THE THEATRE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2486, 12 June 1915, Page 9

THE THEATRE

[By Sylvius.] rh9 World's a theatra; tha Eartb a atage.—Heywood. A Notable Tour. The Plimmer-Hall Comedy Company, which has just completed a patriotic tour of the Dominion, are to play back through the country with that clever play "The Mummy and the Hummingbird," and the comedy "A Message From Mars," which has not yet been seen in many of the smaller towns. Their recent tour resulted ill well over £3000 being donated .to the various patriotic funds, chiefly to the Belgian Fund. As the donation of over ii2ooo to that fund carries with it a Government £ for £ subsidy, it will be recognised that this management have not only dono well, but they have achieved that which had never been contemplated before —played throughout the whole of New Zealand and contributed all profits to patriotic funds. The details published in another place in this issue give some idea of the figures and, incidentally, discouraging influences that the management had to combat. Two New York Revivals. New York has recently had the felicity of witnessing two revivals of famous plays which in their day achieved wonderful successes. One was the resuscitation by an all-star cast of "A Celebrated Case," a drama which enjoyed an enormous popularity forty years ago. "A Celebrated Case" is an adaptation of the French play "Une Cause Celebre," written by Cormon and D'Ennery, who were also the authors of "The Two Orphans." In the original New York cast appeared the handsome Charles Coghlan and Sara Jewett. In the latest cast Otis Skinner figures as Joan Ronard, and supporting him are such distinguished players as Nat Goodwin, Ajm Murdooh, Frederic de Belleville, Florence Reed, Robert Warwick, and Eugene O'Brien. The other revival is that of "Trilby" with Wilton Lackeye in his creation, Svengali, and Miss Phyllis Neilson Terry as Trilby. The rest of tho cast is as follows: —Taffy, Burr M'lntosh; Sandy, Alex. M'Ahster; Little Billy, Brandon Tynan; You-you, Leo. Ditrichstein; Gecko, Taylor Holmes; Rev. Bagot, Cecil King; Madam Vinard, Miss Rose Coghlan; and Mrs. Bagot, Annie Esmond. It is stated that despite the lapse of years the drama played well, and Wilton Lackeye had not lost a little of his power to thrill as the Bohemian hypnotist and musician.

"A Scrape o' the Pen." Mr. Graham Moffat has produced his second play, "A Scrapo o' the Pen," in Sydney. The play is desoribed as a sound treatise on Scottish domestic life and the characterisation is as clear-cut as in "Bunty Pulls the Strings." A farm kitchen in Dumfriesshire iB the scene of the greater part of the play. Flora M'Gilp, a Highland servant, is the presiding genius of the kitchen, but others who pass in and out provide the drama. Hugh Menzies and his wife, formerly Jean Lowther, have taken over the management of the farm from the aged couple who own it, Mattha and Leezie Inglis. Jean, When a thoughtless girl, had exchanged before witnesses a written declaration that she and Alec. Inglis, _ the son of the old couple, were married —this being a legal marriage according to Scottish law. Alec, disappeared, and 'eft another girl, Bppie Oliphant, to die. His victim has left a child, "Woe Eppic," to the care of Jean. Into the peaceful kitchen comes Mrs. Baikio, an English visitor, and brings. with her as a memento to "Jean Lowther" the pocket-book of Alec., supposedly dead in South Africa. Thoro is a struggle ii tho mind of old Inglis as to whether he should reveal the true state of the case. Jean implores him to be silent, and his'wife supports her. Alee., also, when he afterwards comes back to the old homo, decides in the end to refrain from speaking, and leaves Joan and the unconscious Hugh to their peace; a different Enoch Arden. A Born Comedian. Barry Lupino is tho youngest pantomime comedian of his standing 111 the world. liis is a caso of being born to the purple of the stago. Ho cannot help boing a comedian any more than a baby can help crying when it is short of food. To bo funny or just entertaining requires no effort, 110 apparent studied plan. It is a clear caso of boing a born comedian and acrobat. If Lupino were to put a smudge ol red on his noso and an old pair of boots on his feot, ho could mako any audience laugh by merely relating how ho wont down tho street, met a friend, and walked back again. Off tho stage ho is a quiet, reserved, rather good-look-ing youth, whose word 110 0110 would doubt, if he said ho came of rge last Christmas. His Billy in "Cinderella" is a capital bit of burlesquo work well avvav from tho usual ship-stick comedy of tho average run of pantomimes. ..."Cinderella'-. assists one to r.eulise hojx,.

poor other pantomime productions given us this ,vear have been. A Record TUrn. The success < f the Paul Stanhope Revue Company at His Majesty's Theatre during a five weeks' season is the biggest thing achieved by any group of players in New Zealand under the Fuller management. Many are wondering how it happejis that this company has succeeded, whilst the "Grafters" Company, from which they scceded, were such a failure. There are two reasons that help to a solution. "The Grafters" wero not very skilfully bandied, whicb is one cogent excuse for failure, and the other reason for tho difference is that Mr. Stanhope has had the wit to crystallise all the good things in 1 tho "Grafters' " fatuous plays, and give the public just one hour of the concentrated essence. Probably with two hours and a bit of Mr. Stanhope and his assistants tie audience would tire, as there is little in the form of entertainment submitted to chain the attention of people of intelligence, who can, bowover, appreciate "a little nonsense now and then" (as the old conplet has it). Notes. "Alice in Wonderland" is being played in dramatic form in New York to excellent business. A twelve-year-old girl named Vivian Tobin has made a distinct success as Alice, and is said to succeed by reason of her amazing naturalness. She plays the part as though she is utterly unconscious of the presence of an audience. New Zealand will probably see the spy play "The Man Who Stayed at Home" in September. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Niblo left Sydney for America on June 5. They were given a very hearty send-off in Melbourne and Sydney. Mr. Rupert Darrell, who creeps through "Cinderella" as though he had been blown from Flanders by a blast of chlorine gas, is a son of the late Mr. George Darrell, a melodramatic actor of the old school, v.'ho wrote many plays, tho most successful of which was "The Sunny South." That excruciatingly funny picture comedian Charles Chaplin recently entertained at San Francisco a party of "Young Australians" who are visiting the States, and ou one occasion took the baton and conducted tho visitors | band.