THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 3, 28 September 1907, Page 5

THE THEATRE.

"The Play's the Thing."—Shakespeare,"

(By "Sylvius.")

I ■ commence my journey in Stageland believing the theatre to bo a most popular educator of tho people, and a most delightful recreational institution ive. possess. To-witness a good play capably represented, onoloftho highest forms of social relaxation —an evening amonty without which life/would be a shade duller and our understanding/of ono another semething moro- obscure 'than it is; - The play is not a necessity' as'sbmo would have ns beliovo; it is-a luxury, but is of "that" typo of necessitous luxury that ranks with books, pictures,' anil sculpture, and has. during tho last half-century achieved an equal right to consideration. It will-bo my endoavous in this column riot only to announce what plays wo arc likely to see, what com-1 panics'have/the 'Dominion in their future itinerary,' but to givo some idea of what-is happening in the larger world, wherb tho thcatro com-, mands an even more''popular atten-1 tion than that given tho arts, and an endeavour.will also bo made.to treat ,of tho literary side of the play, wherein lies'much that is a closed book to. 1 the plagoer. , Wellington, is a city'] of playgoers, if. .managers" oxerciso that' moro inhato attribute: that is stranger..than fiction, and these will be catered, for iii what I, am.pleased j to/call a bright and attractivo manner. : Something will bo said of plays | wo have seen and thosowo have not; actors 'and actresses .we have heard and. thosewo havo hot; of-plays that' have ,succeeded/-and, perhaps, thoso that have not—for many, a good play has failed. A German'writer, recently asked—lf nono but good plays were produced, what would becomo of tho leading articles in the. weekly roviews ? Critics should', know'..'that bad plays mako good articles as bad wine make's excellent vinegar. The theatre is .an outlet, for intelligence, a gallery lor stago-portraiturb, and even if' it does at time's diverge, a littlo from being tho', strict mirror of lifo. it is usually to mako us laugh a'littlo moro-hoar-1 'Wlv or think in'a now brain, channel, and both;aro-'good.".'-, .' ' . :. ' ' A Wonderful'..Biro. ■ That ' toiigh . old bird, '■-' "Mother 1 fiooso," who. has been waddling round the-Conimoiiwoalth since last Boxing .night/,is .now - located in tho local poultry coop and is laying a clutch of [goldon eggs nightly;in tho treasurer's rie.at. leather brief bag./ The pantomime is-destined-to stick''out in tliea-■ trical.history as' the most remarkable success.in -modern.times in—Australnsiar/ It-is undignified'.to say ",tho Colonics:'.'.' It, connnorie'ed with/ a phenomenal run'in''Melbourne, 'a'run that'wasjsb financially '"Poscidonisli" that it had to be 'oxtorided and extended so frequently that it upset all the Williamsonian arnmjjemeuts for other, shows,, and the Melbourne and Sydney headquarters of tho firm became distracted and haggard in their attempt to make "other arrangements;" But'right up to the end Mrs/ Goose never turned a' feather; and the returns were as-groat, at the'end. of tho extended- run as to 'warrant the belief that she would be shining goldin Melbourne still had not, Sydney, risen up in its wrath to demand.her: presence .in tho Harbour-.City..■ ;" Mother Goose "is spectacularly brilliant, has enough bright music and catchy dialogue- for a 'couple of succcsful 'musical ; comedies, and is brightly nianipulatedb y'a troupe, of. clover; comedians and > a' bevy of shapely girls, who aro getting' moro fun out of'the trip than thoy would if.it wero'a Cook's tour. "'.*'-Mother-' Gooso" has the' same qualities as' radium—it glows after dark, and though" it '.is for ever ' throwing, off radio-brilliancies of a pantomjmc order .the' body is oxhaustless.. Time to Spare. '" '■. ! , Some one with a taste for a jo' ■ sent the'following lotter the other day. to Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne:. "Deai-Jlr. Williamson,—Soein' as 'ow you are goin' to act 'Tho- Dairymaids,' I thought you might liko someono to give .the girls a lesson or two in milking/and such like. lam down for tho Show, and will havo a bit of time to spare to take on tho job. I remain, Cockatoo Hayseed, Back of Sundown," Wagga.".. With a'; final ■touch .he.-'added that his present address was—3 Cow Lane, Show Ground, .Plomington:, A New V/illiamsan Company. The Tittell Bruno Company has returned to Sydney; after its tour of North Queensland/ and has begun rehearsals • 'oil'.' "Brewster's Millions," which;-with Mr. Thomas Kingston as! tho hero, is duo for production there on October 12th. Several important I engagements'will augment the strength of tho company for 'the play, first among which are Mrs. Robert Brough and Mis 3 Lily■■ Tithoradtro, the, former of wlinnr plays thi. stylish Mrs.. Dan do Millo, tho social chaperono of most of ciio uiiii.r ciiaiii'utirs, awl l!;o latter P°ggyi tlie favoured of . Monty Brewster. It will bo like old times for Australian playgoers, to seo those names onco inoro on . tho same programme. Mr. Gregan McMahon and Mr. W. Paulton, two light comedians, whoso capital work is already well known and -very /veil liked, .also join the company. A'Cheap Belle. A clover, not to forget, dainty vaudeville and mixed comedy artist, who left Australia to compete in London, wrote recently to a friend telling that slio had boon offered tho magnificent sum of £5 to play the name part in tho "Belle of New York" through tho English provinces. Tho young lady, who bad been getting more than twice that sum' for a single turn, writes that tho offer nearly "knocked her down," particularly when she learned that the Fifi of the caste was only receiving ,C 3 a week. What fortunes the members of tho chorus of a'prominent opera company .must accumulate in a few years. Needless to say, the Australiennc refused the offer with the unmeasured scorn of an outraged vaudeville artist, which is vitriolic in its iinmcdiato effect. An Interesting Revival. There is a general revival of tho taste for tho classic dance as depicted in Greek Ins-relief. Tho latest exponent is Regina Dadct, a dance;' whom the Pari.* " Fi/'aro " nays is •:■:;•

citing u:hniratioii in the bcauiifu! unci

artistic poses of tho '"pantomime' ballet which she lias created "The Secret of Myrto." In the ruins of a tomplo there is still a bas-relief intact and amongst its figures that of the adolescent Myrto becomes animate under tho influence of the rays of tho divine beauty of Othello, the'god who sounds-opposite' to lior,-and for centuries, has gazed nt her from his marblo pedestal. Incited thereto by her lovo, th'o Rirl detaches herself from tho marble and throws at his feet all tho roses that she has plucked, and then dances to charm him and win his love. . 'Her dance is successively serene, sad, ecstatic, ravishing, furious, desperate — desperate when' she sees that in spite of her efforts the god remains indifferent, when in tho silence Pouioc is raised to tell her how vain is her insensate dream. Then tho girl dons her veil, and ' returns gracefully despondent to the marble. This fantastic and poetic conception is due to tho collaboration of Renatb Lara, and Bernardi, the director of tho Petit Bleu, of Brussels. Famous Musicians Fined. Judgment was given in the Antwerp courts on, July 23 in. tho'case of Eugcno Ysayo, the Belgian violinist, and his brother, Theo Ysaye, tho well-' known 'Composer, who were charged with assaulting a railway guard" in March last. The guard alleged that when he asked to see their tickets'the defendants boxed' his cars with such violence that he had since become, deaf. SIM. Ysayo wero rach fined 150fr., and wero ordered to pay tho .euard-. SOOO'fr. damages. — Central News. ,-, '. • ■'' Mrs. Potter Appreciated.;,'". American dramatic , criticism has long been a favourite butt of tho easy satirist, but,if a recent criticism of Mrs. Brown Potter in." La-Belle Marseillaise," which: has ' appeared in a Cape Town. newspaper, is typical of tho theatrical criticism of, that city, our American friends may.have to look | after their laurels. In this wo read:— i."Care has'itot passed this magnificent actress byl She has had her full meed of tears and grief, and yet with th'o bravcrio that belongs to her .great raco, she can; eat her tears'and rejoice. . . So long have we been listening, to mediocrities '.that tho genius of Mrs. Brown Potter.' is' like a breath of spring. Her wonderful personality pervades everything. She up .th'o fog with a' decisive motion of her hand.- When one sees hor one forgets melodrama and- tho turgid sentimentality of a fast-dying day. The, lithe, 'swift body conforms to ovory feature of tho-'plav, and'tho clear, beautiful tones redeem the playwright's inconsequences." A New Lending Lady. Miss Madge M'lntoshj the new leading lady for the • Harcourt Beatty Company, has , arrived. in Australia from i London, under engagement to Messrs.- ; Meynoll and - -Gunn.- Miss Mlntosh will appear in tho loading female . rolo of -'. tho newly-formed Boatty-M'lntosh Company, of which Mr";Harcourt Beatty is leading man'. Mr, Gaston-Mcrvnle is also a prominent member, of the company. 'Miss M'lntosh will-make her first appear--anco in Australia in "Hor Lovo Against, the WprluV' Amongstitho other plays to_ bo included in tho company's ropo'r'\?m, a ' s t,lat rccl ' aml; gold drama, The Midnight ■ "Wedding,".." Second toNono," " Prince"and tho Beggarmaid, "etc. ",■■■, ~ ':'.*.' ; A-Season of Melodrama. I - The Moynoll .-and Gunn Dramatic Company, headed by Miss . Maud Bildyard, which'is to follow the pantomimo at the Opera House, is at present introducing several new melodramas to Auckland. Tho same management is ./importing a complete musical comedy company from London to plnv such fiormla'r .successes as ." Miss Hook ;of Holland," '£-The Girl Behind the, i.Counter." and '-'Tho Belle of >Mnvfair,", the latter'ii particularly bright sample of dramatised vaudeville. '. .'■ ; ACTORS' FORTUNES. I Richard Maiisfieid's.estate is cabled ,as having been.assessed at £186,000. This big fortuuo has, to .my knowledge, only, been exceeded.by one other '.fortune made through,the medium'of !;the 'theatre, that of D'Ovlcy Carte, who died w0rth,£240,817. Other largo fortunes amassed by actors included that of Henglo'r (circus, proprietory, £59,055;,, David . James, - £41,504: Jenny "Lind, , £-10,630; ■■ .Nicolini, ? .£•10,560';. Wilson' Barrett,;, £30,832; Helen Faucit,. £27,977; Edwin Booth, £24,000; ' Sir Augustus Harris £23,677; -F. W. Sanger, £19,000; Cornoy Grain, £18,950; William Terms, £18,257; Fred Leslie, £16,113; Dan',Lonb, £10,944; Frederick Burgess (Moore and Burgess), £10,894. Richard 'Ma.hsfioltl. ~ Mr._ Richard,.Mansfield, the AngloAmerican.actor, whoso death was implied in a recent cable message giving tho amount of his estate, was the greatest, of 'English-speaking actors. Ho was as artistically, daring in his characterisations as. was the lato Sir Henry, Irving, ■ and while dofying tho conventional witlr tho same contempt ! as that great genius, was freer-from .puzzling mannerisms than the lato knight. Richard Mansfield gave Eng-lish-speaking playgoers Ibsen before Ibsen- was known to' cultivated 'America', and gave the public.something of Bernnrd Shaw's ten years before that remarkable man-.became tho fad of .the hour,-'and he revolutionised several of the Shakespearian tradition's which had hold for over a hundred years,, tho principal ono being. Richard III; of which it lias been said: "There stands forth to-day as tho decisivo study of the last of tho Plantagen'ots ;. a smiling, courtly prince, a soldier possessing a swift executive faculty, a politician of inordinate vanity and ambition; a' man twisted, and finally -shattered,' by a falso and wicked; conception of what Ijfo owed him. The Mansfield Richard, san'o as'it'was, illuminatorl w'tK jv'-V'c. irony as it was, was a delianco. London never forgave it, and the ovo.'m:.g of; March 16, 1889, at tho old".Globe Theatre,' whoro it was originally revealed, brought the ! iconoclast tho first great sorrow of his career. Not' until within the last ten years did America wholly'grasp tho significance of his Richard. Mansfield had n, nature passionate, whimsical, impatient, yet dogged; a mind capacious, highly cultivated and independent; affection's warm and- steadfast and easily wounded.' To the casual observer the whimsical audacity of the man will (irstj disclose itself, and if that observer does not tarrv,long tho impression thus made will bo a dominant ono. It is this same personal attribute, sobered and made operative, that in the artist espressos itself as courageous originality. The impatience and impetuosity of his temperament had a profound' effect upon his professional career. He could, never bear to do a thing precisely as other men had done it. Hence ho was not, in tho common, acceptance of the phrase, a classic actor, and except for the inevitable reverence and artist-nature must feel for a work of art, he would, almost prefer to play, a classic role wrongly than to bo right and merely traditional. . If histrionic greatness meant versatility, massiveness of conception, opulence and delicacy of execution—if it means .SPiV.ing tho significance of a work of art in a firm grasp and hurling it forth with enormous pl:ys : ci\l and tcmpenn.'cntntive prowess—if it moans the heroic interpretation of poetrv. thru d'nvr. .!i-,;w.j O. !T-,iv/-<-; i:i '■.■.iuiiscyVi i:-c-li;:f-'l ila^-b!