THE FENCING MASTER.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14029, 28 April 1911, Page 7

THE FENCING MASTER.

A mixture is not always "better than a simple substance, but- laughter and tears are sweeter than unrelieved laughter. If Mr Hindi Ward had bidden tis farewell in three hours of continuous merriment, we should have been very happy, but not -to Happy as i the audience upon whose emotions he |and his company played so skilfully last night. "Tiie Fencing Master 'is ! not a great play. It would be easy to ! point out faults in its construction. But theso cau easily be overlooked in the face of its simple, moving story of human passion, suffering, and love. Angelo Kossi, tho old fencing master, was an Italian nobleman before-he t-cok to teaching fencing on the top floor of a cheap JNew York restaurant. His honour had been wronged by Ms greatest friend, and in tbe duel that followed lie was the victor, and had u> leave tho country, penniless. His lite !is wrapped up in his son, who has just como of age when the curtain rises. Carlo Rossi is an artist, -whose ambitions aro circumscribed by his poverty, but romance has joined his fate to that of ;i beautiful and wealthy New York girl, who loves art nearly as much as she does Carlo. In the background is the destroyer of the old man's honour —not dead, as he thiints, but very much alive and unrepentant —and his unscrupulous son. a rival of Carlo's, lt is not necessary to detail the development of the plot; it can be j easily seen that here are the elements ot a moving drama of hatred and devotion. Hut high as passion mounts hero at times, tnere is plenty I of humour. of the duliente and more boisterous kinds, and some of the remarks and situations provoked last night roars as loud as would 1>« heaid mi Air ttni'ds nnn-d-si productions. To those who had seen Mr Ward only in the predicaments of farce, his acting must have lieen n revelation. He was the courtly, dignified, lovable old fencing master to ihe life. His subdued acting wa s masterly ill its quiet effectiveness and restraint. Ho realises that on the stage, as in other branches of art. true succc'-'S is largely a matter of omission. The way that he received the news that his soii was going to Paris to study, aud hoped eventually to marry, was a lesson in line acting. He said little mon: ■!''■>',; "It is very fine; yes, it is very fine," hut one could see the man's very soul laid bare, and -watch his jealousy of tho girl, his grief at his son's departure, for his love for his boy,, contending for mastery there. Somo of the quiet passages between father and son were so direct in their pathos as to produce an uncomfortable inois.tening of the eye. In the scene where his enemy comes into his life again, and he knows* that tho dead lives, Mr Ward had the house hanging on his looks and words, and in the climax in tho second act, whero ho denounce- the destroyer of his happiness, ho rose to a magnificent height of passion. The fencing master is three-parts of the play, but Mr Ward was well supported. Miss Palotta played with true iutensitv and teudernc-.-s j*s tbe airl in love with Carlo. Miss Celia Ghiloni, as tho good-hearted parvenu, was responsible for a great deal of the fun of tho evening, and wo cannot think anyone would get more out of the part, Her intervention in the fencing bout, the sudden descent from tenseness to absurdity, wns one of the funniest things imaginable. Mr Aubrey Mallalieu as Carlo. Mr Reginald Wykeham as the false friend, and Mr Laurence Hardingc as his son, plavcd difficult parts with a good deal of success. Miss Maud Chetwynd and Mr H. H. Wallace were responsible for somo asreeablo comedy in the sub-plot. Mr Robert Greig's broken Italian seemed to have a dash of Irish brogue in it, but ho made the part of tho restaurant-keeper amusing. The other parts were satisfactorily played by Miss Florence Redfern, Miss Ruby Baxter, Mr Charles Phillips, and Mr H. Henningham. The play was received with enthusiasm. •"Die Fencing Master" was preceded by a quaint pantomime sketch, called "The Scarecrow," in whioh Mr Ward displayed some astonishing eccentricities of tho boneless order. We have never seen an animated scarecrow, but Mr Ward's weird mixture of limpness and agility is what we would expect to sco if such a miracle were possible. Tho other parts were taken by Miss Palotta, Mr Reginald Wykeham, and Mr Robert Groig. There was an excellent houso, but not so large as the entertainment deserved. No one who admires fine acting should misa seeing "Tlio Fencing Master." Tho bill will be repeated tonight and to-morrow' night, the last nights of the season.