A MARIONETTE SHOW.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 157, 27 March 1908, Page 3

A MARIONETTE SHOW.

To Mme. Forain, wife of the,greatest living cartoonist, and herself a cbarminn; 'painter is due the revival of a lost art—the earliest form of theatrical expression,..namely, the marionette, show.. Mine. Forain has carved and dressed 150 of these little figures, and has recently eiigagcid - a .company of marionette v showmen (who would have thought this ancient profession was-still' exercised?) : to introduce-them to tho public. The first performances (in aid of charitable institutions and .•especially intended for, children)-have taken place' at the Theatre Rejane, and ,have proved a veritable revelation. ' . , . ' It has takenMme. Forain two years to prepare this delightful restitution. Each doll is about 2ft. or 3ft. high, and each little head is given a life-like expression. The faces are really marvellously carved, and the 'figures made' and dressed entirely by Mme. Forain herself, while the performances take place under her'supervision.., Highly finished' as they are, .they prove amusing to young and old alike, and tho most theatre frequentor-cannot fail to bo refreshed by this exquisite show. . ' There is nothing that connot be done with marionettes such as , these. For one of her performances. Mme. Forain; has-chosen the "Sleeping-Beauty" as theme for verses written especially for the' occasion by tho Oonitesso Mathieu de Noaillos, and music by M. Civil, delightfuly rendered, behind tho scenes, of course, while the\ costumes,; tho accessories, and the action' of ,the; dolls were all perfectly charming. 'This!;,was 'succeeded by a miniature ballet—-a . remarkable achievement —and one or two comic numbers, the novelty of which, when Mmo. Foraiii takes her little Theatre des Nabots across the (Channel, will most certainly provoke London,' as they have Paris, to hilarity and' admiration.