THE COURT CARDS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 56, 8 March 1915, Page 2

THE COURT CARDS

The "Court Cards," who appeared for the first time at the Grand Opera House on Saturday evening, so sternly refuse to take themsefcres seriously that it is necessary for others to take them very seriously indeed. Their programme contains a few items that are not intended to bo in any way humorous, and these they perform with a duo temporary regard for sentiment and propriety} but they are so much at home in the game of making fun that the listener realises at once that this, little coterie of gailydressed players, soberly regarded as producers of mirth, are by no means to be laughed at. And yet one cannot help laughing at them. ' The fact that the little party is arrayed more or less like the picture cards of a playing pack means only that they have sought for and found something novel in the way of dress, and have provided themselves with a good, catchy title. It has nothing to do with their performance, which is just as good when they change into something else. The work they do is of a kind and quality reminiscent in the best sense of the good things the Scarlet Troubadours and the other successful little shows have done; and it goes with a swing and spontaneity that indicate splendid cooperation among the people, and with a freshness that tells of much ingenuity and not a little good authorship. A good deal of the verse which the Court Cards sing has been specially written for them, just as their quaint costumes were made to order and the stage hangings were built to be unobtrusive in the gay colour scheme. A fine example of the way in which the Cards are played together proved to be "Ragtime Shopping,' a comical scene' in which the music consists of clever parodies on a number of popular ragtime ditties, and ih which one of the best features is the smooth and perfectly managed way in which the performers •" make their exits and their entrances," and keep quite a laughable farce running gently up to a capital climax. "The Village Choir," with which the performance closed on Saturday night, was an irresistible burlesque, which must have helped the audience to realise how much rehearsal means to the success of an entertainment. The whole party provided a very quaint scene, " A Drop of Hollands, ' in which the members were alleged by their dresses to be Dutch folk; and they sang and told drolleries all the better fo" the allegation. The Court Cards, while they are all so good as to deserve plenty of praise, derive much of their strength from the presence in the party of Mr. Edgar Warw * i Ir> Sydney Mannering, and Miss Maude Fane, all well remembered members of the Scarlet Troubadours, of cherished memory. Mr. 'Warwick is the joker" in both senses, and vastly he amused the audience with a multitude of quips delivered with all soberness. One Of his most successful items was a little dissertation on various languages ; and some of the little -jokes in it were so fine that they almost went by without being caught. Mr. Mannering sings most pleasantly a couple of songs that displayed his voice effectively, and gave a capital imitation of tile famous comedian, Maurice Farkoa. Miss Fane was frequently on her feet, and the audience took the greatest delight in the clever and tasteful little songs, instinct with humour both of themselves and of her manner, so that she had a large share of the recalls that were really the order of the evening. Mr. George 'Graystone is the bass of the party, and has a voice Of a fine mellow quality, splendidly heard not only in his solos, but in the concerted items. Mr. -George Titchener, a sort of deputy-joker, induced laughter as long as he stood up, and a little longer, and of course took a due share in the concerted work. The, well-known duet, "The Boy Who Stuttered and the Girl Who Lisped," was sung by him and Miss Fane, and it was quite impossible to say which was the more successful element — the quaint, reserved humour of the girl's part, or the extraordinary energy and absurdity of the explosive stutterer. Miss Renee Maude and Miss Winifred Mitchell nlso < performed. Miss Maude is a soprano with a voice of very nice quality; and Miss Mitchell provided a violin solo, played in a way that was^ considerably ahead of what the audience probably expected to hear. The harmless, necessary piano was played by Mr. Albert Keats, and he found it quite as easy to play jokes on it as "straight stuff." f . t All of which is intended as an indication that the "Court Cards "' provide an entertainment that is well worth seeing and hearing. ' Tile first programme will be repeated this evening, but several changes will be made during the season.