BLAND HOLT COMPANY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 427, 9 February 1909, Page 10

BLAND HOLT COMPANY.

"THE FLOOD TIDE." "The Flood Tide,"-a nielo-farce in four acts, by Cecil Raleigh. Cast— ,• '>.."'' Baroness Pitchioli Miss Harrie' Ireland. Polly Champion „;... Mrs. Bland Holt." Mana.Pitchioli,;........ Miss Jeunio Pollock .Mabel-Corry Miss Muriel Dale; , Rachel . Miss Bessie Major.', Captain Jack Champion, V.C. ' . •''" ' ' .■.'-■ Mr. Max" Maxwell. : Macnaiighton ; Mr. Arthur Stran. Diofc Champion Mr.. Charles Brown. The Earl of Sutton Mr. Leslie Woods. Colonel Sir Russell Corry, Mr. Godfrey Cass. Menotti Derago Mr. A. Harford. George Wellington Clipp ...... Bland Holt.

Of all the plays, good, bad, and indifferent, that Mr. Bland Holt has from time to time produced in Wellington, none can bo recalled to memory so utterly devoid of any approach to histrionic intelligence as "The Flood Tide," hurled without any_warning at an unsuspecting public 1 last evening at the Opera Houso; The • author, Mr.. Cecil Raleigh, ; who. has- written .many presentable plays, is here discovered in an utterly irresponsible mood —as one who having lost his meiitaj equilibrium, is yet able to put words together with a wandering pen. He has, however, retained self-respect enough to call, tho play a mclo-farce. It is,all that, whatever it may be, and worse. It appears as if he had laid his hand on half-a-dozen moderately bad plays," and had mixed up their ingredients with a wildly hilarious pestle, shaking in here and there some decent bits of scenery, mostly of a utilitarian character, which involve a steamer's saloon, a dam, a racecourse, and a railway train. The mixture is pounded iveil together, and as a rare of it slops over, Mr. Raleigh has chuckled merrily— "the very idea—"The.Flood Tide.'"So incomprehensibly are the greater,;, number of; , melodramas, " that pass'-..;.as /such. in- these ■-, .days, that one might easily be forgiven'-. for, mistaking the concoction for something of the sort, but.the. loud:"Ha, ha!"scene, gives .'"the. lib with circumstance!" As far as one could, gather, the farce hifiges;on Thompson, alias. Macnaughton, a diamond ''king, achieving; a. jiyely etate of dipsomania. on .the. trip Hqine; ,from\ChiJi. An;altogether wicked person, who make's;a profession of preying on society;-throws her daughter at him, and tho'blow is ,, too much for,■-,:after; rjishing round in , ins 'bare feet, clad oriiy in' pyjamas, he' shoots'-. :several people of no, account and jumps overboard. : The widow, considers that thiu inciderif'tnrns: on the flood that leads to. fortune. : : ■ She persuades her daughter (who-will attempt to evade the. author's intention by acting with melodramatic seriousness) to assume the name of Thompson, so that they can both live'the;giddy life.nntil;the-"dipso.''s"?credit' gives out. ■ But the guardian of virtue-de-.velops in a buxom.-"stewardess,..wb6j dm'ployed on. the boatfrom which the ."dvpso;" takes ..his delirious, -dip, ..finds on arrivingHome/that her hearty old; innlceeping rascal of., 'a ■ father. has. been. cominittiiig wholesale forgery las.trustee for;. Thompson, in , .order, that This priggish son. ;(who l is.-. tho•'. hero). mightj be in" a position to. squander as much money as his foolish fellow officers in the regiment. "Honest" old Dick Champion, not content with what; he feloniously annexed, is satisfied that _he;.'.must go still ■further,' but the- lawyers being suspicious ho must: have, a dummy; Thompson. ~ Accordingly, the plump stewardess,. .who is a young 1 lady of infinite resource, -persuades her/young ■ man-Hi: traveller ■'' for babies. , ' bottles, - named Clippr—to personate .the; lost. one. .The oxtra money is needed to buy the only horse iiv tho race that might beat '.'honest'"' ■Dick's horse, which is the best evidence (in this play) that he is not a villain, btit just a good,' old, bluff, ale-drinking Englishman— otherwise he would never- ":thou" and ;'.'thce". the other characters." 'Clipps, !: as -Thompson, ■ ' comes v in contact ,with; the ;.deceased's false wife, and a funny scene-ends 'with 'an' arrangement that the twoare.to pose as man and ; wife. But ~ at '' the . raco : .-' meet ing,' ~.where, .honest Dick'.s. ahorse wins in, an agitated- among-:,other horses ■•that lobk;as if they wero.'lje'iiigtpushed along, Thompson turns up, still a hopeless "dipsomaniac," mVi- his boots round..his r neck.and' vague whisker ,adlfering ; :te. hisfchin-,as ;some- : thing to,?pluck". ; :; Th'e 'fat;, : .l>uti : ,. resou'rcefiil : :ste vvardnpss packs him..away jko : Blaftkmere^in; ■ the.nofthj :have' secured the'moriey won over,the, (forged by';honest Dick)'aro. cleared. Then j {t settle, the designing miiixes , who have been; posing, industriously as} wife-:ahd. mother-in-law, 'Thompson (who' has..been;reduced to a diet of, trout and whisky) is brought back to j town,, after escaping from the flood caused by a burst dam,'and. actually, kind of love to the girl who' has been trading, bri his credit as-'his wife., Olipp gets, the fat ste\yardess, .-the lattbr's brother, ;Captain Champion carries off-his colonel's daughter, and everybody goes Paris'exc.erjt-the' designing person with the accent/who is discarded by., her daughter;: because sho had -hired ;an Italian irresponsible to dp the. only'thing , that was well-con- ■ sidered. .'■ .'"lf. the'.' reader can follow this phantasmagpric, story ■ he. is entitled -.'to"..be. considered to: have a bright' future; if :not, it does not much matter; ~':■.;.,■ . ;. ~-' Of the performers Miss Harrie played the bold .Baroness Pitchioli with "a :gay;dash ,and abandon that.made tho.part stand; out in; splendid, relief. .She: seemed. ;to enter; the ' authors '-get as much fun out-'of the.part;:as: ; he' , ;did.;but of the. play. : ,;• Another-.'-cheerful,' circumstance was ; the Thompson of Mr. Arthur Styau,\ who -became gibbering '■ idiot '!bf. bloated mien to the.'satisfaction' of overyonel-' Mr. Holt's dapper humour' fitted the. r01e....0f Clipp,' arid 'Mrs. .Holt; was- in' , , her ', element, as the pluriip -stewftrd'oss; '■''Misi' Pillock , -' as. .Maria':Pitchioli ,topk herself rather' seriously,: but.;otherwise , was'"a jnice. girl. Mr..< Charles., Brown ;-'made. .a- capital ■■ liouest.,' scoundrpl: as Dick. Champion/. an_3,,,Mr'."Max -Maxwell ■ cut a. good '.figure, asi-his; military son. ;' Mr!u Leslie Woods was. all,/thatoiho'-part.of Earl;' of Siitt-on -.demanded, an'd-'.'as -.Colonel :'\C6rry Mr.. Godfrey- pass smothered-his words' with a proper gruff licss. Miss -Muriel Dale -looked; very ■:siyeoK-as ■ MabelV Corry, the' beloved of the military,-, and. Major delighted ,the aiidience'^.yritli-.a .little comedy sketch',in;,;mourning.i-;.'The scenery was good, especially; the burstmg ' of;. the dam.;' The management'.-..'announces the last lye' \the x ; sjsason.i.:! V; ;^.' r ,;r ! v ; '.-