THE THEATRE.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2552, 28 August 1915, Page 9

THE THEATRE.

TBt Sylvius.] The World's a theatre; the -Eartli a stage.—Hey wood. s ; j! "Bunty" Pulls the Public. i- This evening Mr. Graham Moffat will i- revive for one night only his clevei d domestic play of Scottish Manners, •- "Biuity Pulls tho Strings," a play thai has been one of the biggest successes e in England and America during the last a decade.' "An' important change in the e cast of ■ characters will mark the .reyival. When the comedy was produced r m Wellington in October last the title " ™lp was plaj'ed by Miss Ella Young, t Ilus evening that part will be played •> by Miss Jean Clyde, who played, the bride, Beenie Scott in "A, Scrape o' • the Pen,"., which did not give! frer r great opportunities of displaying her ■' talent. . She is said to give a. very y bright, sincere and natural portrayal or the young la,dy who "pulls the strings." Mr. Moffat will appear once ' more as Tammas Biggar and Mrs. Mof- ■ fat Eoleen Dunlop. Mr. Abie Barker ' will impersonate I'ah Biggar ,and Mr. David Urquhart will exercise his oily comedy as Weehim Sprunt. i A Stage Sharpshooter. s:' . Among the unique and novel attraci tions now' appearing under the'manage- ' • r "-Hugh. D.'M'lntosh at tJie Tivoli Theatre,. Sjxlney,' is General lisano,' who presents an entirely origrepresenting- the bombardment of Tripoli by t!he Italian Fleet (iii pic- . wire) at which Pisano was present. Tie effect is most thrilling, and is one of the only ' pictures on record of- a real _ naval battle in progress. The Italian j J® a sensational shot, and can hit a - bull's-eye sixteen times in succession whilst dhanjnilg the rifle from shoulder to shoulder every other shot. Perhaps his' most sensational foats is the . .shooting of a resin ball that is held between the foreheads of his'.two assistants. • ' . "Fun on the Bristol." •. Mr. George • Stephenson and Mr; ' t Frank Hawthorne have joined forces for a tour. of' New Zealand, '■ which 1 •oom1. menoes early in , September at tho .■ Grand Opera House, Wellington.' in the . musical farce "Fun' on the Bristol;" t The late John F; Sheridan creatcd the "Widow O'Brien" in these parts, and , played it over 6000 times. Frank Haw- -■ thorne plays the "Widow" this tour. - He has Deen playing the part for some years and has. giined much success in - the character. Tlie company support-' ing Mr. Hawthorne is Fred: Hughes, a-s Count Mennagia; Courtney Ford, ' as Captain Cranberry ; Ernest Delavale, as Tommy Cranberry; 1 Arthur Sharpies, as Richard Sparks; Will Gilbert, as Jerry Thompson ; Miss Bertha Busoh, as Bella; Misses Annie Berrill and Ivy Davis as Nora and Dora, the widow's 1 daughters. - ■■- . ■ ' Poor Dunedin! ' .! Apparently much is being taken for r granted these days (says "Pasquin" in 9 10 . "Qtago Witness"). For instance, it is reported in the north that Mr. , Hugh M'lntosh: is going .to build theatres in Auckland and Wellington, .with ' the possibility of a new vaudeville thei atre in Christchurch, thereby. establishing a regular 'circuit of, Tivoli vaudeville ,in New .Zealand. Dunedin, so it is reported, is to be satisfied, with, occasional visits of a touring company.* Poor Dunedin! It was ever thus; yet timo was; —but, as Kipling would have it, that's another 6tory. Now,. it is jwssible that Mr. Hugh M'lntosh has every intention- of building theatres in Auckland,. Wellington, and Christchurch —I, know lie was looking out for sites ■ iu the, two northern cities, and I understand, he-has: one' in Aueldand and one in Wellington under Christchurch is another matter, • and Dunedin—well, it is Dunedin, and: that seems to be enousfr, seeing: that .we. are to be satisfied with occasional visits .But. maybe' the much-maligned Dunedm will have a new theatre, and I do know that one of the finest sites m the. city 'is at present under offer to Mr. Hugh M'lntosh. -Whether the negotiations which liavo been opened up will come to anything is problematical. With a new, up-to-dat-o the-'" atre in .the centre of the citv -Dunedin. would be a vastly better show , town tnan it is; / War Plays in London. :. J ai #® s v, r ' tho ; London rimes editorially, "are now; largely filled ; by on short leave, whose; happy faces are the best answer to those who, take an even shorter view of the g i i i-i stage tllan Jeremy Collier, and would like to make an end of- it in time of war. Concert halls and picture galleries, too, have thoir 'strong: tinge of knala; for all forms of art offer'a common opportunity of retreat, not-in the military but in spiritual sense, a true recreation or reinvigoration set up by a brief escape fromthe active to the contemplative life. Knowing war at first hand,, soldiers are probably the last men to yearn for it at second-liand on the stage. The demand for .war .plays comes from civilians, and civilians who are not exactly, connoisseurs of art. War plays, French and Belgian and British, have lately been produced on the London stage in abundance, because what' is in everybody's thoughts is bound to be reflected jn the: theatre, but art has had. little' if anything to do with them. Like birthodes and other 'occasional pieces,' war plays suffer from the disconcerting reluctance of art to come pat to any given, occasion. Art, is a.pleasant surprise, ah unexpected gift, and will not ■be served to order. ■■ The . true artist does not choose; his. subject: his subject - chooses him. Hence: 'topical' art of any kind—coronation pictures or jubileo marches of Corn Law rhymes—and whatever tlio topic—war or trade unionism or votes for women—is apt to be bad art because, tie subject is dictated not 'by the artist's nature, but by extraneous accident. Of course by a. lucky ehance_ the outbreak of war may coincide with the einqrgence of. an artist fho was born to/write war plays. So far, however, while the world .unhappily has the war, it is 6till awaiting the predestined' artist.' . . . When someone in the story announces that the German fleet has come out and that half a dozen battleships have already been sunk, the'audience awakes with a start. Alnaschar's day dream has been abruptjy ended by a loud, crash. And here, m this imaginary destruction- of the German fleet, which is to bo enjoyed nightly at a West End theatre, tile besetting sin of all war plays stands revealed.- They c<umot, it would seem, 1 resist the temptation to indulge in that cheap pastime which used' to be known • as 'killing Krugei- with your mouth.'." ' Notes. Miss Ella Caspers, Australia's finest 1 contralto, described as the "girl with the; golden voice," is: at present uuder , engagement! to. Mr. H. D. M'lntosh, at ( tho Tivoli .Theatres, Sydney, Melbourne , and Brisbane. Miss Caspers had her i early training at the Convent in Al- i bury ; in New South Wales, mid after 1 gaining an Associated Board's scliolar- j ship, she went to England. There sho was so successful that she was selected by Sir Hubert Parry to sing at Alex- ' andra Palace. She has also sung before the King and Queen, the Princesses Viotoria and Christian, and tho Duke and Duchess of Norfolk. Mr. Walter Fuller states that • his firm have on-order somo fi-st-class acts from America, and m somo instances these artists will make their initial appearances on this 6idr of the Pacific in Now Zealand, instead of in Australia. as has been the usual .course,