IRVING DRAMATIC SEASON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1165, 28 June 1911, Page 7

IRVING DRAMATIC SEASON.

HEAVY DEMAND FOR SEATS. By TeJecraph—Press Association— OoDyritrhl Sydney, Juno 27. The demand for seats for tho H. B. Irving theatrical season is so great that it has been found necessary to open'the plans a fortnight ahead, instead of tho customary week. "THE BIGGEST THING." "Open with the biggest thing first," was Mr. J. C. Williamson's urgent advice to mo in London," remarked Mr. H. B. Irving in the course of an interview in Sydney. "Words so authoritative, and from such an experienced source, were not to be lightly disregarded—hence 'Hamlet' on Saturday! Wo have also, as you know, a repertoire of attractivo pieces, 'The Lyons Mail,' 'Louis Xl,' and 'The Bells,' all great 'acting'dramas; tho decidedly weird 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' which all audiences dearly love; and a version of Goethe's Taust.' No; it is not tho one compiled by Comyns Carr and Stephen Phillips, which belongs to Sir Herbert Tree." It is tho poetic adaptation by the scholarly W. G. Wills, staged by my father in 188G, and financially has proved one of the greatest money-makers of the modern stage. 'Hamlet,' of course, is ono of my earliest studies. I first played the character as long ago as 1895, when'l was leading man in Ben Greet's provincial company. My first appearance in the great character was at Sunderland, where also, you may remember, my father made his stage debut as Gaston in 'The Lady of Lyons,' with the apposite remark, 'Here's to our enterprise!' The frequent changes of character, the downright hard work of repertoire companies like Greet's and Benson's, in the latter of which Miss Dorothea Baird gained invaluable experience, are, in my opinion, necessary to the mental and artistic equipment of an actor, and it is to be regretted that this kind of training is now difficult to acquire. Without it, I should not have faced London audiences with the confidence I did as Hamlet at tho Adelphi Theatre ten years later, when tho revival ran splendidly. My father had great faith in tho oldstock system. Yes; it was a pitv Sir Henry never visited Australia. The possibility came to him too late in life, lie thought, and he dreaded the distance, the 'new people, and the greatness of such a toilsome enterprise, perhaps not realising, as my wife and myself liavo done; how very restful and recuperative is the long sea-voyage."