STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 89, 14 April 1917, Page 14

STAGE JOTTINGS.

It is reported that Mr Brandon-Cremcr is to establish a second stock company to operate in Wellington, so successful has the Auckland venture proved.

" The Pebbles " is the latest Costume Comedy Company in Australia, under the direction of Nigel Brock Proprietary, Limited. Dorothy Gardner, Cuthbert Rose, and Evelyn late of The Dandies; John Stanley, from tne Steele-Payne Entertainers; John Dare, from the Serenaders; and Connie Strathmore, pianist, are in the show.

Thelnia Kaye, the red-haired English actress who is sub-queen of the Tivoli Follies, married a whole jewelery business last week. The bridegroom is Private Percy Dawson, eldest son of a Sydney jeweller, and when he goes to the front presently his wife will resume at the footlights". Hugh Mcintosh acted as the generous father for the occasion. —" The Bulletin."

The Tivoli Follies have arrived in Sydney to open a return season. The dressing, particularly some of the ballets—in which the Queen of the Follies, Miss Vera Pearce, is to make her appearance—is to be one of the features of the show. There are several new ballets, including a Maori poi dance, in which all the movements and bizarre dressing have been adopted direct from the Maoris.

Mr. Charles Waldron has returned to Australia to fill the title role in "Daddy Long Legs." There is about Mr. Waldron much of the same easy graeiouaness of manner that characterised Mr. Karl Bellow. This led to his being selected for the New York east, and when the long run of "Daddy Long Legs" was concluded there he was engaged for the London production. Australian playgoers are to be congratulated upon seeing the New York anil London star in a part ho has made peculiarly his own.

After an absence of many years the English Pierrot..-; are announced to open their Xew Zealand tour at Wellington on Wednesday, May lfi. The original proprietors, Messrs Will and Rob rhomas, art 1 still managing the company, which has been in existence for over sixteen years, and the dainty and versatile comedienne. Miss Elsa Langlev, is still included, with Mr. Roy Cooke (base), Mr. Leslie Austin, and ilr. W. I. Turner, (comedian.) The other members of the company are entirely new to the Dominion, and include Mr. Chae. Lawrence (comedian), Mr. David Lyle (tenor), Mr. Louis Mitchell (baritone), and Miss Shirley I'ooke (pianiste), who is stated to be an accomplished performer in the style of Margaret Cooper. Frank Harvey, the leading man with Florence Rockwell in the coming J. C. Williamson attraction, "The House of Glass." is a remarkably qiiick study, his facile memory enabling him to master the longest part in an incredibly short time. He ascrfbes this gift to the early days in the profession when ho was touring the one-night towns -with the "F*it Ups." tw o or three new plays were done in a week. During one year he appeared in no less than 200 different plays. The playbills at the London Shakespeare Exhibition created a good deal of interest. The earliest, dated November IV, 1755. advertised a performance at Covent Garden, with Spranger Barry as Macbeth and Peg Wofiington as Lady Macbeth. Three monthe later was a bill announcing a Drury Lane performance of "The Tempest" as an opera. In 1775 was Mrs. Siddons' first appearance. Her name wae not given, it being merely announced that the part of Portia would be undertaken by "a young lady." Thirty years after this came Master Betty's Hamlet at Drury Lane—the veTy night on which Parliament adjourned in order to be in time for the performance! Another interesting bill announced Mrs. Siddons' farewell performance in "Macbeth"—June 28, 1812—when the audience insisted on closing the performance at the end of the laet act but one, when Mrs. Sid-done made her final exit as the Queen. W. S. Percy has been booked up for two years by Alfred Butt, the leading English manager since the death of Geo. Bdwardes, and is at present playing Dr. Thomcs, the principal comedy part in "High Jinks." in the provinces. Percy writes gleefully to a friend of his success, and sends along some Press clippings, together with all sorts of kind wishes to his friends in the Dominion. Here are some of the things the papers ears about him: "The clever little comedian from the Antipodes bears the brunt of 'High Jinks' on hie shoulders." "Mr. W. S. Percy, as Dr. Thorne, was a continual source of laughter. As a comedian he compares with the meet popular of Glasgow's favourites." "His ingenuity is never at fault, and his amusing work produces an expression of spontaneity and inexhaustibleness which form a valuable aeeet"—and so on. The only people more pleased at this acknowledgment of Percy's capability than Billy himself will be the thousands of admirers he has in Xew Zeal* nd.

Many will remember Mr. William Short, "the King's trumpeter," who judged brass bands at Ballarat and in i New Zealand a few years ago, and on one occasion trumpeted in the Town Hall. I Recently he sired the promoters of a 1 small exhibition in London for wages due to a band which he supplied, payment of J which had been refused on the ground that the band was uot a good one. The evidence taken was extremely amusing. One witness said there were too many trumpet solos by Short, and that the whole neighbourhood was disturbed. V. Vooreinger, a Dutchman, who conducted another band in the exhibition, said he had heard worse and better bands. One wind instrument was rather forced, at which remark the audience shuddered and twitched their faces. John Wakelin, a recruiting sergeant, said that "he noticed a great deal of noise coming from the trumpet." In the end the jury j awarded Mr. Short the sum of £216, the claim having been for £240, ten weeks, at the rate of £24 per week for the band. Until March 31st, Mr. William JolifTe (censor of kinematograph films) had examined in all, since October Ist, 1916, some 2,107,310 feet of fllm. For March the total examined was 265.240 feet. During the month three films were turned down, and in one case the censor's decision was appealed against, but was upheld by the Board of Appeal. Since the turn of the year thirteen films had been rejected, as against seven for the previous quarter, showing that the censorship is progressive in its severity, and that -Mr. JolifTe is keeping in view his policy of gradually keying up pictures to a higher standard. "On the average," said the censor to a New Zealand "Times" representative on Thursday, "the number of cases in which e?rcisions are made in pictures averages one in ten. I have examined a little over 000 pictures, and the total number of cuts made is from 90 to 100." The portions of film excised now make layers in -Mr. Joliffe's deed-box. They range in size from 15 feet to 350 feet. Even this biggest cut was made with the consent and approval of the proprietor of the film, who admitted that the film wan improved by it.