"A FAMILY AFFAIR."

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 48, 25 August 1904, Page 6

"A FAMILY AFFAIR."

SOMETHING ABOUT THE FULLER PROPRIETARY. The owners to day of a theatre in three of the chief centres of tho colony, and. the lessees of another in tho fouith, each controlled by a member of the family, if this colony is not altogether "Fuller's Earth," as has been sometimes said, it may at least bo truthfully claimed that they 1 own a valuable portion of it. "And yet," said Mr. Ben Fuller, the general manager of the firm, in tho course of a short chat yesterday, "wo began our career inside ten yeara ago with an asset in the shape of a silver tenor voico and a modicum of that indispensable commodity — Hope." The subject seemed worth pursuing further, as an instanco of tho progress of a showman's Hfo, and Mr. Fuller proceeded to explain how tho (scattered members of tho family wero brought together in 1894 for tho purposo of a combined attack on this colony. Mr, John Fuller, sen. (tho aforementioned asset), was at that timo. managing "pop." concerts in Adelaide 5 Mr. Ben was campaigning in South Africa as pianist to Mr. Harry Lwtcr, monologuo entertainer; Miss Ilotty Fuller was in Brisbane with the Pollard Opera Company ; MrWaiter wag musical director of one of Mr. Joseph Poolc's Myriorama Companies, travelling in tho English provinces ; Miss Lydia Fuller was in another part of tho British Isles with Mr. Wnrick Gray*« Juvenile Opora Company ; and John, jun., was in New Zealand, as call-boy to tho Royal Comics. Tho threads were drawn together, and within tho coarse of a few months tliere woe a family gathering in Auckland, where, in, 1895, at the City Hull, tyioy launched upon a united career with a series of "pop." concerts, "Those wero merry time*," said Mr. Ben, reflectively, "merry, for every hand was at the. plough, but exhilarating. The idea 'caught on,' and at tho end of twelve inontks t before interest became exhausted, it was decided to experiment with pictorial ontertainments, and I was despatched to London .to seleot stock. This class of entertainment also pleased the northern public, and wo gradually worked south, playing seasons •wherever the- country • seemed worth working. In timo wo took a leaso of the Agricultural Hull in Auckland, and ran pictorial concerts thoro on two nights in tho week, iwid a variety performance on a third, filling in the rest of tho week •with trips into tho suburbs. About this timo the Auckland Industrial Exhibition came intfe being, and while tbivt stupendous competitor ..concerned itself with tho products of tho country we embarked in a rival exhibition in wux, embracing all tho celebrated murderers and criminals of the ago, and other celebrities. We ran two seances a day, and mopped up nnioh money, and some notoriety. "You see," explained Mr. Ben, "the variety show was not as popular in those days a* it is to-day, and wo went into the wax business in the hope tlmt tho combination of tho two would reach tho great heart — as well as the pocket, particularly tho pocket — of democracy. It did. , In time I hustled the 'werkfi' off to Dunedin, whore wo had taken a lease of the A.liambra Theatre, and, quitting Auckland, Mr. Fuller, eon., carried tho Myriornnu off to tho 'other' side,' 'whore it vacillated, up and down the country with more- or lees~ success! 'Tho Scotch town in -the South proving trumps, I began to bring across variety people, aod presently extended operations to ChrwtchuTch, and later to Wellington, by whreb time the family had got together again, and -re embarked in vaudeville business pure and simple. t Our succetut encouraged others to come aJong and work on similar linca, and as it is a theatrical maxim, that' 'you can't raise your prices, though you can lower them, wo in tho end went out of business for a time. But we hud left our stake in the country. - Wo at that time owned the Choral Hall {vow Ilis Majesty's Theatre) at Wellington, and the Alhambra Theatre ftt Diutedih, so we lot them' advantageously and went to Australia, where we ran a twelve months' season at the Standard Theatre (rechristeued The Empiref in Sydney. The outbreak of the plague in 1901 drovo us., oo^, of Sydney, and we went to Tasmania for a year, and our New Zealand theatres being then again on our hands* wo got back to the Yand of our adaption." "And what is ahead?" "Weil," replied Mr. Ben, "our business motto all through has been 'progress ■with prudence,' and having proved tho ground we are working we contemplate presently bringing out our own people direct from the theatres of the older and new*r world. ' At the present time we liavo an arrangement with Mr. Harry Bickards, tho -Napoleon of vawdevillo in Australia, by which we get from him the best of his 'star turns.' The Uestem boys, who arc to appear with us in Wellington next Tuesday, come in under this arrangenicut. Their quality may be judged from tho fhet that they will cost us approximately £10d a week during the short "period they remain under our jnabftgement. The Nawns, now in Dunedin, are another consignment, and presently will arrive 'the Musical Johnstons," and Burke, Moeller,' and TeHer, *n American comedy team — aH top notchets. Early next year f hope to set out for 'Frisco in order to solect stars for myself, and reckon that before iu»ny months of the new year have- gone by wo shall have a steady inflow of prominent people feeding the theatres we now control in the colony, M\A giving people something which they appear to wane," "Then you have faith in vaudeville?" "That," said Mr. Ben, "wight to be clear enough from tho fact that practically all we hove made in the past wo have put back into the business, either in people on property. My impression is that tho colony has only been skimmed as yet, and that the theatre, if tho entertainments are good, is steadily growing in popularity. An indifferent entertainment speedily finds ita proper level j it doesn't pay to 'gull' your public. My own opinion on this point is that the colony might advantageously legislate against managers bringing theatrical organisations' here without giving a guarantee that they can find the passages for the members of their company back to the place where they were engaged. As for ourselves, we intend to move with the times, and give people what we find beet suits them. Follow tho bent of your publio and you can't go far wrong." Mi. Fuller remarked on the fact that ""'"the %-ra" had a few months ago added the {.Siristohurch Opera House to its list of p-vpertiea, and had spent liberally in, improving His Majesty's in Wellington, to which theatre has recently been added a permanent orchestra, and which alao, in the course of the next month or so, is to be brought further up-to-date by the construction of a "raking" floor, which will enable the stage to be clearly Been from all parts of the downstairs section of the house. As to the present disposition of the family — which at the present time has something like a hundred performers in its employ— Mr. Ben is stationed m Wellington as general manager; Mr: John; sen., is in charge of the v/pera House at Auckland, which is

liekl on a live years' lease ; Mr. • Walter controls tho Christchurch Opera Homo; Mr. John, jun., 's at the Alhainbra Theatre, Dunedin ; Miss Ht-tty is in Manila with tho Orpheus Music Hull Company ; and Miss Lydia has assumed domestic responsibilities nntl made her home in tlm colony. "Most of us aro still young, and there aro 'juniors" coming on," said Mr. Ben in conclusion, "and as for myself, the work is my only hobby, but before I am relegated to tho 'shelf I hope to hoc many important phases of the progress of 'polite vaudeville' in this little colony."