STAGE JOTTINGS

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 2

STAGE JOTTINGS

Miss Evelyn Scotney, the noted Australian soprano, who has been engaged for a concert tour under the management of J. and X. Tait, is well-known in New Zealand. She has appeared with success on the concert platform and her appearances in opera have been equally successful. The details of the tour have I not yet been received in New Zealand. | The trustees of the National Portrait Gallery (London) announce that thanks 1 to the generosity of certain people who desire to remain anonymous, they have been ablo to acquire the two portraits of Dame Ellen Terry, which were sold j at Christie's, London, recently. These are the portraits of her, at the age of ? 17, by CI. F. Watts, and a monochrome I oil study, in the part of Lad}' Macbeth, by John Sargent. There is no doubt that dainty Irene Homer has walked straight into the ' hearts of Australian audiences. "The ' Patsy," in which she takes the role of j the Cinderella of the family, haa proved a success, and it bids fair to eclipse the ' record of other more spectacular pieces which have proved popular on the other , side of the Tasman. It is to be hoped [ that this clever little American actress . will come over to New Zealand. , The Auckland Little Theatre Society . intend to commence their activities this > year with the presentation of John Drinkwater's play, entitled "Bird In Hand." The cast are working well at I rehearsals, and the popular producer, - Mr. Kenneth Brampton, is confident that ' 1929 will be equally as successful for the ' society as was last year. A number of i excellent plays have been decided upon , for presentation, and the members are i a3sured of an interesting season. The . first performance will take place early in April. [ The staging of "The Pickwick Papers" ' at tho London Haymarket is declared to be interesting, without being dramatic. Foremost players are Charles • Laughton (Pickwick), Eliot Makeham , (Sam Weller), and George Curzon (Jingle). Simultaneously, America is being , provided with a Dickens play—"Lady ; Dedlock," founded oil "Bleak House," l and described as a romantic melodrama. , Lady Dedlock is played by Margaret f Anglin. At Sotheby's in London during December five pages of the original manuscript of "The Pickwick Papers" 1 went to an American bidder (Dr. Rosenr bach) for £7500. ! "I know. Peter Pan so well that if any 2 of the actors faltered I believe I could 1 prompt them, and the main perforjners , are all familiar this year," says a Lon--1 don critic. "But I could not help drop- ; ping in to see this year's revival at the I found it altered much for the better by the inclusion of the Lagoon 5 scene, now restored after nine years, 1 and the substitution of real boys for r the girls who usually play Wendy's ) brothers. These youngsters show, when r they get to the house underground, that j they really know what pillow-fights , - mean! Mary Casson's Wendy has grown ; up a little, but she is as charming as > ever." George Robey is like the Brtish Con- ' stitution; we simply cannot imagine life 1 without him. It is no good comparing ' him with any other comedian, for he is like nobody else. And in "In Other t Words," his new show at the Carlton, r he is just himself. There is the same >' daring, the same tottering on the edge 1 r of the precipice of a risky joke, but j never falling over; the well-known pained look of surprise when some burst , of laughter seems to suggest that somebody has perhaps seen a double mean- ' ing in one of his sallies of wit, and the ' deprecatory way in which he indicates : his horror that such a thing should be ' thought possible of him. In short, "Good old George." —"Reynolds News." It is announced that the profits of the ' Alhambra (London) for the year ended J November 30 last, after providing £1269 ' for debenture interest and £2000 against ' depreciation and renewals, amounted to 1 £15,325. After providing for Income| 1 tax amounting to £2762. the directors ' recommend that the deber lure issue ex--1 penses amounting to £1200 should be written off; that the sum of £1000 be i carried to general reserves; that divi- ' dends be paid at the rate of 15 per cent ' per annum on the preference shares and ' eight per cent per annum on the ordinary shares, both less tax; and that the bai- . ance of £0449 be carried forward to next year. Net profits for the preceding year amounted to £10,464, and the ' dividend on the ordinary shares was at j the rate of ten per cent. Admirers of the vivacity of Miss Irene I Vanburgh will be charmed to hear a con- • versation overheard in the lounge of a 1 hotel whilst she and Mr. Dion Boucicault were in Auckland. Mr. Boucicault was 1 seated downstairs chatting to several friends when Irene, all smiles and suppressed humour, came towards them. | She waved away a proffered seat. "No thank you," she said in her inimitable j style. "No thank you—l'm off to sec Auckland." The guests were aghast. They had lived here all their lives. "Yes," 1 1 said Irene, "I saw a bus with 'See Auckland' on it, and I've booked my seat." ■ "But why not take the limousine, my de-all?" Boucicault said. Irene was very : laughing but very firm. "No, thank you. I prefer to go in a 'See Auckland,'" she said. And she saw Auckland. Allan Wilkie, who opens his three weeks' Shakespearean season at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland, on Saturday, March 2, is now in the eleventh year of his Australasian tour with a purely Shakespearean repertoire, during which ' time he has produced 28 plays out of the poet's total of 34. Those left to complete the repertoire are "Henry IV., "Henry 1 V 1.," "Pericles," "Titus Andronicus," . "Troilus and Crcssida," "Love's Labour Lost," "Richard II.," and "Timon of . Athens." While none of these will be presented during the forthcoming sea- . son, Mr. Wilkie is to give us two productions not previously seen in Auckland—"Coriolanus" and "All's Well That Ends 1 Well." Both these plays were staged during the company's phenomenally suc- » cessful season of six months in Sydney , and also in Melbourne, and the spectacular "Coriolanus" was one of the outstanding triumphs of Mr. Wilkie's record run of fourteen weeks at the Majestic Theatre, Newtown. Mr. Wilkie's com--1 pany, as at present constituted, is by far the strongest he has presented in New 1 Zealand. Many of the thirty players under his banner have gained their ex- ! perience with such giants of the costume k drama as Hermann Vezin, Beerbohm ' Tree,'F. R. Benson and Osman Tearle.

The prize this week goes to Peggy Moodie, "Ruarangi," Selwyji Road, Epsom, for: A DEADLOCK. The waiter brought the dinner bill, but the two Scotsmen took ■ 110 noticc and went on talking. When they had nothing more to say they smoked on hour after hour in silence. At midnight one of them got up and telephoned to his wife: "Dinna wait up for me, lass. It looks like a deadlock." FORMS AND FIGURES. He: But why won't you marry an artist? She: There are too many dangerous curves ahead. TRUE ENOUGH. Husband: I met a friend, you see, and, of course, we had to have a drink. Wife (sarcastically): Really! If one meets a friend must one go for a drink? Husband: No, both must. HUSBAND A DETAIL. Sambo: Will you give me a kiss, Chloe? Chloe: Ah'm sorry to refuse you, Sambo, but Ah'm married and Ah loves ma husband. Sambo: Dat's all right, honey, Ah'm not at all jealous. BEFORE THE FLOOD. A Scotsman named McLean was boasting of his family, and said that the clan had lived before the flood. "Well,"- said his opponent, "I never heard of a McLean going into the ark." "Noah's Ark," replied McLean in contempt; "whoever heard of a McLean that had not a boat of his own?" DOUBTFUL THANKS. Thompson had been given a bos of cigars for a Christmas present, and after he had tried to smoke some of them the donor met him and inquired: "Well, what did you think of the cigars, old man?" "None to equal them," replied Thompson; "in fact, few could come near them!" THE FIRST. Spectator (to competitor in London to Brighton race for obsolete motor cars): Can you tell me who owned the first motor car? Competitor (after several unsuccessful guesses: Give it up. Spectator: Joseph Chamberlain—he had a baby 'Austen' CO years ago. AMBIGUOUS. "I don't know whether to accept this testimonial or not," mused the hairrestorer man. "What's the matter with it?" demanded the advertising manager. "Well," explained the boss, "the man writes: 'I used to have three bald spots 011 the top of my bead, but since using a bottle of your hair-restorer I have only one.'" BIT AWKWARD. Mother and her four-year-old son • were paying a neighbourly call where was a baby girl much too young to talk. 1 Sonny vainly endeavoured to engage the 1 fair little one in conversation, and was annoyed at his non-success. In remonstrating with mother as to his failure, he was told baby could not talk for it had no teeth; but as soon as it" got some it would chatter to him readily enough. Sonny's face brightened up, and with his "forte" coaxing tone said, "Lend her yours, mummie, you can have them back before we go." AT LARGE. It was a small town in Scotland, and the Englishman was paying his first visit there. He stopped to make a few inquiries of a native of the place. After a few remarks he said' to him: "I suppose you have a provost here?" "Ay," said the man. "And does he wear insignia like our mayors?" inquired the Englishman. The man looked at him in amazement. "Insignia?" he inquired. "Well," said the other, "does he wear a chain?" "Na, na," was the reply. "He gangs loose; but dinna be feared, he's quite harmless." A BAD EGG. Travellers in Australia were breakfasting at an inn in the backwoods and there was exactly one egg apiece. Qne old traveller reached for an egg, cracked it, held it to his nose and, uttering an exclamation of disgust, put it back 011 the plate and calmly took another, leaving someone else to go without. After most of the tourists had left to resume their journey one member of the party returned to the inn to find the man who had discarded the egg eating it with enjoyment. "You don't mean to say you're eating that bad egg?" he exclaimed. "There's nothing the matter with it," was the cool reply. "Only nobody else seemed to fancy it, so you see, I got two." I

—— -J Flapper (at draper's counter): I'd like a pair of garters, please. Sheik Assistant: Yes, miss; something like the ones you have on? Boss: Smith, you know I'm very forgetful, don't you? Smith: Yes, sir, I do. Boss: Then remind me to ;>ive you tha sack at the end of the mor.th! Little Willie had been sent to the garden to take charge of his baby brother. After a time his mother appeared and told him to bring the baby in to tea. ' "I don't expect he's very hungry" Willie replied. "He's just eaten a toad!" The teacher was giving a lesson on bad habits, but one small boy was not paying much attention. "Now, Peter," said the teacher to him "what do we iind it is easy to get into and very difficulty to get out of?" "Bed!" promptly replied the boy. "So you saw me kiss your sister last night, did you? Well, say nothing about it. Here's half a crown." The young brother pocketed the corn and then, handing the young man sixpence, he added, "And here's your change, sir. One price to all is my motto." At the Labour Exchange a man was told his pay was stopped, and he must see the officer in charge of vacant jobs. Said the officer: "Have you been looking for work, my man?" "Yes, sir, I have been all over and everywhere, and cannot get a job." Officer: "What about Australia?" Man: "I don't think much of 251 for eight wickets."

THE BAIT.

It was a, village cricket match, and a stranger liad been persuaded to act as umpire. "There's nothing in it," he was' told. ''If you are asked, just give your honest opinion." Presently the wieketkeeper did a brilliant bit of stumping. "How's that?" he cried. "'Pon my soul, it's marvellous!" replied the umpire. It was Boxing Day, and Mrs. Jones was clearing away the debris of the pri« vious day's Christmas party, whea l timid knock came at the front door. Opening it, a small boy was disclosed. "Good, morning, mum. Compliments of the season," he said, expectantly. "I'm the butcher's boy." "But why didn't you call before Christmas Day?" asked Mrs. Jones, in surprise. "I only started work this morning" was thb reply. The master of the house opened tbq door to the postman's knock on Christinas morning, and in reply to the postman's cheery good morning, he m!4| "Good morning, postman, do you com» every morning?" The postman, thinking about a Christmas box, said, "Yes, sir." "And do you come every afternoon! "Yes, sir." "And every night?" "Yes, sir." "Well, then, you must be the one that broke my bell." "How can I ask a girl patient for a dance?" asked the man who went to a charity dance at a deaf and dumb institution. "Oh," ho was told, "just go up to her and point first to her, then yourself) then twirl your hand round and round, and wait for the nod." He followed the advice. When lie had finished the dance another fellow came up to his partner, and said: "But I thought, Sybil, you booked this dance with me?" 'Tm sorry," she answered, "I did. But how could I explain to his poor deaf and ' dumb fellow?"

REVOLT IN THE SUBURBS.

The Worm: "Just to show you that I'm sick of your dictatorial method»> do you know what I'm about to do? I'm going to miss the 8.17 train to town this morning!" —"London Opinion."