STAGE JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 32, 7 February 1925, Page 18

STAGE JOTTINGS.

' i .Mrs. August Belmont, who was known! hi, the nap; as .Mi--.-; F.leanor Kolvon. is a millionairess by the death of licr husband, who left her over £6,000,000. j Fullers' Vaudeville and Revuo will ho seen in new surroundings, commencing! Wednesday. February IS, when (he King's Theatre at Xewton will be the. . new resort for lovers of vaudeville. The entertainment will be transferred in its I ientiretv, among the- attractions being i \ i the (ieorge Storey Revue Coy., which is ; now lii-mly established in popularity. I ' i The dramatic sensation of Sydney i-! '■ (ivy Hates Post in "The (Jreen Goddess"' iut the Criterion Theatre. Though < I tensely dramatic, a feature of the per-1 ■ j forma nee of Mr. Post, as the saturnine; , jUajah of Kukh is the cleverness Willi] . ! which he lightens the role with a j : leavening of subtle, humour. The play, i i therefore is full of laughs as well as 'j thrills. The supporting cast is exeep'j 1 tonally Rood, including Xcll Carter' I Iher lirst appearance in Australia. - Winnigton Barnes, James Grant, Le-lie ' Victor, Ashton Jarry. The piece ia majI nificently staged, two of the most not- • able scenes depicting an aeroplane • smash on a peak of the Himalaya Mouijt tains, and the interior of the Temple of I j the Green Goddess. i Mr. Seymour Hicks, 1 lie famous Kng- ' lish actor-manager, author, ami dramatist, who commences a season at the • Opera House on Wednesday, ]Bth Febru- ■ ary, tells a few facts about his private 1 life in London. "At home we live in ' the Finchley Ttoad. right near Lords i Cricket, ftrnuncl. My wife (Miss Kllti- ' line Terriss'i. is mad on gardening, and - she has a whole acre to play with there. > That's quite a lot in the heart of London. Personally, I don't know a blade of {rrass from a grasshopper, but Betty r and I have great jokes with her. We i steal out in the morning and tie plums > and cherries on the trees and buy straw - J berries and put them on the vines." • From this it may he gathered that Seyi mour Hicks is a "bit of a lad." ] Hazel Harris, who dances with \\>si • 1 ley Pierce in "The O'Brien Girl," Hugh ■ J. Ward's musical comedy to be staged at the Opera House on the 7th March is k Htk-kcr for the simple life. Xot bo- ' cause she likes it, but for the rensnn that a dancer nli' the boards must "'go • slow." She dares not sooth herself with ' the congenial cigarette, although she ■ wants to when pals are puffing a,t her I side. Early hours are part, of her routine, and, as swimming is one of her 1 favourite pastimes, as well as an exer- ■ ciae that, keeps her fit, she will take up 1 residence near the water during her sojourn in Auckland. In a word, she is wedded to her art, and such devotion is reaping its reward with enthusiastic receptions, which have greeted her wherever Hugh J. Ward's company of ' comedians have appeared. After she has completed a number of engagements, Miss Stella Power intends to leave for America, where she will probably sing in opera. During her long stay in Europe this singer confined her ; attention to concert work, in which she had many brilliant successes, but her debut in opera was not made until last year, when she aroused great enthusi- ■ asm as Micaela in "Carmen" with the Williamson-Melba Company at His Majesty's Theatre. Miss" Power has always included operatic arias in her repertoire, and but for important con- ■ cert engagements, would have gone to America, for opera some years ago. There are very few brilliant coloratura singers i in the world to-day, and consequently this artist should soon win a prominent place in the class of work she intends . to pursue. Tk Ttritisb nV.imu onnll* l.tr ( 1,» «(„,«„!

Iβ British dramn spoilt by (he eternal curtain call? This question, often raised here, is now being discussed in London. Matheson Lang considers that the whole point of many modern plays is spoilt for the demand for the principals—sometimes at the end of each act. A curtain call which interferes with t lie sequence of the play should not be tolerated," said Ivor Novello. "Many plays are spoilt entirely by the atmosphere being lost, owing'to senseless and reiterated 'curtains. , Tom Douglas and Jeanne de Casilis are of opinion that the curtain call is "ii curse," which ruins iv many cases the whole idea. The man who has committed suicide, for instance, appears and bows three times before the audience. This they regarded as an absurdity, and declared that curtains should be reserved for the end of the play. But how may actors would like to wait so long ? Some interesting facts and figures concerning the past year's theatrical productions in London are given in the new "•Daily Mail Year-book,' , by 8. R. Littlewood. He. considers that there has been a marked advance in quality upon the average after-war standard of English plays. Wembley Exhibition was, of course, a very formidable rival to the theatre during the summer. One hundred and twenty-four plays had been produced in the West End * yip u> the time of writing. There were :!.'( comedies and 23 revivals of modern classics, as against 12 musical comedies and 17 revues, a very difl'erem. story from that of the war years! The longest unfinished run has been that of Somerset Maugham's "Our Betters." Its nearest competitors were "It Tays to Advertise,' , an American farce-comedy, which was played in Melbourne, pome years ago. and the revival of the Sardou drama, "Diplomacy,'" of which Gladys Cooper was star, and manager. The shortest runs were those of Knoblock's "Conchita," and of Oscar Asche's production of "The Royal Visitor." Four actors, hitherto more or less unknown in West End theatres, came into prominence during Christmastide. They are Mr. J). Hay Petrie, Mr. Wilfred Walter. Mr. Fred Conquest, and Mr. Bobby Howes. As the Goose iv the London Hippodrome pantomime, "Mother Goose," Mr. Conquest has made the outstanding personal success nf the [twenty or so holiday product inn-* in London. Mr. Conquest was born into the business of stage giants, demons. I "big heads," and comic animals. He is ; more than fifty, and made his tirsi appearance in harlequinade when he «as seven. Mr. Hay Petrie and Mr. Wilfred Walter went to "A Midsummer Night's Dream ,, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, from the "Old Vie." The former, whose Puck is creating much ■ discussion, is a young Scotsman who 1 look hi.s M.A. degree at St. Andrew? j University, and Mr. Walter, cast to play I Nick Bottem because it was found I impossible to obtain any well known I comedian for the part, lias jumped into widespread notice alter years of hard [work at. the "Old Vie." In ".Six-Cylm- ; rlf-r Love," at the Uarrii-k Theatre," Mr. I hobby Howes has mtractpil i-onsidorahln attention by the hijrh promise of hi~ work.