THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2217, 1 August 1914, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

[Bt Sylvius.] . : The World's a theatre; tho Eaitb a etije.—Eeywood. Mr. Alexander Watson. Mr. Alexander Watson, a very capable and* forceful English recites, .is ■to make his first appearance in Wellington this evening. . Mr. Watson vieited the Dominion on a former occasion, but owing to not being able to secure suitable dates here, • Wellington, was not visited.. _ Let it be known that . Mr. Watson is a reciter who never fails to satisfy his audiences, and his repertoire, .which is'prodigious, is catholic enough to vulnerable points in all tastes. Mr. AVatson is being presented by Mr. Carlyle Smythe.- ■ The Niblo Company Again. Mr. Fred Niblo, the spry American comedian, and his merry maids and men are due at the Grand Opera House on Wednesday next , to initiate another laughing season. It is remarkable, but none the less a fact, that nineteen months have elapsed since "Get-Rich-Quick • Wallingford" waa first'seen in Wellington, and no better proof of the popularity of Mr. Niblo and the , class of lively farce-comedies he purveys can be produced that to eay that the success .he has met with in Australia has'prevented: this country being visited a second time long ago. This time the company, which is a strong.combination all round, will be" seen in "The Fortune Hunter," "Never Bay Die," and "Officer 666,". all of which have suited' tho palate of the. Australian play-goer. Pernapsthe biggest success of the three .farces was. "The Fortune Hunter," I .which' cannot fail to amuse anyone with a claim to. a sense of humour; "Never Say' Die" I saw in Melbourne recently. It is the quaintest of: American farces, with a strong thickening of the.love , element to sweeten the end. It is'the story, of. a very rich man, whom all the. leading specialists say"cannot live more than a month at the.outside. He has at* old college ohum, who is engaged to the, sweetest girl, but owing ,to his limited.means is unable to proceed further, than the'engagement.' The doomed man gets ; an' inspiration one day—-he will marry the girl, she ■ will go right away to Europe with "her mother and fiancee, and -Will return in three months' time to' wear crepe and clean' up his fortune. The .scheme works up te a point,', the marriage takes place, and "off go'.the-merry little party to Europe, butDionysis is still much alive on their return. Finally tho little lady .realises that her real happiness lies with : the man she has married "for funand not for keeps," and though the fun continues to bubble right to the-'end,' the final curtain, is one that engenders eighs of complete satisfaction. '"Officer 666" is a Pullman railway car comedy— each scene is enacted in a railway carriage at various times of tho day and night. If is a scream. The company has among.its members Mies Jo. G-ohan (Mrs. Niblo), Miss Beatrice Holloway, Miss Clarke (daughter of Marcus.Clarke,, the '■' novelist), ; ' Miss Enid Bennett, Messrs. Sidney Stirling, Robert Greig, Harry Lester, Maurice Dudley, and E. Pirie Bush (a Wellington native). ■" Ellen Terry Honoured; Miss Ellen Terry, the .brightest star of the English theatrical constellation, was especially, hohoure'd in. Sydney on Tuesday afternoon last, when she was tendered • a complimentary matinee by the Actors'' Association- of Australasia. A splendid' programme was arranged, headed by the great trial scene from "The Merchant of Venice," with Miss' Terry as Portia, Mr. G, S.- Titheradge ; as Shylock, Mr. Robert Inman as. the Duke of Venice, Mr. Hugh Buckler as Bas v sanio, Mr: Walter'Bentlev as An--.toniq, Mr. W. Holman, sen., (father of the Premier. of)N.S.W.) as, Tubal, and Misa Essie Jenyna'-(Mrs. : ; Wood)' as Nerissa. The Council'of Ten and the Crowd in the Court, w,ere made up of all the principal players in Sydney, including the members of the "Gipsy Love" Company. Another item'of interest was the one-aot play "Little Sloe Eyes," in which-Mr. Eric Maxon, Mr. Frodk. Ward,.and Miss Mary' Worth appeared. Mr. and Mrs. Graham Moffat appeared in the Scotch comedy "Till the Bells Ring." Miss Muriel Starr, Reg. Wykeham,. Harry Sweeney, and Eric. Maxon...appeared in the., sketch "The Wedding Moni" and, the. Little Theatre Company presented Act 111 of "Hi» House m Order." Mr. Lawrence Campbell delivered Mark Antony's oration from ''Julius Caesar," Mr. Jack Cannot and Mr. Joseph Blascheck ape peared in humorous recitajs, Miss Grace Palotta sang her infectious "Laughing Song," Mr. W. Grant recited "Tie Tramp," and Mies'May Congdonre-. cited "A Month's Notice." Programmes were sold in, the theatre by the four ladies of the'"Gipsy Love" Company.