THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 122, 15 February 1908, Page 13

THE THEATRE.

(By " Sylvius.") "The world's a theatre, the earth a stage."—Heywood. Presto, Passl It is some years since wo liavo had a magician of any note to "mystify mysteriously," but wo aro promisod ono. in tho advent of ono who labels himself plainly "Carter, mastor magician," who commences a season at the Opera House on Monday evening. His stock in trade is said to De. largely new, frightfully puzzling, and beautifully bewildering, and if a decimal of tho good things said about plain Carter by tho American Press is reliable, theatre-goers aro duo for a capital entertainment. Carter has tho assistance of Miss Abigail Price, .who is said to bo an astounding demonstrator of tho wonders of psychomancy, and lias been referred to as tho possessor of powers in this direction equal to those of Madame Blavntsky and tho Baldwins. Wonders never cease 1 '. Wellington's Eastar Attraction. Tho Easter attraction for Wellington will be dramatic in character. On the conclusion of the Sydney season the Julius KnightOla Jano Humphrey's Company leave direct for Wellington, and will inaugurate a tour of tlio Dominion at tho X)pera House in "Tho Scarlet Pimpernel." Everybody has read Baroness Onzy's rather fascinating, story, and doubtless overybody will want to see tho play, which is a very good dramatisation indeed. It has been drawing like a plaster in Sydney for the last seven weeks, and, as. the writer was present at tho last performance,.lie can testify that it was withdrawn to a bumper house. \ Tlio play opens with a strong littlo scene at • the barricades in Paris, where the "Pimpernel" disguised as an old hag is seen driving a load of hay in which are concealed' somo of tho Royalists fleeing from the keen embraqe of Mdllo. Guillotine. Then follows tho scene at tho English, inn'on the coast,-where Armaud St. Just (Lady Biakency's brother), is about' to embark for Paris, and there most of tho characters meet-rßlakcney and his .wilful wifo, the French spy Chauvolin, Countess do Tournai and her daughter, and Armaud St. Just—a scene alive with intrigue, innuendo, and action. Tho ball-room scene could not, bo omitted,, and its ; end whore the spy finds tho "Pimpernel" asleep in .the', supper- 1 room at midnight is ; ono,of tho best in the drama, excellent work being dono by Mr.Leslio Victor as Chauvolin. Tho garden scene wliero tho "Pimpernel" takes his leavo for Calais from Lady Blakeney is-excellently presented working the interest up' hotly to tlio "Pimpernel's":' final triumpn : and tho frenchman's downthrow. Tho play depends to a great extent upon tlio English versus French 1 sentiment' : that , dominates several of the scones, and may be regarded as "getting back" some .of the ; theatrical prestigo that tlio stage Englishman lost so /deliriously in "Monsieur Beaucaire.." Mr. Knight; though ' lacking ..the] lumbering height of Blakeney, gets well into tho skin, of tho part, and., Miss Humphreys looked charming as Lady Blakeney, but the performance I liked best was Leslio Victor's Chauvolin. The company staged "ClauSian", las,t'Saturday'evening, 'but it.is doubtful whether it will be .included in the New Zealand repertoire oiving to tho. weight of tho production, which entails. a small army of, .supcrmimaries, maiiy . tons of Bcenery, and . ii,regjmont,of wqrdroho baskets. •/ What will ;be t ('regarded as' welcome news is the decision '.of-,,the management to rovivo "Tho Prisoner of Zerida," one.of'tho best romantic comedies' of the. lust decade. This, with a revival of : "A lioyal Divorco" (whioh good people will ;be applauding in vthebright • hereafter if Julius keeps to, tlio* narrow path), will' compriso the company's repertoiro. ... "Tho Dairymaids." , . : "The- Dairymaids," ;played iV by tho. Royal

Comio Opbrii' Company, has caught 'on in; Sydney; and' is really ■ a bright and busy show;: Ono of the most popular successes in tho now musical, comedy is Miss Fannie'' ■ Dango, a fascinating littlo bit of a chit with iio voice to spoak of, but a thousand littlo' graces to • make up: for. the'deficiency, and no items are more papular tlian her "Sandow > Girls'' iand ' 'TiiiHor,' Tailor'' number;, -unless it bo tho "Dreamland" ballad sung by' Dive Connor, formerly with' tho : l'ollard Oppra Company. Tho other principals: aro Misses; ' ■ Olive Godfrin, Coniiio Milne, Clafa Clifton, ' la.eorgo.Lauri, Fred Leslie; Claude Bantock, and' tenor . Roberts "(without' 'song). The comedy is beautifully mounted—first set being an orchard-in-bloom-cum-farhiyard-set, and the:second'an elaborate ladies'gynasiuiii . in a school kept by'our old friend Miss Emma Temple. The girls of.the "Royal Comics" . aro noted' for their physical charms, and -;it ■ is .only speaking tho truth to say that these! • aro splendidly displayed'in the gymnasium i dresses, worn in the second act., ' . " Tho Great-Sarah. j ' Madame Sarahßernhardt■, about , whoso . Australian visit next year under, the-direc- . tion : .of J.'.C- .Williamson tho-cables told us recontly,, is making : that visit iu pursuance. , of a plan'for a ,farewell tour of tho .world' after a phenomenally successful stage career, ;full of incident arid triumph which lias lasted 'since sho made, her debut- in Paris as : lphiginio at tho Comedio Francaise of which ' theatre ; she was nominated "societaire" ill s .1875. . Four-years' later.sho visited London 3. for tho. first time and . afterwards America, s, In 1881 sho returned to Paris and-..having' - broken with tho Comodie Francaiso (for which . she was compelled: to ,pay £4000. damages) - assumed the directorship of tho : AmbigUj and' l then in 1883. bought the, Porto, St. Martin 1, Theatre and appeared there iu numerous new 3 ,1-olos., Except for. visits to America, and s 'London she remained thero until 1893 when 3 sho becamo dircoto'r . of. the Renaissance I Theatre. Fivo years later sho bought the a old Theatre des';Nations which she rebuilt and opened as tho Theatre Sarah Bernhardt. Sho is'a painter and sculptor of considerable [ ability, has written and produced a play of her own, adapted "others and written her recollections wliich only recently were ..extent' sively quoted from in all tho leading AusI I tralian papers, Old playgoers will remember r tho tremendous success of. hor Australian season in 1891, when, sho staged some of e her most celebrated productions. Advancy. ing.years havo.ocrtainly not impaired either. 0 her versatility or her genius, for it is only, '■ two or. three, years ago that. sho appeared j" jn London as Hamlet and tho critics con- !" sidered her interpretation of the great Dane • Worthy to rank with tho "great creators,' of 'tho 'part;'.while a littlo over a year ago tho s -papers .'were...fullof', stories .about her " activities during hor American tour. Forced out of tho theatres by the action of tho • Trust she was compelled to play in' a largo !tent, sho. practically lived on ;a, train, '» "hustled'.' '.from town' to town in tlio host y style .of tho national character and genor'i ally proved that her vigor and perennial youthfuliiuss remained at high! pressure. Perhaps tho secrct of that youthfulness is 0 summed,up in her answer to a candid friend 13 who asked her whether she didn't feel sho was growing old—"1 never have time to think.of it" was'her roply, :

,Tha Matinee Hat. War on women's hats .in theatres, says tho "Daily Telegraph,"- is 1 becoming better than a play. A managers' league against them, started by; a new paper, has failed' because threo directors hold out. . Fresh violent methods aro now to.be tried. A gold medal is offered "to tho spectator .who,- boforo tho end of the present theatrical season, having been annoyed by a woman's hat, shall have niado tho most row." ; AVould-be medallists already announce their plans. Ono will go to tho play next" time with a pair of shears, and "put a littlo daylight" into any hat that may bo boforo him. Another, who has a fino head of hair, proposes to clcctrify it, and appear in his stall like tho fretful porcupine. He warrants that his locks on end will cover an area of two square feet, which is tho size of a small-matineo bonnet. A third has bought a miller's hat, which lie will smugglo into tho houso under a cloak. , If ho is behind a lady in tho usual theatre headgear who refusos to remove it, he will put hid nn. and wild horses will not tear it off.

A fourth revolutionist has the most ingenious, if rather savage, schemc. "Tako,' ho recommends, "a string, about two feet long, and tic a pin to each end. Stick firmly ono of tho pins into the lady's hat and the other into the stuff back of the lady's stall. The( slightest movement made by her will then

disarrange tho monument on her head. When sho gets up her hat will be torn off. ' Then you can laugh. "Sho won't put it on again." Ladies' hats are goading Frenchmen into a fierce sacrifice of their native gallantry. Notes. Mr. J. 0. Williamson cables that while in Now York he secured the Australasian rights of "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch," tho dramatic adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggin's delightfully quaint and 'humorous novel which everybody must have read. It. has been a sure success in Amorica for the past two years, and when , it was done in London was received with tho utmost enthusiasm, ono of tho morning ' journal's characterising tho performance as "an evening of sheer delight." It will bo done hero about the middle of the year. Another important engagement mado by Mr. J. C. Williamson during his American visit was that of Mr. Dudley Clinton, tyiat fine character actor who mado such a favourable impression with his, work in "Old Heidelberg," "Tho Bishop's Carriage," "Sweet Nell," and so on. Mr. Clinton who will arrive hero in tho courso. of the next few weeks will join tlio Julius Knight Company. Mmo. de Navarro, whose dramatic triumphs as Miss' Mary Anderson are a very agreeable memory, has for neighbours in her protty home in Worcestershire . tho Due and Duohosso-d'Orleans. On a-recent visit to Mme. de Navarro Her lioyal Highness presented her with .some, of tho decorations which were used on tho temporary altar built for tho Bourbon-Orleans wedding, to be placed in the littlo Catholic Churoli at; Broadway,. of the congregation of which tho once-renowned actress is a member. " When last heard of dainty. Olivo Lenton, who toured . New Zealand with tile last Rickards's Company, was appearing at the Folios Bergere, Berlin, and her smiling faco looks;'out of the lllustrusted "Berliner Lebeti,-" indicating that she 1 noted quite wisely in tompting fortune on foreign fields. From Berlin sho was to go'to Sweden, then back to England for another "Bello of New York" tour, and afterwards sho has'arranged to hit them iti St. Petersburg, Moscow, and 'other vodka-swilling bomb-hearing cities of tho mysterious land of the Tsar. By a new regulation of tho London County Council smoking will bo permitted in theatres. It was stated that this concession .was/not likely to be followed, by permission to supply drink in tho auditoriums. The new regulation has not mot with unqualified approval, some managers pointing out that tho freo uso of tohncco will ho likely to affect the voices of the performers. Tho most astounding ''turn" in vaudeville seen'.in Australia for some , time is that being provided by tho Artois Brothers' at ,the~ Sydney 'l'ivoli. • They, are horizontal bar artists of, tho highest class, and what they cannot do on" the bars is hot worth considering. But in addition to their gymnastic skill' tncy are comedians 'with an original line of humour in dumb-show. : Tho act-in-duces tears.. ' i