EMPRESS THEATRE.

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 154, 27 December 1924, Page 9

EMPRESS THEATRE.

A new programme was ushered in at the Empress Theatre yesterday, and was witnessed by largo audiences at all sessions. Additional interest is again given by the screen tests under the supervision of Messrs. Beaumont Smith and L. H. Nunn, and as there are still some hundredr. of aspirants, the public tests continue to be attractive and amusing. The inside workings of the studios are shown, and the entrants have to submit to some rather gruelling directions, all very well in privato, but embarrassing before the eyes of an audience that has to be entertained. Some promising types have been discovered, and the proposal to produce an historical picture with real New Zealand actors seems certain of fulfilment. The screen attraction is an appealing story, featuring Baby Peggy, "Capain January," in which the°diminutive star is associated with Hobart Bosworth, Irene Rich, Hurry T. Morey, and Barbara Tennant. The age of Baby Peggy is only five years, yet she is a wonderful '< mimic, with a remarkable comedy sense, and her impish little face can register real emotion and make her audiences feel it too. She takes the part of a sea waif, who is taken care of by a kindly old lighthouse-keeper. She becomes a veritable little mother about the place, and brings sunshine to the solitary life of the seafaring man. A plot to have the child placed in an orphan asylum, originated by an enemy of the old man, fails, and the pair are united. But not for long, for wealthy relatives of the child take her out of the lighthouse-keeper's custody and place her amid luxurious surroundings in Boston. The tie_ between the old man and the heiress is too strong, and Captain January returns to her Judkins to find him jl). The love between the two is recognised by the wealthy relatives, and th© child is allowed to retain her old guardian. The acting is superb throughout The Empress Orchestra, under Mr. M. Dixon, adds to the enjoyment of all.