THE HOWE-SPONG SEASON.

Evening Post, Volume XLVII, Issue 86, 12 April 1894, Page 3

THE HOWE-SPONG SEASON.

" THE GHIP OF IRON." It was a grnoaome and an awful play which was produced at the Opera House for the first timo in Wellington laßt evening. " The Grip of Iron " is the title whioh Mr Arthnr Shirley has given to his adaptation of a French horror entitled " The Stranglera." and it alludes to the skill of the hero, who when not orushing the breath ont of bia victims with his grip of iron," practices law— often much the Fame thing. The audiencn supped full of horror, and if an epidemic of grarrotting does not spread over the land it will not be the fanlt of Mr. Shirley — for thia drama has reached Us 2000 th night in England, and is still urging on its wild career in divers an* sundry places. First, tharo is a " strangling " in the opening scene, then mutiny and murdor and firo and sadden death —mitigated by a gun which last night wonld not go off— a burning convict ship and an uprising of oonviots. and then in the closing scone there is quite a now batch of murders. It is a play, too, whioh should stimulate the imagination, for seldom wore greater gaps left to be filled in by a puzzled andienco. All the villains stand well "np " stage, and .ruminate in a loud voioe on their villainies and plans, while the virtuous section of the cast on the premises appear io have beoomo suddenly stone doaf. To balance things, however, two deteotives do prepieoisely the same. Then " the Stranglor," a venerable law olork, who is not hitherto suspeoted, is suddenly recognised by the heroine in her lover' b office, and instantly the grand army of France appears on the scene and oharges the auspeqfc with bayonets, while tho fin de sitcle detective bars bis only remaining exit by the window with a whitewash brush— all as if tho unoxpeoted recognition was a " put-up thing." Ono of the detectives, by some mysterious dispensation of Providence, gets himself transported, in order to establish the innocence of one of the two persons convicted of the opening murder, and ascertains the real identity of tho other, and there are some extraordinary confidences and conferences are oarried on on the deok of tho convict ship in the presence of warders and another detective, whioh eithpr argue that discipline on a French convict ship is singularly lax, or that French warders, like Frenoh conyiots, are both blind and deaf. In a mutiny, in whioh the ship is burnod^ another singular trait of the French warder is revealed, for they stand while Mr. Jagon and his guard are engaged in a catoh-as-oatoh-oan wreatlo for the guard's gun, which tho gentleman with the "grip of iron " (boinsr .the hero) of course seoures. A vision, effectively given in tableau form, Booms to indioato that the only survivors are Jagon, the real Btrangier, and Blanobard, his wrongly-convicted fellow-convict, yet in the next aot the two deteotives turn up in a Parisian drawingroom, where Blanchard appears intensely astonished when his companion of the raft, Jagon, also appears, aliyo, well, and prepared to strangle with unimpaired vigour. There are a variety of other complications, bnt life is too short to osi>ay their elucidation. The central character is Jagon, alia* Simmonot — a sort or "Dr. Jekylland Mr. Hyde"— leading a donblo life as an eminently reputable law olerk and the ruffianly leader of "The Stranglersof Paris." He is an unoanny creature, with terrible wriihing hands, and an assnrance which a colonial politician or a Prohibition leoturer might envy. The part is the very antithesis of those usually played by Mr. Walter Howe, but he nevertheless made of it a grnesome character-study. Next in importance to the obief character is that of a detective, Alphonse de Couoou — a cross between Grattan Biggs' "Trish Da' eotive," Eugene Sne'B " Wandoring Jew," and Captain Kodwood, the languid thief-catcher in " Jim tho Penman." It is a character possessing some striking scenes, and Mr. c'cot Inglis made a great deal of thein ;+ . There is another defcoo- - tive, and in contradistinction to Alphonse, he is described as of " the old sohool, and evidently intended for the fussy and too obvious offioer who bears "detective" written all over him and deteoxs nothing. But Mr. Fabeit does not realise its possibilities. Miss .Hilda Spong was cast as the young daughter of the murdered Ouerin, a part requiring chiefly poreonal charm, archness, ana coquetry in tho first scene, with ono Btrong situation later. She fulfilled its requirements attractively. Miss Anstoad gave an intelligent reading of Sophie Blanchard, Bister of the innocently condemned man, and Misj Gil! took the part of Cora, the stranger's daughter. Mr. Greenaway played up to Miss Spong excellently as the young advocate, hor lover r Mr. James Cathoart gave a powerful presentation of the wronged Blanohard, and Mr. Cecil Owen had a part whioh suited him as Lorens de Bibas, " the strangler's" accomplice. There were a host of minor characters, and all the chief performers were " called." Mr. Spong supplies some good set soenes, the conviot ship and the explosion on its deck being very effective, while the prison interior and tho tableau are also good. The drama will be reproduced to-night, and to-morrow " As You Like It " will again be played.