ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2667, 12 January 1916, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS

HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. jV Tho bill for tlio week at His Majesty's Theatre is one of unusual quality. Tho 3 comedy specialists from America," Bullitt. | get and Reynolds, give a very line pert'ormance of daring and skilful balancing e foats, with some w/nally clever fooling £ as well. Betty Bruce, a character coinei dinn who is piquant and clever, is already 3 an established favourite, George Wheeler S is a tramp musician, with tho trick of S making music out of all sorts ol' queer a instruments, awl he does it all very well, i Miss Amy Murphy and Miss Nellie' Black p; are two such vocialists as have never g previously appeared on the variety stage ft in New Zealand, and their part of tho | pre gramme is excellent. | THE KING'S. >S The King's Theatre was again crowded (j throughout last night, when "The Shnla- | mite" was screened for the second time, f This fine picture adaptation of Alice and I Claude Askow's well-known novel, by the i London Film Company, is unquestionably a one of the best pictures we lmvo seen for | some time. The subject, with its intense • 3 and often thrilling story, is most artisticI ally produced, many gorgeous and beautiful scenes being introduced, as well as jjj scenes of vivid realism, and the acting q throughout reaches a high level of excellence, especially commendable being Miss c Manora Thew, the beautiful and talented leading lady, aud also Norman M'Kinnell and Gerald Amis, as the Boer and Eng- | lishmau respectively. The plot is cleverly (3 conceived and worked out to a striking climax, and succeeds in holding the close a attention to the last. The supporting pictures include the Thanhouser comedy, 5j "Help! Help!" a delightful film breaking ' new ground; the scenic study of North S Wales is exceptionally beautiful, aud the a Pathe Gazette as usual is replete with.in- | teresting and newsy items. Specially sea lectod and appropriate music is rendered j <]■ by tho King's Symphony Orchestra.

P EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. 5 The seventeenth episode of "The Mil- | lion Dollar Mystery," now showing at }, Everybody's Theatre, tells of more ex--3 citing incidents in this sensational drama, a Special interest attaches to the scenic pic--1 ture of "Salonika." Of course, the film P was taken long before the' Allied Armies |! occupied the town, but the picture shows I; the nature of the country and the jj people. A very line drama is unfolded in { "Hilda ' of' the Slums," a story of the [j underworld. The Gjiumont Graphic reI lates an interesting selection of the \ events of the day.

THE EMPRESS. That there 19 an excellent picture hill at the Empress Theatre is amply proven by the big audiences now rilling. The acting of. triplicate roles by Miss Helen Gardner in the Broadway feature, "Tho Strange Story of Sylvia Grey," is an unusually clever piece of character work, as well as a triumph of the art of makeup. Muss Gardner ia first seen as the fascinating young wifo, who, lured by tho tempter, abandons her distracted husband and babe for a life of gaiety. Then she is tho daughter who, grown to beautiful womanhood, becomes the artists' model and the queen of the bal masque. Finally we see her when, old, grey, and filled with the regrets of what might have been, fate puts in her pathway the pov-erty-stricken wreck who was once her husband. The drama is full of vigorous and forceful situations, produced in Vitagrapli's. best style. The allied films include:—The World Film comedy, "A Quiet Game," a picture taken at Quennevierres, on the French front, which shows some of the actual warfare of today. The Topical Gazetto is one of tho best seen lately, and there is a very funny little sporting comedy, entitled "Never Despair."

' WIRTHS' CIRCUS. Wirths' Circus and Menagerie, which will pay u visit io Wellington on Monday nest, will bo quartered near Te Aro Railway Station, and a programme of high merit, with many new and novel features, and brilliant stars, is promised. Captain Frank Huling and his troupe of educated sea lions are a feature ot the new attractions. It is stated that one of tho 6ea lions ("Mascot") rides upon horseback, and whilst the horse is galloping Tound the ring the sea lion balances a baton on his nose, holds a ball in perfect poise, juggles hats, plates, and fire-torches, and blows a horn. Another ("Captain") is a tight-rope performer. The group play musical instruments, etc. The Emstonians are a quartet of aerial acrobats. Double somersaults are performed by ladies to their male' partners, and these are claimed to be tho only women in tho world who throw double somersaults in mid-air from trapeze to catchers' hands. Miss May Martin Wirth turns backward, forward, and double somersaults upon the bare back of a galloping horse. Miss May created a big name for both herself and Australia on her recent tour of the world. In America Barnuin's Circus proprietor engaged her for two years. Another novel turn is that of tho Loretta Twins, a pair of young wpmen who have made the triple horizontal bars their specialty, an<l who are said to perform some astounding tricks, pirouetting and somersaulting from one bar to another. M. Mussa Marnier, a Russian Cossack, gives an exhibition of equestrianism and of Cossack methods of warfare. Ho is described as a horseman of supremo capabilities. The box plan is at the Bristol.