Mimes and Music

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 20

Mimes and Music

•V J'ORPHEUS"

iy THE SHOWS. ;.Grand Opera House—Oscar Asche, in season. ->» Benno Moiseiwitsch, 6th September. MajertyV-YaudeviHe, .., ,;; ;. ■i-Artcraft Theatres-Pictures.':- ; ■• i; ■:•■..■•_ ..<■..', Our Theatre—Pictures. -- '- — ■'•:■-■". ; iEmpress Theatre—Pictures. > 1 Shortfs Theatre—Picture!. ' Strand Theatre—Pictures. . , '^Britannia Theatre—^Picture!. ■>; I ' *■'" ". ■"■■ ■ ;JFrincess Theatite-Pijlu'res...;';„ ■'.:' J; '■■;'-! „Everybody"s-Theatre—Pictures. •.MJueen's Theatre—Pictures. | paramount Theatre—-Pictures. , . „ '.* - '" -* - .- . ' :';< !s- Mr^Et Ij|iCor|en;and Hi."Scandal" '• Company readied Sydney last' week", and •ail at once for South Africa. ' ■ "Just Married," a comedy by Ann ijjicholls, author of "Abie's Irish Rose," CiftWh ten principals and eight understudies, will leave America for Australia in the autumn, the beginning of a ■trip around the world. Nothing is said ■ about a visit to 1 Maoriland. "Just Mar- • tied 1 * was a great success in America. ;* Thirty-four'"*weeks and. fstill going Strong is the.Tecqrd to date of Hugh J. Ward's company of comedians at the New Princess Theatre, Melbourne, where ."Tangerine'!, is towards its' 100 th performance.? During the time this company has v - played "to: approximately :500,&CO people,, and incidentally added greatly to the; prestige of the musical stage in' Australia byC-their artistic 'per- •■' formances first^'ih" "The O'Brien Girl," ' ;and lately in "Tangerine," the charming South Sea^sland musical comedy that. as filling tHigSfheatreJnighily. ,* t '*.'■■':, :■.? ':,; At Bromptbii" Cemetery Kate': Bishop ■(Mrs. L. J. Lohr) was laid to rest. The officiating clergyman was the -Rev,- J. •S. Moriarty, vicar of Dorney), vthe Buck-. Shghamshire village where ' the actress Ijved for a, long time. Among the mourners were Mr. Anthony Prinsep (Miss Marie Lohr's husband), Mr. 3'hobe Prinsep, Mr. Alfred Bishop, Mr. ;Michael Morton. Mr. Louis Parker, Captain Gibbons Grinlay, Mr. Stanley Bell, 'Sir. Edmund Gwenn, and Mr. Ellis Reynolds. According to a.' London paper, it was an earnest request of Miss Kate Bishop that no v omen should follow' her to the grave, and that if her daughter, Miss Marie Lohr, should be acting, there should be no iriteiTuption whatsoever ni iher performance.

.^Patrons at >the Grand Opera House vefS3ESseaEt^Mfctfeato-ha?i.rthew: are in "Bulldog Drummond" on Wednesday evening (says the "Daily Tele-gra,phiiiiSydney),i.<A.^the-commencem€ht.. of the fight between Captain Drummond (G.,, H..:, t Mulcaster), _and,. Dp. .Lakington (George Bellamy) a woman in the audience had hysterics when a shot was filed.-v Her screarc3 right throughout the building during the whole,! progress; of strenuous,'battle; ■ and. aho;ihad -to 0- be 'carried'Vout^of "the tfieatre4»sCw»>jipt 4>ie£ore ttKe-iasi Jic;t, Was over that she jwas able to leave. The stage fight is one-of; the most thrilling bits of realism^ a?, Sydney-QieatreWas. known, 'but it [~is":"the first-time"a play-* gfler has taken iirii> seriously. Isobel?Elso% is' playing the'parfr 6f"the' clippie'i'h^''MeOutsider" at the St. James 1' Theatre, Ebndojcu^as .injured. jn,.aj mfftoj- accident; recently.-' "Miss 'Elsom ' wSs travelling' t© C^hamvto" join^EieP'-ihusbißdji *6lr:> Ha\irice^*Elv'eyj" when" a limousine crasheel into, her car pii-the Portsmouth road.' •'£My, wife .is 'crippled' in one leg .in .the play," ;said Mr. Maurice Elvey subsequently, "and, . strangely enough,' the same leg was.hurfcin the.motdring»accid|nt. She will be able to appear as. uSual—with the aicH>f-a' crutch."'*' ■ ~ : ■ ChliflS^acW^^n^mifTcW'^Sr' from the Metropolitan -Opera House. New-YOTk,xhasjTnad.e_j,:inaansi.at: Goyent. Garden, London, as Rolof in La Boheme. 1 The-s-Daily rExpj-ess^'^Md:: of-him > --"The qußstidhSiß.rwhethef-'Mri: 'Habketfr "As^iris not the best tenor'heard at' Cbvent Garden 'since*-Caruso. JEis Italian*'' die--tion is^marvellous— far /better "than that of 'smps|.'3!t:alian"'Bin^rsS^and' jbfs mez?o-;: \6;j<*e"~srhgTng^-is,';;- p'erlfaps,^ even 1 better ttaii the spien3i<ly.effects that he obtains. .witti his tpprrip|#i It'was delightful, to hear. oncej.'ag'alSS3Jie Velvety 'quality'of a;!perfect ycTceJ-Jperfectly produced,- and perfectly traisfc(f£; .'".-.' .'. • i DeadheadsJiiT|;lit.he blightbf the toiir-' ing-'compagy^^wtence (writes a "Bulletin;" corf|s|jipi|(it)'. Many advance agents make 1 f^orai; fellows of themselves all''lover ;viKe.Wcottutry. Every shopHeeler Svhlpijsjilays a daybill is certain t6.,;;piresent:ytt2Qrj|er for'two, and theri" 6^eiit'vhis«tifj|ai'kjds k to get in on-, the ftpd^iii^fflJjfciVllSfljo^ladies^from the p.ubja^||^^|^who:&naaf the paste agent's pyj^aß;"^haTOS^een»'-r§resented with..'com^iine^^iesrVifjKTjie.'ii railway eiri-ploy^^ho-dteliyerea'^ddgers, the policein^n'^>^fe;j.a^a;.itnotKe^inlaw, r and. the w^sterilatffeanS.y^EiendV^nd the avant W'|iri^%|iQt|i'-affeirvinay^be traced by t^;jffi^et^^cl.^^aUrActiveness of the flappet^wiipjijieyp witS^tstiffs." Some-ti]meß.^:.fflhhouse-pansj.qut. r atSltW. 9d, 6> tKelLuiuiappy" manager rig^.^^ei^b] tejl the "landlord : ';-a tale to g^t-.ou^of;■ the.-town. f--'?■;■ ■>■ • '/•/■■''. lyTOenj'jhß; overworked/ '''long arm of cj|mctdence".-br;ou'gh.t ■together recently. Wi*:Mßlbburne..Sir. Benjamin, Fuller, gov-; erning;?'director: 'of JHugtv' J. WardXtd.,'Vand partner iJilth'C^H-.Mpym/.thea.trical.firjn of Ben wf^h^^e^ajii^Mri^Charles Aus■^!?rvy!?3?^?^fe^n^°n<''ppM?(Jian now appearingyl'in , : .f'Rockets,:''-:;'the meeting wasvso6iethirig'niore'thi(ri,t'hat of entrepre^^a^pj^j:^6Or quickly jnade tha^te||eßtm|^d)8 i c^ii!ry'^ha)) ' 'they had be^B^poa^|i|nb^r^VanbVv immediately.^*;flispgji)f "mu'tiial reminiscence /was loosedrr";Th-e ( . tare and escapSdek ■-■were';|ecallea/' frditf the. ; past; i6Vd^gpenes;/.:and:."irici'dents*'eriV visaged agiiij^^atfd^once; "f ailliliar- figures conjuVebSftp^J^e^misfcof-i^t&e:- years that theJ'ob&AhasTealenv'," Si'f^'Befajaniin! pa'syed'-ffisZhpyl&.o^ Austin in BetKnar^G^ejjn'^adjoining -;par-!. ishes of London. The late Mr: *J6Kn!i Fuller, father of Sir Benjamin Fuller, used to sing at the Alma Music Hall, Oxton, and later Charles Austin himself had engagements at house. ' .• ■ ■ M. Jean Gerardy, the world-famous-Belgian 'cellist, will bring to .'a:!.-con-. elusion a highly successful v toite? of'the Dominion next weeky- with * concerts in Hastings, NapierJ and • Over forty concerts "have been given m less than eight'weplfs t The last two, or three weeks have Seen - exceptionally busy ones for the great genius, as in order to fulfil all engagements Mr E J Gravestock has had to arrange concerts ' isvery night, as M Gerardy is due to leave Australia on 29th*September, and before then he has to ,giy«r twenty .more concerts in Ans[tralra '-M "JGrerardy will travel by the;JE&MS Osferiey to Eng land, an9isn*order to awiv&vin. London fofjife opSSh^of a brief? tone at, Great B^taiiiiC.^il^Jjaye^to -travel from MarseiUea- As he la doo in NeWj York. iniS^cember, fhe artist' will tiaVe np tune fo~r sight seeing. MijGpiardy has eipress^d himself as being[-delighted with lus_recep tion everywheie, and has keenly appre' ciatedf.the. remarkable mannei in whic.li. "fcfe.been.-eo well remembered by those who hearß him on his first visit

over twenty years ago. Some of his admirers have travelled many miles to hear him again. Owing lo the theatre at Invercargill not. being available, jthis town" was not included in the itinerary, but not to be outdone, two parties of a dozen people travelled all the way up ii-orn. Invercargill to Dunedin in order •to attend his concerts there. In the North Island it was a common occurrence for parties to motor thirty, or forty miles into the nearest town to hear M. vGerardy. . The famous' 'cellist and his party, sail; from Auckland by the Manuka on 31st August for Sydney. , Since she appeared on the Australian stage, forty-eight years ago (says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph"), Maggie Moore has played many parts—perhaps there is no actress: who has played so many diverse ones,' but always she has been the heroine to her admirers. There \yas,_a motherly'air about the popular idol'as-she received' an interviewer in her hotel lounge yesterday, and the cas- j ual passer would never have guessed that this elderly lady.,had spent all her life oh the stage. Dressed in a simple navy blue frock, with her comely face crowned with hair that is only slightly, tinged with'grey, there was nothing'about'her dress or manner to suggest the theatrical. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Australians have made her such a favourite .in; later' years. , She never strains after effect; but in her natural- > ness shows her supreme artistry. She never pretends to be anything other than .what she is,' and when her comfortable, homely figure appears on the stage, the sympathy of the younger generation .of playgoers, who have no memories to thrill them, goes out to her,, and makes them; ready to applaud her still skilful acting. Few of those, who have received her so well in Sydney saw her in the days of .her prime ;'.but Australians are inherently gallant. The older generation would give her an ovation in any case, for they are grateful for the memories she brings of the plays of another day. They and Maggie were younger together. They remember when they all made fools of themselves over her, and sent up notes in her bouquets, called her "Lovelocks Lizzie," and made love to her, all unaware that she was married. They re-,j member the days when there wag "real j acting," when cities buzzed rwith the -;cUarm,idf, Maggie. Moore,; ./when-.''Struck Oil," "The Chinese Question," and "La Mascotte," and the plays of Gilbert and •Sullivan were the only things that mattered. Well, those days are gone, but" Maggie stays ■ on, „•

Miss Maggie Dickinson, now firmly entrenched in favour with Londoner's, relates'some of "her trials, when she. studied with the" famous Italian ballet master, vEnrico Chech^tti. 'Til never, for-.vgel-theSmiseries of my first'fesson;" said "Miss 'Diekinsoii^ '"When l : einerged.;f rom *t£j. dressing-room, clad .Australiari-fash-4on in. practice jersey, and .bloomers, I found, to my horror,-!.thati'eyery. other . girl in the class ■■vvas^yearihg.fultsilk ballelg dress, i There ,w^r.e;; »'• number of ■ the Russian Im'peria,l-; : dai|j'cer>.'among them, and they.Were doing.%6me;-complicated stepi which i tried'to'.imitate, but failed ingloriously. Then' they began.practising high kicks, and I said to myself, 'Here, at least,,is,something I can'do.' .I, began kicking-with great gusto, higher than anybody, only to be 1 pulled up moi't rudely by a shower of stinging blows on my ankle from the little cane Chechetti always carried. .It appeared that my position' was wrong, and that'he was :much_displeased. i I went home, shatter--e,dr7j"l(ffrAyas-.vl.effc«to,:/Mr; Culver' (Miss Dickinson's husband and dancing partner,) to..tell_th,e. sequel, to that ..episode— "how; Ghechetti speedily-discovered Miss ..Dickinson's real talent,.and, to mark his appreciationpf ; it> gave tier a free .course! of lessons. -~ - L. '

When" Gaby Deslys died she left considerable fortune to,her mother and sister:, latle*; ..iir^order, tb^show their affection ' f 6v Gaby,' decided to erect' a monument of supreme beauty over her grave. They placed the order in the .hands of M. Auguste. Carli, professor of the Ecoledcs Beaux Art in Paris. There were to' havebeen eight stone sarcophagi encasing'the -remains off the music hall star, and over this three life-size marble figures were to represent Sorrow, Gaby, ;and an Angel. Alas! there is to be no queenly tomb for Gaby,'for the payments on: account not being prompt, the sculptor., offered to cancel the contract on receipt of what was due for work already done. The aid of the Law Courts was called-upon to .fix this amount, and they have just decided that M. Carli is 'entitled to 80,000 francs.

Mr., George Bernard.Shaw, at a lecture at King's College, organised by the Shakespeare Association, said it -was gratifying not to have to go very far now to find Elizabethan stages. Ther» were plenty on the Continent, and, in America, which had:.'all the essentials, ; "arid' they ! would remembm-vthat Mr. Gjanville Bari;:ker.at;. {he Savoy, by '.altering'the ■'■'.'front ,p£ th.c stage;. proyided;.all essentials .'of Elizabethan stage. '■'; So long.as;there •was a. fore stag* and a back stage'they could put on a Shakespeare play as he initended it, to be done. The main thing jwas that there mustr-nbt be.those long inItervalsand delays ...in :which the illusory scenery was put on. WK«n a man wrote a play ha must have regard to the length of time that is customary for a performance! 'I'he convention in the nineteenth century was that the play must contain' 8000 words, and provide two intervals of, say, twelve, minutes' each.. The manager*»not only had the artistic pressure from the man building jUp the scenes, but .there was also presjsure,from.'the man who had rented the ;bars.'. He himself had. written a play k"Audrocles and the Lion," and lie wrote hthaf fbr^whtt was practically the Eliza!;'bethan^siiage'set up.at the St. James's '.Theatre.Vf' He was at prssent writing a ;play;;;that: would be impracticable except i^qiir Shakespearean lines. . Th? introduc-Hioii-'of: scenery was the ruin of Shakes:?peare.^..

■ After all we hare something to be thankfuliior as far as theatre audiences ars concerned. There are times when ;we are annoyed, ■ and occasionally in.tenaely aggravated,,, but- -surely, nothing jhas happened to compare with the opening performance of "The School for Scari- ."^'»'':-™ New York. It was one of the vWbrsfebehaTed audiences in the memory /of New:. Yorkers (says' an exchange). Jt .delayed the performance, by utterly disregarding the announced time of beginning—there were 14 people in the I>yc«um.Theatre at 8.10, the advertised tinier-interrupted the performance by foolish applause at the wrong time, and by its actions so delayed the play'that it was rioj over until a few minutes be-;:fo?fe-midnight: : One particular party l^jd;,iipt!';.c6ine on until the beginning of '.the-WrSecond'• act and then—well down front^stobd;in the aisle, crowdel the .pA>jpl&M?3fi'gir.;sents .trying to see what ■'■Svas.gping ■on.boliind the footlights, and c^Tied'o.n a 1 lo'ufl discussion in the aisle aSi.to.hpw. they were to be seated, until {Everybody ejse in the .neighbourhood was disgusted and ready to call for the police. lAfteritKey were seated they continued 'their'noise, applaudiiig and shouting in 'the:;mtoiler ; '- i cqninipn' j vin^the Ivold.'1 v old.' days.'. of ithKisft^iiry^ililefy'p'gioiiiar-'^'Tfiojl were not the only bad aoton in the house,

however. It was filled with friends of the many stars in the performance, and tiie brst appearance of every performer was greeted with loud and prolonged applause, utterly ruining the scene, stopping the action of the play, and really annoying the, actors, who were leaders in their profession, engaged in a serious «f----fort to enact a masterpiece of Sheridan's, and forced to step out of their character by foolish friends.

Speaking of Maiseiwitsch, the great pianist who appears here shortly, the .London "Daily Express" recently headed a critique with the following tribute: 'Paganini of the Piano," "The World's Master Player." The writer in the course of a most eulogistic notice of the pianist's..playing, said: "His technique is perfect and it is impossible to imagine Moiseiwitsch making a mistake. He is a master of the piano in the sense that Velasquez is a master of paint, or Lloyd George a master of the spoken word— Moiseiwitsch has conquered the piano. There seems nothing in the art of piano playing that Moiseiwitsch cannot do." Benno Moiseiwitsch commenced his artistic career at the Imperial Music Academy, Odessa, where he won the Rubenstein prize at the age of nine years, later going to Vienna to study under Leschetizky. His,debut was made in England on Ist October, 1908, when he created a sensation. His appearances with-the Queen's Hall Orchestra, under foremost conductors of the day, arid his own recitals, were scenes of tremendous enthusiasm. In America, his success was instantaneous. The New York critics painted wonderful word pictures of. the young artist's playing. His Australian tour which followed was a march of triumphant progress.