"THE FORTY THIEVES."

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 154, 30 June 1914, Page 7

"THE FORTY THIEVES."

ARAHU.V KIOHTS TX RAGTIME.

: T.a.st night's autlicnc-e at Hi.s Majesty's Theatre was large enough anJ ri-prefen-t.itive enoujrh to enable one. :-o s:iy tli-.it in. '-The Forty Thieves'' the public k jetting <-x.ictly wliK-t w:l< wanted. And it i.- put on in a manner voithv of the n:ii7ip. of Williamson in its best days. •The Forty Thieves" may not be high ■ ir , .. but it einboilie.- the ragtime siml bi:nny-hu!f spirit of the and in catching and rr-fierting the present erezp the niiikeiv show that they are. wise in their prjirration. Anyone with the necessary skill who knew thai, there was a packed audience waiting for him at six .-hilliuji-s ;i seat would be less than 'human not. to exercise it. About Uin conversation tlwre is the n?iial dash of tlie. divorce cnuri. there is nioro than one double. en!i'ii-,ii-e. tito trail of the veiled vulfiarity of the. bunny-hup is over the dane.iujr. und ilie rackety ragtime takes the. platn of niii-sie. One of the '"turns" i.s i!ie impersonation of a drunken hnbby, late getting lioine. earryin™ a prppitiatorv bunch of fhrwanthe-inu-ms. Onr friends of (lie Alliance suggpst with some show of truth that it i- not edifyinff, but s<. little on t:he modem Rtitgc i-. Kvrn I!:irn - F.upino cannot invest the r-haraeter with any p'.ieh quality, hut he is intensely nmusinjr. and the house rocks willi lyujrhter at his loose-lipped attempts to smoke a e-itrnr, <ii_\ "ehryssintlienniiii." and tell ever.Ihmlj- all'about everything at one and flu* s;mi!> time. have seen all. ,if far as plot, und plan ■are i-uiui-mctl. Th« only astonishing tiling nbout the biiKincss >s how tlu-y unearth somet hins new e.ieli year. There is the usual c-'uiflle of frrotewque i-hanie.----tiTo U'twcon the men and the women. tile usual lmmun horse, the usual troops of faiii-Jnating females, who remind one of tho joke of the tit au'e-itoor haliitile. who told the leading lady that lie was ' -iiro the show would be a sweeps h.'fore the curtain had pr>ne up two feet. "The forty ThievoT eliorns i.s a partieiilarly hanilsome one. Mi.s.~ Australia inclines more to Ihe Venus of Milo than her sii-t.er of Medh-i, and some of the ladies, who help Abilallah in his task of looking after tile loot. Migßrst that the foimnonwe.ilth is evolving a race of Amazons. Kveiyonc romps tltrotish the pantomime in ;i. i-heery manner, and the enthusiasm is mi enthusiastic that the audience also takes a hand. As .Mi and I tin wife <ny. -nrev're doin.a iiothinp. and they misflii .is well lrnii :i lund with the I'liorus.'" With very little eneourap»>menr. tbc Ht.dieiHV 'come-; in -strong with the "whoops" part of the .-horn- of a elas,ical ditty isillod "Whoops, l.rf.s Do II Apiin." ' stiiifr to the lime <> f "Viji-i-ndily-i-n-ey.' , and before lonff you havu the oUiIU <-om(ietir£ against ihe clnv., circle und the "son's"' for the hearUe.st ••whoop." Xeedle'S to say. lliffrod* ,, llnish ;in r:i-v winner. Then the side boxiv pitted against each other, and elderly business men enter into the jest with vijjoiir. ftifortunatrly the contest ended in a tie. and the prize—two absurd small tin kettle.-—-had to 1«- divided. The pari. of ilie pantomime that usually srocti tn music is rapped nut in r;i-inii'_' ra-rtime. due or the lew iuistanee- of a survival of the t-on;r "i" tin; "hauiitiiiL'" refrain type, without which no pantomime u.-e,! to be .-onftidered complete, i- called "I'd hove to Live ill l,ovcland." And the .music is nearly a« mui-hy as tlie title. "I'd f/Ove to l.ive in l.uvi>lanil" ftrike- a new note, how-l-vr-r lin fact, a whole octave), the ehoru-i beinjr accompanied by a number of ' let-trie lei!* more or Icks in thi' same key ilfi the son?, lump round the front of the dress errele. and nonnfi-tetl with n baliy electric piano, which the conductor manipulate*'.

Unrrv l.upino, -who is making hie fir.-t appearniice in Auckland, is one of tlinne genuinely droll people wlio ffet their rfl«-U< without foriin-j. Jiven when lie U he mitkeH vnil lan.2li heartily, especially when lie tdandi silent ■wilh liin Ion}; forelin<»er oil the top ol 'iis ficnutily-HiateheJ head, his face el'ps e.iiie.»a>>, ami he ta.kcw the ;LiidieneJ mi..) liis i-oniidenee with an nil embreeinsi uink. Mr. l-klwin lireit betterhalf wan al-o oik- of the chief fun niakei-ss. Tlie.ir -kit on the furnitiir" r-.nle an I the jiaperhanfjins; act. in which l.iie would-be Imiise repaJrers get hfirrihly lailgleil up with the tools of trade.

:i\e. both full of mirth. Mis.- Winnie Volt, tli<> English girl w.li,> takms the part <?f the principal lioy. has no pretensions as a tJnjrur, lint rUte has ;i re•iineil and ■•iiltnred speaking voice (a pift .-o rare and rpfre.sliiii<j on Hie colonial ntaprj. and for tlii.- alone she is doubly vwlcoino. Mr. William apparently inexhaustible knowledge of the wavH (if tho tribe onal>lrs liiin to introduop to u.s a donkey with many new tricks. Other people well in the lirnoliglit arc Mis< Dolly llarmer, Miss }Inrip E.vton. who U).!;es the big sonfjs. in'■:nJin.L' a. patriotic one, with Bailor pharus, Mirts Dorotliv Firmin, Ihc principal girl, Magpifi Di.-k'in.-oti, a clover dancer, 'and Mr. .1. .:. Athnlwnurl, an ~1,1 friend who .in his time Jin- jil.iyed many parte, a.ml ■inn iloik fV>im. t!i" had tinile of (he piny. 'Hie turn which caused the heartiest outbumt of appanse which 11-5-5= Maj<«ty's ha- lifard for *a Ion? while Ma.s the tumbling of "The Three. Rubfrv" ■wlsosp performance was an pntirp.ly now version of an old act. They are three of t!i" c.lovere-st artists we have i=wn. Thvre are dozens of itiffit effet'tive fpiios, and ajnortg some of the epecially attractive stape picture-s are "Australia'a <.o!deTi Prodlli'tp,' , the •-V.vanie l 1: illet. ami tiie finale. The Drums of All Nations" introducing nine i*otint i ict s .