THEATRE ROYAL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19133, 17 October 1927, Page 5

THEATRE ROYAL.

♦ —~~" ' CARTER THE GREAT. In answer to the assertion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "that of those who have looked into spiritualism, the vast majority havo found the facts to be unassailable," Professor Joseph Jastrow says: "Less than 1 per cent, of the men working in science to-day —in fact, not more than about two hundred of them in the world—are willing to give credence to the contentions of the spiritualists or to believe any of the things that the metapsychica claim. The British author in presenting his side of the case admitted that one cause for weakness in spiritualism was that many of its supporters were uneducated and that "a retinue of rogues has been attracted to the movement." . He suggested that seances be conducted in red or partial light to achieve results ■ without scandal. He said, Lincoln had "held-.coun-sel with unseen, beings who guided him on tb& road that led to national safety," and that Burbank and Edison had been influenced by the evidences regarding the "phenomena of spiritualism." Carter the Great, who will open a six nights' season on Friday next at the Theatre Royal, demonstrates the feasibility of spirits returning to this worldj but claims nothing supernatural though he is apparently qualified to materialise the shade of his old friend Harry Houdini, the ghost of the great charlatan Cagliostro and the spirit of Katie King; Katie is the same spirit that nightly in a childish voice pipes a message o£ cheer and who obligingly manifested for three years in London for Sir Win. Crookes, F.R.S. . Carter, also creates from what eeems to be an ectoplasm a large sphere of some fiery,. unearthly luminous metal which he send 3 whirling through hoops of steei. catapulting through the ambient air oyer the. heads of the audience and back again without seeming artificial aid or support. Carter calls this globe "The Ghost of the Marne" and says that it typifies tho cannon balls of war. There will be matinees on Saturday and on Monday (Labour Day).