CONTINGENT NIGHT AT THE THEATRE.

Evening Star, Issue 111548, 6 February 1900, Page 2

CONTINGENT NIGHT AT THE THEATRE.

‘A TRIP TO CHINATOWN.’

The Princess’s was packed from floor to ceiling last night, when ‘ A Trip to Chinatown ’ was repeated for the third time. The performance was made doubly attractive by being associated with the patriotic movement, and Mr Harry Conor and Messrs Hoyt and M‘Kee’s Company are to be congratulated on the complete success that attended their effort! in every way. The Garrison Band played through the town to the theatre before eight o’clock, and their presence, as well as that of numerous other uniformed volunteers and officers in the house, gave the audience the requisite military appearance to harmonise with the tableaux presented by the management. The first tableau presented was a representation of Mr Catou Woodville’a picture of the British soldier out on active service, and which has been rendered famous by its association with Rudyard Kipling’s poem, ‘ The Absent - minded Beggar.’ The soldier for this occasion was Mr W. Brownlow, who, when the curtain rose, stood by a field gun with his head bandaged, and rifle, with bayonet fixed, ready to do or to die. The !’ceae was typical, and drew from the audience rounds of enthusiastic applause. The second tab'eau was a sequel to the first. It represented a party coming to the rescue of the wounded comrade. A squad of twenty-four men from the North Dunedin R'fles and some of the B Battery men formed the rescue party, and they rapidly moved into the defensive formation used to withstand a cavalry charge, A beautiful tableau in itself was formed to represent Britannia and Columbia at the rear (J the stage. Miss Allene Crater and Mias Vicdi Gillette representing the nationalities respectively. This tableau caused quite a sensation, cheer after cheer breaking from the audience. Before the curtain dropped Mr R. Stewart, “The Firm’s” popular treasurer, recited some stirring lines composed by Mr T. L Mills, a Wellington journalist, descriptive of the present situation and the despatch of contingents from New Zealand. The recitalion was appropriate, and the kharki-uniformed volunteora who formed the surroundings gave a touch /of realism to the scene that did cot fail to arouse the sympathies and enthusiasm of the audience. Nor was the interest displayed merely that of the moment, for when at a subsequent stage of the proceedings Mr Brownlow sang ‘The absentminded beggar,’ and as an encore ‘ Soldiers of the Queen,’ the coins for patriotic purposes thrown on the stage totalled in the aggregate £l2 10s, or only a couple of pounds less than the sum given at the Wellington performance when under the patronage of H 8 Excellency the Governor and suite.

As for the comedy itself, past successes were repeated. From start to finish everything went well, and the large audience wore kept in constant roars of laughter. ‘ A Trip to Chinatown ’ could easily last out the present season, for Mr {Conor, Mies Grater, Mr H. J. Ward, and Mr Sam Marion would never grow stale or boro patrons. As it is, however, this thoroughly enjoyable trip can only be male to-night, when we have no doubt that the theatre will hold as many expectant patrons as it did last night. To-morrow night ‘ A Stranger in New York’ will be staged.