FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Evening Star, Issue 14186, 11 October 1909, Page 8

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

[By CiU Box.] Mrs R. Hudson, of this City, will b© the principal soprano at the Wellington Choral Society’s concert at the Town Hall oh Friday next. In the* forthcoming return visit of the Scarlet Troubadours Mr Edward Branseombe promisee a continuous and rapid change of programme throughout the New Zealand tour, and several items of a distinctly novel find interesting character will be introduced. The present combination have row been performing uninterruptedly for two years with but two changes in the personnel, and the tour is already booked up in Australasia till April, 1910. They open their return Dunedin season on December 27, at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

September 2 saw the production of what was undoubtedly one of the events of the autumn dramatic season in London—viz. Sir Arthur Pinero's play ‘Mid Channel.’ Miss Irene Vanbrugh's part was a particularly fine one. Mr Charles Workman hat. taken over the Savoy Theatre, London, from Mrs Doyley Carte, and his second venture will be a new comic opera by Sir W. S. Gilbert and Mr Edward German. in a criticism of ‘ The Breed of tireTresharas,’ the play to be produced by Julius Knight and J. C. Williamson's Company on Thursday, a leading Australian journal writes: “ Pessimists have a good deal to say nowadays about the degeneracy of the popular taste in literary and dramatic matters, but while this, doubtless, is in a measure justified, it is consoling to think that there are some redeeming features in the situation. it -speaks well for the discrimination of nlaygoers in English-speaking communities that in recent years such big successes have been scored with romantic dramas of the class of ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ and ‘ A Royal Divorce' and ‘ Monsieur Beaucaire,’ to mention only three out of the many. But so far as Australian theatrelovers are concerned it may be doubled whether any one of the delightful productions specified will linger so long in the memory as that of ‘The Breed of the Treshams,’ with which the name of Mr Julius Knight as the creator in this country of the part of Lieutenant Reresbv. known* ns ‘The Rat,’ will always be inseparably linked. Tlie part of* Reresbv. The Rat, is indeed an artistic conception. and affords a striking example of the complexity of human nature. Reresbv is the natural son of Lord Tresham, a profligate and inhuman, tliough ironwilled and courageous, nobleman. From his boyhood he has had to fight the battle pf life handicapped at everv turn. He becomes a drunken, reckless adventurer, though even at his worse he always hes the redeeming virtue of indonritable'pluek. But humanity is over a mass of contradictions, and Reresbv proves that, with all his faults, glaring as they are, lie possesses a true nobility of character ami a capacity for self-sacrifice that can only be called heroic. By his magnificent actas, Reresby Mr Julius Knight undoubtedly surpasses anything he previous has done. Hm impersonation throughmit had that perfect finish which only the true artist can attain to. One of his best scenes was that in which he tells his life story to Francis Trashara, breaking down utterly as be relates the awful experiences and final death of the girl Margaret, to whom he had been betrothed. It is m such an emotional outbreak as this that the art of the actor or actress, as the case may be is subjected to the severest possibh test, therr danger lying hi the fact that the border-line between pathos and bathos is so easily crossed.” ‘Married to the Wrong Man’ is the title )f a melodrama produced at the Palace Jheatre. Sydney, on September 25 bv ■he George Marlow Dramatic Combination*. ts author, Mr Frederick Melville, is said In have gone on quite original lines in the construction and carrying out of his storv, and. as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, it is evident that ' Manned to the vtrong Man’ is especially suited to the public taste for it is turning out to be a big financial success. “House full'’—that legend so dear to the heart of the manage---is nightly placarded outside of the Marlow location, and the success of the piece .s undoubtedly assured. A strong company including several folk from England, has been engaged for the interpretation of tlie drama., and the production all round is epoken of as being of very superior merit. Encouraged by the success which attended his last tour through New Zealand, Mr Marlow will bring his company to the Dominion early next year, when ‘Married to the \\ rong Man ’ and other new plays will be produced.

Seemingly the vaudeville company at present, touring the Dominion under the inspires of Messrs Rickards and Allan Hamilton is quite as strong as recent similar ventures. In place of a “one-star” performer, as Cinquevalli or Chung Linn boo, there are several items which are expressively termed “star turns.” The tour opened at Auckland last week. Mdlle Hosina Laselli and her Chihuahua dogs give a diversifying quarter of an hour's entertainment. There are about a dozen of the tiny canine performers. They enter in a motor car, which one of their number deftly guide* with a sweeping curve to the centre of the stage. Coming to a standstill, the midgets spring to the ground and ascend the stairs attached to a miniature platform whereon, in addition to seats for each of them, is an elaborate array of trapezes, etc. Mdlle Casselli, whilst the canine chauffeur drives the motor ear off, commences to put her pels through a most remarkable series of evolutions. One walks a tight-rope, another balances himself on his front paws on a thin cane held by his mistress, a third walks along the top of a line of perpendicular sticks, several of his companion performers meantime threading their way in and out of the line beneath him. A triple horizontal bar is erected by Mdlle Casselli’s smart assistants, and on these two or three of the diminutive animals do acrobatic wonders. The Misses Florence and Lillian provide a refined musical specialty; Fred Graham and Nellie Dent are back with new sketches; the Kremka brothers are sensational acrobats; and Walker and Sturm do some astonishingly clever juggling with a maze of tennis racquets. The remaining members of the combination are Hart and Hochfort (tenor md bass vocalists), the two Donnellys (song-and-danco artistes), the M adder listers (series), and Mr J, V. Gibson (comique).

At Jjust week s concert by the Wanganui Choral Society Mr Louis Cohen (Marten) conducted Mendelssohn’s ‘ Hymn of Praise,’ while two of his brothers—Mr Loon Cohen (Wellington) and Mr Maurice Cohen (Palmerston North) —assisted the orchestra with the oboe and viola respectively. r The nest J. C. Williamson venture for New Zealand will be ‘The King of Cadonia’ Musical Comedy Company. The Dunedin season will be from November 26 to December B._ Harold Ashton will be in charge. Van Biene, of ‘Broken Melody’ fame tells a rather good story against himself’ A certain Continental king who had heard him play, said; “I have beard all the great ’cellists, hot of all I’ve beard you ■ ” “Oh, sire.” murmured Van Biene, bowing to the ground. “ Perspire the meet,” added Hie Majesty. ‘An Englishman’s Home’ will follow ‘Monsieur Beaucaire’ at His Majesty’s Theatre on Tuesday, October 19. “ Major Dn Manner’s play,” writes Mr Austin Harrison in the London ‘Mail,’ “has achieved what the critical hammer and the theatrical anvO of Mr Bernard Shaw and all his sparks of fires and all those of his satellites, and all power of criticism have not hitherto succeeded in accomplishing during all these years—namely, to tear away the mask which has so long palsied our stage—the mask of unreality and stage puppet convention. At last we have a melodrama of real people; at last we have a play enforcing and pointing a grefttr lesson I ftt last we have our stage used ae an in formative, an educative an ennobling platform, a thing of reality, apower winch is really a power. Major Dn Maurier has swept away the torrodkklte of convention. Whatever the Boer War failed to drive home ‘An Englishman’s Home’ may yet acoompiirii*No piece has been more talked about. It bae been described as “the play that roused -the

Empire. 1 lie London * Daily Telegraph ’ wrote of u as follows” ‘An Englishman’s Home ’ forces the lesson of the dread penalty that aitachc.i to unpreparedness with an emphasis that is recognisably due to the intensity of the author's convictions. Ihe author has produced a melodramatic masterpiece which combines tlie possible sense of actuality with the horrors of the consequences of successful invasion.” It was the intention to organise the customary military patriotic night on the first production of this play, but owing to the lack of interest evinced by those whom it would appear should be most interested, tne function has been cancelled br the management.