THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 170, 11 April 1908, Page 12

THE THEATRE.

—» Br SvLvnra. Tho world's a theatre, tho earth i stage. ' —Hoy wood. Tho Wellington Opera House. Tho sharp fang of an early winter rc minds playgoers of tho extreme discomfor they must anticipate in witnessing perform anises at tho Wellington Opera House, am tho nowspapor rominds ono that tho com pany is about to pay a 12J per cent, divi dond. 1' or absolute checrlessnoss comment mo to the Wellington Opera House, wit] its violent wallpapers and its icy draughts its comfortless foyer, and lack of conveui ences that one should reasonably expect ii the chief theatro in the Empiro City (a 12 per cent theatro at that). I do not bur. liow tho ladies 'are provided, but there is in nashhand basm, mirror basin, brush, o comb ink tho cold baro apartment used as i cloakroom, What has been permitted ti i-ieep unfortunately, is a system of riving out numbers for each coat hung in tlii room, for which fiddling and 'unnecessary service a tip is expected—frankly expected, /or a plate; containing a coin or tin is always exposal in tho centre of tho rooVn t is an imposition on thoat-ro-gocrs win lave been half frozen in their seats, when they would havo been much better off i they bad worn their top-coats in the audi .onum. >ho Wellington Opera Houso base :oyer that could bo made quite "comfv" foi tho winter, by tho display of a littlo) taste ind tho investment of a few pounds./ Th< loor should be carpeted; tho creakinc; rat;nn, oushionless' furniture should lio re ilaccd with decently-upholstered settees ind, most important .of . all, tho elrosi vide stairway should be blocked with baize loors to prevent tho wintry blasts thai ihriek up tho stair shaft and find their waj nto the theatro. ; Doors halfway down the .tails entrance, to be closed during-the per urinance, would' also help to chock the rigid atmosphoro that may on occasions ac ;ount for thinner audiencos than.' would b< >ho caso were tho playgoers -reasonably seated Perhaps Mr. J. C. Williamson wit ;hink it worth while to put in-':order the louse ho has secured a long lease; of. The ** s -Australian theatres airb modchs ol iomrort and good taste, a display of whicl badly needed in tho cheeriest' theatre ir Banners Street.'• ' 1 'A Waltz. Dream." / A Waltz Dream" (Ein Walzertraum) ha: .cored an! unequivocal success ,'at tho Broad vay Theatre. • The book of this Viennese iporetta was written by. Felix Doermahi: md Leopold Jacobson, .and the music was composed by Oscar Strauss.f 1 The piece is m> °? a , - °* Etor y from Hans Mueler s Book of Adventures,"Jand it has hac i long run at the Karl Theatre in Vienna V waltz motif is jnadc lately responsible or the various happenings that mako ur ilio ' story, which deals .with: the unwilline narriago of Lieutenant-Nikli, of tho Aus •"an Army, to Princess Mclenc, dauglitci if Joachun XIII ; the ruler-of a dynasty oi he verge of ruin.. Determined that an'hoii :o the throne shall ho provided, the King commands his daughter to, choose a hug)and. She selects the. young officer .Nikli, ind, much. against his wishes, ho marriei i ; ;"- ' After the wedding Nikli refuses to live nth the Princess, and leaves tho palacc vith a comrade to seek amusement. Thej inter a public _ garden, where a, ladies' or ihostra is playing. Tho become: ufatuatod with Franzil ■ Steingruber, -the eador of the .orchestra,flanel is making arlent lovo to,'her when his Royal briclo, ami atbor-in*law' come seeking him. . Whbii the irchestra .plays a waltz! that has charmec nm in his dreams tho lieutenant relents to■cards'his bride, .and begins to dance witli ler ; but when Franzi sees hor now lover ele■otmg himself to another, sho dashes hei •iolin to tho ground, and tears the - pail ipart, only to discover a; moment slater, thai icr supposed rival - "is tho - liowly-marrioc Princess 1 Holeno, and tljat tho- v handsome wing officer who'has been making'such viocnt lovo to her is tho'bridegroom. Tho lat■er is persuaded to return to tho palace witl: us brido, who ultimately wins his lovo bj seating him with indifference,'•- and. bj charming his car with .liis .favourite waltz This bit of instruction in tho art of wooing i recalcitrant husband c-tlio Princess receives.,from tho disconsolate, 'but goodlearted, Franzi. There,' are two waltz mclo lies running through tho piece that seen lestined to enjoy a übiquitous popularity iimilar and. equal to that'of, the favourite lumbers in "Tho Merry Widow." 'inero-on - Playivritlng.! - ■/;:.■ i heeii giving a;'Lon[on Daily Chroniclo"/interviewer soino incresting "points" on tho writing of plays >ays tho author, of "His House in .Order" I must start tho theme in a'city. Imusl lave lifo, around mo—eager, strenuous, pul lating life. It may.be in a.'crowded thorlughfare. It may be here in my own roon it night, with tho sonsc of lifo around mo s'lth the hum and roar of movement anc iraffic coming up to mo from,; below. It is inly when such is aroiind mo that ray brair (Uickens to-creative, work. Later on/ wliei •ho themo is accepted- and V,"the genera! :cheme soems to tako cohesive 'sliapo, tlu nothod of work entirely changos. Iliave t< 'fit away somewhero. all by myself, where ] :hall have nothing and nobody;to interrupl no. - ; ' . My actual day's,work at the play is three ir four hours. That is quite as long as the nmd can remain fresh and is content to be concentrated. When , the mind is gettinr vearied it becomes rebellious to' detailsmd a. play is all details. I do not work it ;ho early morning. My. timpHs at night oi n tho lato afternoon. In my early yoars ol rating, while I- was still, an actor) mi lours were of necessity late. ■ In tho morn" ng I was rehearsing or studying my - part lien, after tho early dinner which is neces •ary in tho routino of an ; life', -3 ■ested to preparo for my fnight's' work therefore my only time, tho' only timo ] could dopeud on for play writing, was late it night. I "I'ho dramatist who has been--an actor ii jettor able than others to. overcome the lifficulties of tho craft; but too intimate ai icquaintance with tho theatro and its'asso nations is apt to narrow !a man's view o. 10-to beget mere theatriccalism. - On the vhole, however, practical experionco of the ictual theati'o is of advantage to tho playn'lght. It shows him, if ha has oyos to see hat anything can bo done on the stage bj ho man who knows how to do it. "In writing a play I try to dismiss fron ny mind all thoughts of tho theatres, ol ictors- and actresses. The theatre is to me ,hen a building only.. There is no thoughi ir the individual players until tho play ii conceived and' in great' part written. "I never alter anything at rohearsal. AI hat wo call 'business' is in tho printed mater which I carry into tho theatre. ' Wlij -hould it he altered ; when it lias all beor carefully and even laboriously thought out every detail of it, during tho process of conitruction ? Tho movements of a man ant vhat he has to say are inseparable. Expression is multifejrjn and simultaneous. 10 alter one phaso ,is to weaken all. I trj 0 think of theso things beforehand. Re:icarsal is not —or ctjrtainly should not be— 1 timo for; experiment. It is to prepare foi ho acting together of tho players, not foi ho making of the play. "With /every play I write I havo to learr ifresh tho art of playwriting. Thero art ots of rules, but most of thorn can be classed under one head—logic.- I am a thormgh beliover in logic. Thero is no art without' it. _ Tlio groundwork of a play, aj veil as of its character, must bo logic. Jause-feffect! Causo—effect I Tho penduum swings between tho two. Two of tho nost substantial parts of tho fabric which ;o to make up a lino play are logic and inuitiori. Without the first you can't contract! a play. • Without tho second yon can't jwrito it 1 "Tei my mind tho American audioneio is ho raost iiitelligont in the English-spoakinc corlel. I lovo America and Americans, lliis say spite of the; fact that I havo received rom;.tlieni at times, as I believe', some irnstie'e. Yes, tho change in America is what s going on all over tho'world 1 ; tho change roni classic and roinantio elrama to n.itural3m.p i hail, tho National Repertoire Theatre n Amorica with elelight; I only hope the lowi ib true. If; its and mothoda jus-

tify what wo aro told, it will render a service not only to American home-growr drama, but to British also. In fact, al drama will benefit. It mil help, in my view to show that thore is already in existence a very finp English drama—that is, ail Eng-lish-speaking drama. I read a great deai about tho obstacles put in tho way of the creation of good- modern drama. But 1 know ot no cause operating against the production of fiji-o modern drama upon the English-speaking stage, except tho disinclinatios or the inability of the modern dramatists ..to writo itl" "Matt of Merrymount." 'Matt of Merrymount (by B. M. Dix and if' ,v ' I '°-h was first presented ® atro Woya1 ' Nwvcastlo, on Octobei It V IS S s ¥ s tho "■ Era ") an Weal plaj for Air. I'Tcd. l'orry's purpose. The leading porsonago is one of those irrosistible advenfurors who win all hearts by thoir amiable qualities and their ill-luckj and end, ol course, by reforming and reinstating themselves. Tho hero, Matt, who calls himsoli a sailor, is really a gentleman of good birth, who has as ho believes—killed in a duel his rascally cm,sin, Geo. Armitage, and had emig- • imr 0 1 Amorlcan Colonies —the,date is ilwo to escape tho consequences. He keeps company with a gang of rcckless lullians who have "squatted" on certain lands belonging to Lord Killigrew, near the respectable township' of Edgemouth. The only woman' of tho party is Red Jill, a young and handsomo creaturo, who has the reputation of being a witch. This loadf Diantha Frothmgham, tho daughter of the Jidgeinouth magistral, to come to Jill's hut to consult her. Diantha is betrothed' t-c an Englishman who is coming out to marry nor | but, rs sho docs not lovo him, she is anxious to liavo the witch's advice on the matter. So sho drosses up-as a boy, and. oil her way to tho hut, is captured by Matt'a rough associates. He saves her from thoir clutches, discovers her sex, and falls in love with her, sonding her homo..with much good advico, but not before she lias shot him through the leg while pretending, in order to deceive tho gang, to clean his pistol. '■' , In tho second act, which take 3 place at JLdgemout-h, Matt oomcs' in search of Diantha. He is followed by Jill, who is hopelessly enamoured of him, and who listens to a tondor interview between the lovers, and, finally, in a burst of jealous anger,- raises an alarm and brings in''the townspeople, who are eager to avenge a recent raid gang upon their flocks and herds. Tho chief "tithing-man" of the place has, he believes, wounded one of the marauders with a woll-ainaed shot, and when Matt denies, quite.truly,.that lie was with tho raiding-partjylio'is asked , by the magistrate to account for the injury to his leg. This,_of o,urse, ho cannot do without:exposlng Diantha; but sho. determined to'save 11m, confesses her visit to the hut. Matt, howover, will not accept her sacrifice. He contradicts Diantha,' asserts that ho 'was with tho party, and gives himself up to P L n n S i ® nt ' IF ' l ' o ' l the magistrate settles shall bo a year's forced labour and a day in tho stocks. AVhilo Matt is in durance vile, a-paper is brought in and nailed to • the stocks, offering £100 roward for tidings of kim._ Matt imagines that the English authorities are seeking him for tho murder of Armitago. When his associates tell him of a plot of thoirs to sccuro his release by decoying away Diantha as a hostage, hy telling nor that her'brother is ill, ho objects violently, and, seeing Diantha on tlie point of falling into the snare, gets hor within s .'c n gth by a ruse, and hplds her firmly! Ilus is taken as an assault on the yoiing <h1 y, and Matt is about to be ■ whipped; whon the entry of tho brother elucidates matters, Matt fainting from his sufferings as tho act-drop descends. In. tho third act wo see' him serving his year, in tho _ household of tho magistrate, and progressing in tho good graces of Diantha. To■-Mutt's- surprise,' he finds that her fiance, who arrives from Ensland; is Georgo Armitage, the man whom Matt bethat_ he had killed. Armitago tells Matt that his placo in,society and his prospective inheritance await him in England, but refuses to bo witness to his identity. In order-to, rqvengo himself still- further, Arnntace buys 'Matt' from the magistrate, arid insults him grossly, with the object of driving him'.to insubordination, so that ho may bo-flogged/. Bnfc .Diantha''hands:. Matt a pistol, with which lio keeps Armitago .bade while, h^ —Matt—makes his escaped , .: v ■ In tho last act Matt, having claimed: his estates, returns from England, on tho eve of Diantha's marriage with Armitnge, in to savo hor and discomfit' his enemy.' < v ,-? ast , of characters includes Miss Alico Crawford (the Bondigo girl) Mr Fred. Terry, Mr. A.. E. . Anson" Mr. Er wards, Mr. Alfred Keudrick, Mri ■ ,r- ! ' ss Cilairo Pawcefort, and Bliss Miriam Lowes. Notos. . "M/*. J*. C. Williamson lias sccufed the Australasian rights of Cicely Hamilton's successful play "Diana of Dobson's," now being played at the Kingswiy Theatre, London, by Miss Lena Ashwell ' and Company.. . '■ \ Mr. George Alexander's judgment, in the selection of plays has again been: triumphantly vindicated in the caso of "The Thief," Mr. Cosmo Gordon-Lennox's well-written adaptation of Honry. Bornstein's play, "Le Voleiir, produced., at the: Paris Renaissance in December, 1906, with Mme. Simonc Le Bargy. in- the character'that has been so | artistically realised -in * the English version by Miss Irene Vanbntgh, whose, position as a leacling London actress had been firmly 'established • by her creation of Nina !in '' Kis Houso - in Order." Tho ' one hundredth , night of tho piece drew a brilliant, audienco to the St. James's, and the scene a fairo in tho second act between Mr. Alexander and Mis 3 yanhrugh as Richard and Marise. Cholton held tho house in silence, an eloquent tribute to tho keenness of tho interest and to tho" complete absorption of both artists in their parts. - Mr. Alexander in the first act plays with tho lightest touch, 'which all tho more emphasises' the deep painfullness of the utterances, of tho husband—disillusioned and deceived —in the bedroom scene., Thero is a crescendo of indignation until : the curtain falls on tho calm of -despair. The red-gold of loving dovotion is overcast with the greyness of distrust and doubt. Mine. Marchesi, tho celebrated operatic artist, has sustained a - severe bereavement by tho death of her husband,, tlie Marquis Salvntore di Castrone,' who passed away recently nt his residence in Paris at tho ago of eighty-five. The_ deceased gentleman belonged to'the old aristocratic Palermo family of Castrorio,' and took' an' active-part in the revolutionary movements in Italy. He studied with Garcia, took tho name'of Marchesi, and bccamo a great favourite as a concert singer. Ho had a voice of enormous compass, and inado his debut in London about, 1850, singing at concerts given -under tho direction of the eminent vocalist who two 'years later was to become his wife: Says tho London "Era" of Miss Alice Crawford's (the ex-Pendigo girl) performance in "Matt of Merrymount":—"Miss Alice Crawford was a charming . and comely Diantha Frothingham, acting with keen sympathy and delicato. feeling, and • showing quite ■cleverly tho instincts of budding maidenhood in conflict with hor Puritan training. Hor emotional acting was excellent, and sho dar.ced tho minuet in the third act very gracefully." , 1 Miss Letty Lind will make her reappearance in. London after her long absence from tlie stago in a comedy part m "The Waltz Dream, to bo produced by Messrs. Edwardes and I'rolnnann at th* Hicks Theatre on tho 7th of next month. Miss Gertio Millar will have tho part of tho leader of a ladies' band who so captivates with her music a young oflicer of tho Austrian army that lie is on tho point of deserting his newly-mado wifo— alrmcessofa mythical kingdom on the Continent whom ho married for State purposes The Jirincess ultimately wins his lovo by treating him with pretended indifference, and then singing to him tho dream music that first drew him from her side llio oflicer will be played by Mr RoC | Lv-ett and other members of the cast will be Mr. Georgo Grossmith, jun., Mr. Arthur Wil|iiams, am Miss Mane Grey, who will represent tho Princess. , ,