE JOTTINGS.

HIS MAJESTY'S TBEATISR. Jiinc 1 to β-aiaud Alhin. Juno Ss>—"Korty Thieves ,, Pantomime. July 127—Harry Lauder. riCTURES. Kins'* Theatre. Lrric Theatre. King George—Durham Street Newton J'ictnre Palace (Continuous). Queen's (Continnnus}. Ulobe —Queen Street (Continuous). West End Theatre. Princess—Queen Street (Cnntinuooe). Aliiambra—Karacsaha-pe (toad. VAUDEVILLE. Opera House—Nightly. Mr. Howard Edio, who is managing the forthcoming Maud Allan tour in Airatralia, announces *! .-t tlio famous dancer will include her renowned Sak-me dance in her program up to he given in the Commonwealth. i"or some unexplained reason this "famous -, dance hae not so far been included in any New Zealand programme. " "The Clad Kye" and "Who's the Lady?" company now iv Africa will leave for Anstralia in a few weeks' time. It will be further strengthened by the inclusion of Mise Ethel Dane (the original "Kiki" in 'The Glad Eye") and Mr. Frank Bradley, both of whom will come direct from London, via Suez. Miss Pauline, Ohaso recently made her | lijOi h appearance in the title role of i "Peter Pan" at the King's Theatre,' Hammersmith. She was supported by >Ir. George iShrlton in hi.* original part of Smeo and t !io uhole nr.ike of York Company. The .Ladies' C'oTnitiiltrn of the German Association of Dramatic Artistes having expressed the view that aetreesM should be styled "'.Madame," whether they are married or not, the actresses, anxious to obtain the opinion of the profusion, instituted a referendum. Tlie result of this referendum has shown that while nctroasofl who admit that they are -~> years of n?n sire willing to t;ike the title of ••Madame, , ' those who have not vet icachrd thU ajre desire to lie addressed a* "Mademtiwolle." The committen, in view of this division of opinion, Jo not know what to' <lv. Recent acquisitions by the .1. ('. Williamson management in the way of new play» include "S«vrn Keys to ISaldpatc," v fantastic farce. e<>medy-dra.rrra. considered by Gcorjre M. Cohan to ho his preateit Ruccmft; "Tlie Land of Promise," tlie latest play by Somerset Maugiian. and "The Yellow Ticket, -, one of the most extraordinary d ramus ever staged in America. The action of the play takes place in Russia. When the Gilbert-Sullivan Opora Company from South Africa opens in Melbourne next rocxrfch, with "The Mikado." the <-a*t will Include Miss Dorothy Vaiu , , who thus makes lier reappearance aft or several yoare' retirement from tlie slajic. •Dorothy" was in M-eltoume hi*t week, with Miss Florence Young in the name part, and Mws Olive Godwin as Lydia. Tho latter <-hanpe created a vacancy in the revue, in which Mips Godwin's part was taken by Mi*s Marcel ine Boulais, of Svdnoy. Tho" following chows the namber of (performances, in ita present run, to which each important play in London |attainod Ga?t (month:—Ambassadors, "Anna Karenina," 153; Apollo, "Things We'd Like, to Know," 11; Criterion, "A Pair of Silk Stockings," 50; Drury I-ano, "K«;jnfl Orders," 10; Duke of York'n, "Tlie Land of Promise," 44: Gaiety, •'After the. Girl," r>o; Garriek, "Who's the 1-ady," 140; Globe. "Kismet," :Sl2; Ilaymarkct, "Within the Uiw," 380; lK.«n|gßway, "Tho Gfcfrat Adventure," 428; >'cw. "The Joy-Ride Lady," 43; Queen's, "The Melting .Pot," OH: St. James's, "The Two Virtues." :!7: Strand, "Mr Wti," 14C; Vandevillo, "Helen With tho Ilijrh Hand." M; Wyndhams. ■•Diplomacy." 4Jli. Klin's Eileen Kedmond. whn joined 1 lie slap' in (Sydney under the .1. C. Williamson mannj.'cmcnc. and won promotion so rapidly as U) 'l>e chosen as principal frirl in the jvantomime tour of South Africa, made her lirst appe-.trance in this role at Capetown at I.he befriiiniiitr of the month, and :i oxble mossajc received in Sydney states lh.it she has won decided Wi-cjh. The (Weon Theatre —tlie pocond national French Htate theatre after the Comedie Franchise—has failed. M. Antoine. the director, is unable to pay oither £12.(100 the theatre owes fnr funiir.hinjr, or even the .tIOOO salarira in arrears, lie has rwigncc! mi consequence. Tarliamont had nnaniinouely voted before risinjr a sum of XoOOO to tide, the theatres over until bettor times. but its creditors pressed for tho money, and M. Antoine, unable to pay the artist*, save up tho imposflible task of directing the theatre. I'nivoreal regrets are expressed at his retirement. "For seven yeare I toiled like a clave," rio said in an interview, "and now I leave, taking away nothing, nnd leaving ■witli less than I came. I have a-etually lett my watch there. I shall not return. J ehall keep away, and never approae!) it even within a mile." >r. Antoinc-3 efTorts, though a failure, from a financial point of view, met with pre.afc sueecus artistically. Ho -was tho Max Kninhardt of France. As the. State only Bubeidieea the theatre, with a fixed prant, and as private capital is also leaving, the prospects of the theatre are ominous unlcae some wealthy ■patron cornea to tho rescue. M. Antoino's productions at the Odeon were remarkable for their realistic ecenery and acting of the very highest standard, ile himsell was one of tho most famous of French actors. lie was indefatipra-ble in attendin? personally to all details of his plays. Strau.«se new ballet, "The ]>p-end "of ■Joseph," with t'ae composer himself conducting, will hp one of the foremost attractions of the ileeeham season at Drudy next month. Tho anthors ot the scenario are Count Harry Keller and Strauea'a frequent collaborator, llupo yon Hoffmanstha!. The. firstnamed, in whom the idea ot a. hallet on tins subject first occurred when he was studying a famous picture in the Louvre, has been explaining the aims underlying "Tlie Lop-end of Joseph." A ballet, be say=, it cannot be called in i the ordinary acceptation. Rather it it a jmnsic-drajna without words—an attempt Jto combine mu.-io. drama, and the I graphic arts in such a way as to realise —though on different lines—-Warner's conception of a universal art work. The form finally decided upon had its oriffin, it eeems. partly in the author's <-onviction that if or the. frreat roles in musicdrama ideal interpreters—those who can "look"' as well as ?\ng and act them— are not to .be found. For the part of Joteph an artist was required who could convey the illusion of yeruth. Whore was such an one to be discovered amonij the present-day osponcntti. however pi ft<>d vocally and hi*tromeally, o\ Siegfried. Parsifal, and other protipon-i-ts nf music-drama ■ And co their thoughts turned to "mimodrama' , and the artists o; the fatnoiis ballet.

Mr. Harold Ashton, the managing I director in £outh Africa for the J. C. j Williamson. Ltd., enterprises in that ; country, records some unusual experi- ! ences in connection with the Gilbert and j Sullivan Opera Company's season in do- \ hannesburg. "Two kaffirs put in an ap- '. pearance one night when ■- Mikado' j was running iv Johatr. iiig.' Mr. | Ashton wrote, "and paraded in the dr.-ss j circle vestibule in a lordly manner. They j were ordered away, but refused to leave, j One of the natives presently produced a I roll of notes and declared his intention i of buying the two very best seals in j the house and enjoying the show, which | he described as a 'Japan funny sing song i play.' He had just advanced to the ticket-box in spite of my protests when j the persistent Kaffir and his companion were seize! by a detective, and hustled away. 'LD.lt/ was the only explanation the police oflicrr gave mc as he passed with his captives. You doubtless know that the letters '1.D.8.' mean 'Illicit diamond buying.' The natives were wanted by the police for receiving stolen diamonds, purloined by the natives working at the mines, and were tried and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.'' Richard Strauss, the famous composer, made bis unofficial debut as a dancer at the rehearsal of his new ballet. "The Legend of Joseph. at the Wollcndorf Theatre on April 9th. One of the Russian dancers who are to produce the work at the Paris Opera. Michael Fokine, did not understand what Strauss wanted hira to do, and the composer threw oil his coat and danced the steps himsell'. All the Russian danccra cheered the great Herman, and several of them declared that Strauss might have become a _re.it dancer if he had bepun when tie was younger. Tlic Wellington Amateur Operatic Society's cost for their production of "Paul Jones" is as follows:— Paul Jones. Mr. V. It. Meredith; KutTino. Mr. Frank Charlton; Hieoqiict, Dr. Isaacs: Bouillabaise. Dr. Normnn Hales; Petit Pierre llhe Insect). Master I-idler; Kit kestrel. Mr. W. J. Meredith: Don Troeadero. Mr. A. W. Newton; Yvonne. Miss Helen Card'ner; Chopinette, Miss Marie Fix; Malagucna, Miss Cara Denhard. The extension of the show-girl movement in London—due to the rise of the sort of revue which is mostly unclothed show-eirl —has brought about a renaissance of the "masher" of a quarter of a century back. According to the evidence in a recent assault case, young men in evening dress 'block the stage entrances to many of the variety shows that call themselves fevues. musical comedies, or what not. Daly's in particular cotistitules one of the most remarkable midnight free shows in London. There, regardless of ridicule, congregate armies of shining youths. They are waiting to take girls somewhere to supper. Apparently there is no law to prevent this sort of thin" although it amounts to an obstruction 0 of the traffic. The metropolitan magistrates regard it with disfavour. Anyhow, when one of the unhappy young men got punched on the nose by an attendant for not "moving on" as directed, the Bench declined to fine the puncher All it made him pay was the doctors bill for repairß done to the injured dude. Judgin- by tho numerous letters r*ceived by London papers, it is evident that Mr Bernard Shaw's introduction into "Pygmalion" of a word not commonly heard in polite circles has awakened a very widespread feeling oi resentment. There are two sides to every question (says the London "Daily Telegraph"), and it would be manifestly unfair to deny Sir Herbert Tree the riirht of reply. Here, then, is bis rejoinder to the issues raised above: "Air Hernard Shaw is out of town. In his absence, all I can say is that 'Pygmalion' was passed by the Censor, and the debated expression allowed te. stano. To my mind there is nothing obscene or blasphemous in the use of this essentially democratic word—it has already passed current in literary works ot acknowledged merit; as a matter o" tact, it was spoken on His Majority's stage by Mr James Hearn in Stevenson and' Henley's play 'Admiral Guinea.,' and no one tn my knowledge took any exception to il. It also figures 'boldly In 'Hamlet' and '•Macbeth.' Tho word is frequently used in the literary works of Rudyard Kipling and John Mascfield. I should be sorry to produce in th:s theatre anything that could be regarded as degrading. This is simply a question of taste. What is good ta-ste in one generation becomes bad in another, and vice versa. If the word was permissible to Elizabeth, the Queen, it should not be censured too severely in Eliza, the flower girl. It may not be gooel taste for Eliza Doolittle to wear gaudy feathers in her hat, but persons of gentility aro under no compulsion to follow her example either in this respect or in that of the use of the word under discussion, any more than in the dropping of their h's. I think Shaw's play a healthy and youthful play without a trace of anything decadent or degrading in it from beginning to end. Probably the 'choleric word' referred to has been employed by every English general in battle during the last 100 years. Who knows but that before very long it may even ,be incorporated in the language an a good, strong An<_rloSaxon word? I submit, too. that it is spoken by Mrs Patrick Campbell in a manner that robs it of all offence. We move rapidly in these times; not very many year* ago a girl eec-n smoking a cigarette would have been regained" ns committing a crime more deadly than that of Eliza Doolittle."' 'T might have exchanged music-hall fame .for Tolice eCourt notoriety," said Miss Dolly Harmcr. the vocal freak of the "Forty Thieves" pantomime, now being played in Sydney. "The militant sufTragPttps were very keen to get mc before I left London. They realised the value to them of tho bellow I have developed in my voice. They offerpd mc a large salary to atten.l Parliament and such Siate functions for which tickets oould be secured, if I would shout 'Votes for Women!' They even offerpd to pay my .salary for any time I spent in gaol. The job didn't, appeal, however, when they told mc 1 would be expected to hunger-strike. One can't bellow on an fimpty—well, as 1 was saying, I have some sympathy with the suffragettes, but 1 don't like" their methods. It was the very song I am singinp; in the pantomime that first attracted their attention to mc. I was asked to lead a chanting party at St. Paul's, which should u.-n- the refrain beginning 'Percy's mother fixed mc with a look.' This was to be rendered— " •Votes for women, votes for women, votes. Votps for women, votes. Votes for women, votes. Votes for women, votes, vote*, .-mes. Votes for ..omen, votes tor women, votes, vote®, etc." "1 could see myself singing that, an indignant verger tixnnt: mc with a look —and then promptly emptying mc ocr of t'ne cathedral. Not 'an!" THE DEADHEAD.