ENTERTAINMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 13

ENTERTAINMENTS.

~, DRAMATIC CO. '■"' vsl' fcbIANA OF DOBSON'S."., ' . . '■'. "Diana'-of Dobson's," a comedy in four acts by Cicely Hamilton. Cast:—: ' ; Miss Smithera Miss Edith Lewis ■ Miss Kitty Brant ;.'.;....'. Miss Adele Kelley. - Miss Jay .....:; Miss Florence Kelley ■ • Miss Diana Massingbrcd...Miss Tittell Erune •Miss Morton ;.... Miss Georgie O'Meara . Miss Pringle Miss Nellie Calvin Mrs. Oantelupo (Mrs. Bobert Brough . ■■• Waiter Mr. Maurico Nodm Mrs. \fhyte Fraser ............ Misa Calvin Bir ,Jabez Grinley, Bart. ■■■:■. , - ■". Mr. Gregan IfMahon ,'Captain - Victor Brethorton — Mr. Thomas Kingston Tramp ...........:... Mr. Frank Harcourt Old Woman ..' ;... Miss Lowia ■ Police-constable Fellowes...Mr. T. W. Lloyd '•No; wonder "Diana of Dobson's" set all theatre-going London, talking! . Mr. .Cicely 'Hamilton! in the guise of a comedy has writ-;, ten a, play, which touches sore, places in the; life .of,■the British . Tho : grinding',. • ugly.pbyerty of the submerged honest is ex.posed' in all its, grim hideousness, and the sweating system .which-makes such a condition; pf. life, possible. Very clever, too, is the manner. in which he has . made his slender, story.the vehiole for conveying an idea of a. phase of the; distressing'■•state of affairs, white ''at the same - time submitting .'an interesting and .'cleverly written ; play..; The'play opens/rather alarmingly. Five girls in .one.Vof the dormitories .of a big drapery, establishment \ are.' undressing,- preparatory; 'toiretifing/for the night, andl)iana, the revolutionary, sick to .death ..of;, the daily; routine;'- is snOwihgiher spirit, when one of the girls .^brings 1 her a letter containing_ the news that she has been left £300. . It is. heaven revealed to the shop girl, who resolves; that' instead of hoarding her money: she will have "one crowded hour of glowing, life.".; She goes to Switzerland, and stays at a fashionable hotels posing for. the nonce as a wealthy, widow.,- 1 She makes the acquaintance'of Cap-; ptaih'.Brotherton, who asks her to marry him.. Her.reply ;■ is the story of her-life', ! and thetaunt that .if a backboneless.-one such, as;- he,' : were''t6' attempt to oarn his living iwith his" hands "-as she' had'done for six years,ihe would go to the wall. -, Her money' is exhausted,and 6he returns to London to face : the routine once more. . Failing'to. get work, and'without money, she is pushed into, the streets, and at three, o'clock in'the morning she and 1 Captain Brethertoh (in rags) discover each, other, on a seat on;the Thames Embankment. He has for three months tried to earn his; living- with his hands, ; and has failed. ■ Stories are : : interchanged, and .in the end ho renews his proposal of marriage,' having come to the conclusion that his £600 a year, instead of being miserably inadequate, .would be' quito sufficient-forvtwo. : ;' Right through this olover little play there 'are .sly .'digs at. the "ornamental", classes. , 3 l here;„i's v 'the. suggestion that' a /university, ■training; does not and is not intended to lit -a'"man to : earn his living by:the sweat of his; brow, or "rather, that it unfits him, to '.accomr plish' such a task, and that tho extravagance of; British Army, officers is wasteful and ridioulons excess. Diana is ' an agitator who arouses sympathy by the force of ;a' partieu-' larly well-directed appeal, and who is given as _a foil a type of the aristocracy which may exist,-,but;not; it is hoped, in overpowering . . ! . ■.' :, _■ Miss Brune makes a;very nice Diana. She is so' soft and :pretty in- her ways that she makes the' whole world seem remorselessly, brutal. In her scenes Iwith Captain Breth'erton she is always interesting, but the one : outstanding bit of good work is, accomplished; during her' cross-examination -by Captain Bretherton's aunt, Mrs. Cantelupe, so admirably played by Mrs.-Brough. Mr. Thomas Kingston as Captain Bretherton gave a clever

oharaoter study, 'consistent and individual,-, conveying, with considerable.; humour, the helplessness ; df an officer and'.a. gentleman when'thrown utterly and entirely oh his own Resources; ; to'earn a living in' London.• An.other: capital bit. of work was done by Mr." Gregan;M'Mahon' as; Sir' Jabez Grinley, baronet and. sweater, who' buys his titlo at a price; and oonsiders.it a fine cPmmercial investment,, and who; views everything fronv the margin-of-profit point' of view. The scenery/and mounting are in exeellent'tastev On' the whole, 'fDiaria of Dobson's" is a play that; number of people ought to see, if it, is 'only to piok up another point of view. It will be played for two nights more. ■•■■

.: ■',• . HIS .'MAJESTY'S THEATRE. '■. A special programme of the Royal Pictures attracted a large audience, chiefly composed of children, to His Majesty's Theatre Yesterday afternoon.; Each child, present was given-a toy. The star item of the programme was a beautifullyTColoured representation of ','Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." Other coloured comic and descriptive films made up a very,good programme.' In tho evening there was' another good . audience' present. To-day ,thcro will; bo a matinee _in';the. afternoon, and tho 'usual exhibition in. the evening.' I .'-...,■.. ":" r v : THEATRE ROYAL.- > ■Two exhibitions of tho Burns-Johnson pictures at tho Theatre Royal were well patronised yesterday.; At tho afternoon matinee the theatro was crowded and the same was the case at tho evening cxhibiton. - Thero will bo tho usual exhibition this evening. J '. : MR.' , "THE ROMANCE OP THE ATMOSi PHERE." ; Tho Concert Chamber of the Town Hall : was crowded (last night when Mr. Clement' Wragge delivered an illustrated: lecture of absorbing interest entitled' ".The-Romance of the, Atmosphere", , ~ .'. Meteorology, said Mr. Wraggo, was en', eminently pruotionl soionce. -Every alasa was, to a greater or le&sor extent', benefited by

tho dissemination of accurate weather foreoasts. There was a distinction" between the work of seasonal forecasts and that of compiling ordinary weather roports. In the study of meteorology one must acquiro a knowledge of astronomy, which was inseparable from, physical geography, and which, in its turn, was.' inseparable from geology. In the main there were three things to consider in tho study of longcrange weather forecasting:—(l) The physical condition of the sun with rcspeot to his maximum and minimum moods; (2) the astronomical position of tho moon and the swing of the lunar declination inducing plus or minus atmospheric tides; arid. (8) tho perturbation in the atmosphere duo to tho influence of other planets. The great sunstorms nroduced vibrations of.the other to which the whole of the solar system responded. Owing to some reason which was not known tho maximum: of . tho sun had been' unduly prolongedVi .the present occasion. When tho sun was at its maximum good. • seasons prevailed in ' the southern hemisphere, whilst on the other hand disturbances of various kinds were experienced in tho .northern hemisphere. The phases of the moon did not alfect the weather—at any rate, never to any material extent—but tho astronomical position of the moon affected it. He had. Rio hesitation' in prophesying that before many years had passed accurate seasonal forecasts would be isaaeu. His prediction that there . would, .be another Australian drought within the 1 next few-years had been ridiculed in some quarters. All he would say to .his critics was:—"Wait until 1911 or 1912, and then you will sing a difforent tune." The next drought on the other side would, however, not be'so severe as the last. one._ Accurate forecasts could not be made unless it was' known what was going _ on up .' in.' the higher regions. . There was one ' disadvantage in the .use of balloons and kites ttted with-■self-recording instruments.. -When'.-, thay were used continuity of record could riot ho: secured, nor-was. it possible to obtain re-: cords .at. a uniform i height. ■ What ho . believed in was fixed observatories on mountain tops.' The nearer'the mountain was to thesea.and the higher it was the better, because it was necessary also to have\ a rtatibn" at' soa level.. Like tho sailor, :the meteorologist had a creed tho text of which'was as fol-' lows:—"I believe in latitude, longitude,, al-, titude, features of' physical geography and diurnal rango of the baromster. Amen." Ho would like to emphasise tho v fact that the utilisation of wireless,itelegraphy would ma-, terially advance the.science of meteorology. In order to make accurate'forecasts, it was necessary to be in possession of reports of barometrical' readings covering; a' wide field. In conclusion, Mr. Wraggo remarked that correct predictions with respect to ensuing, meteorological disturbances were of morevalue to. the people than intimations to theeffect say that it had been discovered that,a distant planet had; one "more'.satellite than was known of in tho 'past; '•';: '.'■>'. ..'.]■•'.'■

; ' This evening; Mr.' Wraggo' will deliver'■;another lecture. ". . '....,'■ , Mr. Wragge will deliver : his 'third leoture this evening, entitled "The' Majesty of Creation." .An announcement : _ will be made in Monday's papers in connection with a special lecture toTie given on radium. ■;, ,; /'WONDERLAND, 'Wonderland, .with its'-many. . and varied attractions, was' visited by large numbers, yesterday." It is estimated that close on 2000 were present during the. morning and afternoon, whilst, in the evening,; when the Park.was brilliantly illuminated, there .was, ia satisfactory., attendance; -despito'-vthe'',- fact ■tliat>:{ne:iweffther-xo's -Vott'ewnat'.uninviting. Popular'.'rates of "admission • were' : pha'rged yesterday,' when' payment of -a"nominal fee gave patrons the privilege' of-.'"doing 1 ! the side-'shows ■ without additional . expense. Rarely has there been a greater demand for seats on the chute; boats . and toboggan slides, whilst the helter-skelter, Katzonjammer castle, and other -side-shows,' ..together with, the' teafkfoskj .'ware'"'! extremely-;- well "patronised; r Visitors''were'loud W tKSir"&lmiration of the fernery, which is. worth goinga long way'to see'. 'Wonderland-will.be open t^is-afjerjioonland.evening.. .■•" l ;.., ! .y^-V-:-•"'.

SUNDAY SACRED CONCERTS;

: On Sunday evening the Wellington Professional Orbhestra will give; the .third of a. series of ,sacred concerts - in, the Town Hall. The programme ; will be of a very attractive nature, and will include Suppe's "Light Cavalry" and idyll, "Confidences,";by Wesley,.the "Melody in-'F," by Rubinstein, number from, the,', "Stabat. ,Mater,"; "Cujus ''Animam.'Vn One -of^the-features; of 'the;ooncert.'will-,be,, the.:first- appearance ,ift, r New,, Zealand,v under- the -direction of. the Wellington; Professional Orchestra, .'6f : 'Mr.: Nelson Ulingworth; a well-known Sydney .basso, who;will bo heard in "Nazareth" and, "Thou Art Passing. Hence" (Sullivan), accompanied by .the, organ and piano.' Mr. : ©avid'Kenny, the organist!of the orchestra, will: again, assist, and will play;Ord-Humd's '!8.8. and C," and the "Andantino" by Leina're. Mrs. Reg. D'Ath will make her first appearance in New-Zealand under;the direction of tho orchestra.. .;'

At the Opera House to-morrow (Sunday) evening an interesting programme will he given. The Globe Eicture'Companywill make their first appearance in Wellington,'and will give a series of scenic pictures. ; In the programme are the following films, ''Tho;Wonders:.'of:Canada,"';'"Going .to Switzerland," "Beautiful, Smyrna,".. "Northern" Venice,-' and some Spanish..views. iThe vdoalists-en-gaged-are'Mr. W. A.Robyns (basso), who,is singing "The Pilgrims of the Night" (Idle), and '.'The Mighty Deep" (Jude); and Master' Fred Byron, the boy soprano, is giving "The Chorister": (Sullivan) and ' "Hymns .of the' Old .Church Choir." The concert commences at 8.15. -.■"' '■-■•';:'.