THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 478, 10 April 1909, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

"The world's a theatre, the earth a stage."— Heywood. i (By Sylvius.) Easter Shows. Wellington is being excellently catered for during Easter-time. At the Opera House on Saturday evening the long-awaited "Merry Widow" will materialise, after breaking all records in Australia. In the. hands of the strongly-constituted Royal Comic Opera Company this merry work should bo notably well done. The opera lias an attractive score, and the "book" is said to bo particularly bright. At tho Theatre Royal tho Edwin Geach Dramatic Company opens in "The Woman Pays," and thore will bo good picture shows at the Town Hall, His Majesty's Theatre, and tho Thc.i.tro Royal. The Salvation Army on the Stago. The talk of Sirs. Fiske's latest New York success and tho recent revival in Wellington of "The Bello of New York" induces one to think seriously of the Salvation Army as a factor in tho drama. It only needs a moment's thought to become convinced of the opulence of dramatic incident that has been opened up by tho Work of tho Army, and it is fairly safe to conclude that any of the experienced officers in the larger cities could supply the material for half a dozen good drama doubtless replete with good situations, striking pictures, and even the clumsy but' necessary, 'sensation. All tho slumming that was dono by the few brave souls of orthodox denominations wcro as nought compared with the work of tho Anny, who have literally gone down into the dark places and at least made a bold attempt to clean up the filth of man degenerate. Some of tho enthusiasm with which many in tho Army toil under tho melodramatic banner of blood and fire is pictured by Mr. Geo. Bernard Shaw in his exquisite satire on sentiment in "Major Barbara." Cusins, a Greek scholar, is in love with Barbara, the daughter of the millionaire cannon-maker, TJndershaft, whoso freakish family are people with distinct ideas and convictions. Barbara fancies she has found joy ■in becoming a Salvation Army lass, and Cusins has "followed on" for other reasons than the salvation of his soul. Cusins is arguing that love, mercy, truth, honour, and so forth are the'dominating factors of life. TJndershaft: "Yes, they are the graces of a rich, strong, and safe lite." Cusins: "Suppose one is forced to choose between them and money and gunpowder" TJndershaft:" Choose money and 'gunpowder, I for without enough of both you cannot afford the others." Cusins: "That is your religion?" TJndershaft: "Yes." 'Cusins: "Barbara won't stand that. Tou will have to choose between your religion and Barbara." TJndershaft: "So will you my friend. She will find out that that drum of yours is hollow." Cusins: "Father TJndershaft, you are mistaken. I am a sincere Salvationist. Yon do not understand the Salvation Army. It is tho army of joy, of love, of courage; it has banished the fear and remorse and despair of the old hell-ridden evangelical sects. It marches to fight tho devil with trumpet and drum, with music and dancing, with banner and palm, as becomes a sally from Heaven by its happy garrison. It picks the waster out of the public-house and makes a man of him. It finds a.worn wriggling in a back kitchen, and 10l a woman! Men and women of rank, too, sons and daughters of tho Highest. It takc3 the poor professor of Greek, the most artificial and self-suppressed of human creatures, from his meal of roots, and lets looso the rhapsodist in him; reveals the true worship of Dionysos to him; sends him down the public street drumming dithyrambs (he plays a thundoring flourish on tho drum)." Finally Barbara loses interest in tho Army, when sho finds that its existence depends ..on the. munificence of Bodgors, the whisky-distiller, her own' cannon-maker, high explosive manufacturing father and such like, and. marries Cusins, who becomes a partner in TJndcrshaft's militant business. " The Third Degrea." Mr. Charles Klein, who wrote that most successful play "The Lion and tho Mouse" (not yet produced in Australasia), has-scored another success in a four-act drama entitled "The Third Degree." The play is an impeachment of American police method, particularly that form of cross-examination of an accused person known as tho third degree, whero tho victim—innocent or guilty—is examined and brow-beaten'" by' clever police officials for six and eight hours at a stretch, a method which is often successful in gaining what can bo construed into a confession from an innocont person. It is so in this case. A young man, Howard Jeffries, is arrested for the murder of his friend, because he is seen leaving the houso after the deed was. committed. Ho is cross-examined for eight hours, at tho end of which tho officer produces the revolver. In his dazed condition and mental weariness, ho becomes hypnotised by tho glint of tho barrel, and repeats what tho officer (Captain Clinton) says—a full confession. Ho is about to bo tried, when his wifo, who has been fighting for him (Howard married beneath him, and has been disinherited by his wealthy father), makes appeal after appeal to Mr. Brewster, the great lawyer, who is also lawyer for Jeffries, sen. On that account ho declines to act, but she dogs his steps, and calls at the office daily until he has to seo her in desperation. This forms one of tho strongest scenes in the play. In tho course of her pleading, she incidentally mentions that Howard had told her that ho had contradicted everything until ho looked at the pistol. Mr. Brewster becomes intensely interested, and at once sees that hypnotism is at the bottom of the confession. This proves to bo the case. Finally, Howard and his wife are received back by the family. "An Englishman's Home." "Playgoers will be surprised to learn that as soon as possible after tho production of 'An Englishman's Homo' hero by the Hum-phrey-Kolker combination, Mr. Priestley Mor-rison,-the new-American stage-director, will rehearse the Knight-Day company for it. Indications of the intenso interest taken in the new war-drama havo led Mr. Williamson thus to play it simultaneously by the-original contingent here, and in Melbourne and Adelaide, antl by' Mr. Knight in the west aud Now Zealand. If necessary, a third company will bo equipped for Brisbane and the north."— "Sydney Morning Herald." Note. It is the intention of Miss Hardinge-Maltby to arrange a production of Paulton s charming comedy "Niobe" during the coming winter. The play was made familiar to local theatre-goers by the Brough-Boucicault Company, and was played in Wellington by Mr. Harry Paulton (the author) and Miss Alma Stanley several-years ago.