CARTER THE GREAT

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 112, 8 November 1920, Page 4

CARTER THE GREAT

A MAGICIAN OF PARTS.

It is now eleven years since Cto;ter the Magician previously visited Wei-, lingtpn, .and if, contrary to one's expectations, he did not in his opening performance of his present Reason at the Grand Opera • House on Saturday night introduce many new tricks of sleight of hand and illusions, he presented new touches and improvements on much of his former work—an excellent entertainment in all. Old tricks die hard, or ratherj live long, and so it was that Carter's work had all the sparkle of novelty, plus the finish of long-practised craftsmanship. Carter is an excellent shxowman, with a* glibness of tongue which equals his quickness of hand; his patter is very diverting, as he intends, and one listens and forgets to look. Also he is a humourist, and turns jokes upon himself, his audience, or upon his stage committeemen with strict 'impartiality. The apparatus used is seemingly so simple that the audience questions itself after each surprise as* .to how it is ■all done, and gives is up. The stage* arrangements are indeed, lavjsh for an entertainment of this class, and some of the- robes worn by Darter and his assistants are gorgeous, andl have histories of their own.- ; • '

The first part of the entertainment occupies forty-five, minutes, but those minutes fly, for into tibem are packed ten clever illusions''and "deceives the eye" tricks, of which the best is the "inexhaustible bottle," a- particularly useful icfea for those undertaking an American trip, since it ipoure on request port, whisky of assarted! brands, champagne, Jiook, plain ale, tea,, coffee, even water, often regarded as an unpalatable beverage; and being broken foundl to contain a guinea. , pig and a ring, the) owner of which had probably become somewhat -anxious. The astral hand, aerial cards, confetti and bran to coffee and cream, and the well-worm ring and. blunderbuss, are some of the other ten lightning tricks. The first of the apparatus illusions'is "The Magic Divorce," in which the "wife" disappears upon the. crack' of a very unconvincing pistol—a real report would carry far more oonviction-^to reappear a moment later from the third of a neat of locked chests-, that slides unexpectedly from the gallery to the stage. "The Mysteries of tlio Yogi" opens the second section ot the programme. Carter enters a cabinet raised from the stage, and is bound hand and foot by a committee of four, the doors a-re closed, and in a. second bells ring, tambourines rattle, and, when the doors are opened) immediately afterwards, Carter's ■ bonds are as tight as ever. A comroitteeman enters, and hats and coats play strange tricks. Carter leaves the> cabinet, and the same things have to be explained. Possibly Carter has nothing to do with tie .particular spirits responsible for the pandemonium, but he certainly was able to change coats with a^ommifcteeman^while both his hands were bound. Then, ill the guise of a Chinese magician. Carter produces a bowl of water weighing ona hundred and sixty pounds—perhaps fr-oni up his sleeve.- "Flyto" is another clever illusion; in which a. young lady changes her identity.in a flash, and disappears from one cabinet to reappear in another suspended high above th© stage. The title of "The' Magician's Incubator" explains itself,\bu,t almost as soon' as the young lady.hasr appeared in the glass casket she vanishes again,- The most spectacular illusion is "The Beauty and the Lion." It is a story of the East, told in pantomime, in which the beauty is given the alternative of mar. riage with the Shah or death in x the cage of the royal lion. She, chooses the second as t!he: lesser evil; then the magician comes along, and in a\tolinding flash the lion vanishes, and is replaced by the magician, in a Iron's skin.■"" On Saturday, however, the lion, a really magnificent beast, 'disappeared i'd rather a casual fashion, but still the illusion was showy and quite exciting. Miss Evelyn Maxwell, a thought reader and.'mental telepathist, accompanies Oar-' ter. The field has been well explored) on the stage of late, but Miss Maxwell's descriptions of articles, and her answers to questions, mental or written—in the latter case retained by the questioner— are sharp and to" the point. Her work, howevier - it is don©, is excellent. , The entertainment will be repeated each. evening, and at a matinee on Saturday, when, as an attraction to the youngsters, the lion will be given his tea earlier than usual.