ENTERTAINMENTS,

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 200, 18 May 1908, Page 8

ENTERTAINMENTS,

HOUR.";

The .play which -was' staged '■on Saturday light by Mr. Edwin Geach's Dramatic Co. 1 nas been discribsd as-an'entirely new meld- ! drama, .and doubtless as far as a melodrama can have-novelty, it" is new. This qua'lificar. l tion should bei reassuring to those for whom this kind of play is tho summit of histrionic art. They expect to see! tho deeply wronged hero, the suffering heroine, tho,villain triumphing in three; acts ; to be crushed in the fourth, the oomic relief, and the revolvers;.A murder or so is compulsory, but suicides'are optional. All these requiremenjts aro met by ; r ''The,"Midnight Hour." It is now,'but'certainly not 1 too new. Tho : story begins at . Squire < Henderson's country seat. His, daughter Amy is beloved by Richajd Blair, a, youngs naval:' officer, whoj of ooiirse, 'is bravo and handsome. Equally, of j oourso, Arthur- Henderson, tho Squire's nephew, and also a suitor of ;Amy, is all that is'bad. Ho murders the Squire, gets Blair into Dartmoor 7 Prison, -and'takes tho, Squire's 1 property on a forged; will. Blair,, escapes,: rejoins Amy at the house of a friend, and after a series of thrilling adventures, confronts Henderson ffith evidences of his crime, just as the villain,.has.killed Olga Martin,' the adven-'-turess:-who, has; been■!aiding him in his schemes'. ■ ■ ••• .- ~ - ■ ■ .

Mr..-H. -W. Diver, as the wicked Arthur; Henderson, was easily first among tho actors. Ha i made tho villain of melodrama almost - natural. Mr; Kenneth Hunter was quito a ; . satisfactory; hero! Miss Helcne Burdetto, as Amy Henderson, played up to the'limelight with commendable energy, agoniseid strenuously over the trap-door, through which she was to be dropped into the Thames,-and throw herself into- the . hero's arms with >- great fgrce and precision, whenever he, unexpectedly arrived' to' ; hurl'defiance at the" viP lain. - Tho comedy relief was chiefly provided -by Mr. - Wilton'- Welch, as Walter- AVallop, a , merry rascal; with a good heart, and by* Mr. •W. Ellison, as Bertie Lambf .sportsman, tippler, and much-married'man..: Both these parts were well played, and it would be_ hard, to award the palm between the perky impudence of Wallop, and tho dhce-rful inebriety of Lamb. -Mr. Edwin Green capably .interpreted Maurice Isaacs, 5 a really amusing old - scoundrel. ' Miss; Georgina Temperley was well suited in the sprightly.' part of Mrs. Lamb ! (neo Tottie. Parker. Miss Rosa Brownrigg, who has the advantage of a fine, stage, presence, was moderately successful as,Olga Martin, the adventuress.; Other parts were sustained with a fair.: amount of success by Miss : Mabel Lynne, Mr. R. H; Longford, Mr. Jack Philips, Mr. Hendricks, and Mr. Merry Lynch. ' . • ' , ' "The Midnight' Hour" 'will be repeated to- .' night.' ' ; THEATRE ROYAL. The Theatro Royal,held .a large: audience on Saturday'night, the programme being one worthy of liberal patronage. _;The.,Banvards, whosei-extraordinary- acrobatic : feats always raise loud applause and keep the audience closely interested, made a re-appearanco, and had a great reception. Tho sketch: artists, a class of performers who - continuo much in favour on the vaudeville stage, also turned up again in a , neat little sketch-that won 17 liberal; applause, for them. . Denis •' Carney, . . Yorkshire comedian,; Bryant in,' his axeswinging and knife-juggling, tho Marlowe ■■ Sisters, Vernonland Mao (hand-balancers), Leslie Vane (baritone vocalist), and others all had new features to introduce in their respective turns. To-night the Harmonious Huxhams will re-appear. • "THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL." . Mr. Julius Knight, Miss Ola Humphrey, end Mr. J..C. Williamson's Dramatic Company inaugurate a season of romantic'and, picturesque drama at tho Opera House oil Saturday, evening next, ; the opening .'production being Countess Orczy's dramatisation •of her own popular book, - "The Scarlet v Pimpernel." Probably no play of recent years has created so much interest'.as this. " Tho book, and play havo been translated into half-a-dozen different tongues and tho'drama is being staged in all parts of. tho world. The locale of the story, and the period 1792, lend themselves to the display of picturesque and elaborate scenery and costuming. Mr. Julius Knight appears in the role of Sir Percy Blakeney ("The Scarlet Pimpernel"), and Miss Ola Humphrey as Marguerite Blakeney. The box plans for the first six ' performances of "The ■ Scarlet Pimpernel" -frill be . opened at the Dresden to-morrow morning., v ..' ' :

The nest performance of the " Wellington Muffs" will bo that clever farco comedy, M Tragedy," from the pen of' Mr. Charles FaWcett. Masterton is to be visited on June 3 Wellington' at a later A date. Rehearsals are well under way under the direction of Madame Nita Steele,; who has been specially engaged.- and Masterto.n playgoers should witness a first-class'performance. The cast is as follows:—Messrs. Hubert Fairweather, I. Winfird Millar, C. Bentley Russell, I'. >. Durham D'Arcy, Erio Lyon, and George B. Jhr:ford; Misses Mollio Marshall, Meme Bedford, Florenco 'Kura, and Minnie Sinclair.

To-night, at eight o'clock, in the Masonic Hall, Miss Ilowison will give l a dramatic yeoital from lan Maclaren's prose-classic, " Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush."

Skating enthusiasts will bo ablo to indulgo in their favourite pastime on and after Wednesday evening, when the Ingestre Street l'ink will be opened undor tho management of Mr F. S. Yates, of tho Colosseum Rink, Christchurch. During tho evening an exhibition of fancy skating will bo given by Mr. Itagg and Miss Gamblo.

i llr. Manghan Barnett ,will given an organ rocital at the Town Hall at.SiE.nu to-marcost.