THEATRE ROYAL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 10013, 11 June 1895, Page 4

THEATRE ROYAL.

n- "LIFE FOR LIFE." be jn Another large ond enthusiastic audienci 2d greeted Mr Darrell and his company nl to the Theatre Royal la9t night, when tht of sensational five-act drama, "Life foi is Life " was staged. We gave some ideti t- of the plot in our last issue, and we have a no hesitation in sayiDg that tbe piece ss ig played was possessed of considerably ig more intrinsic merit than its predecessors, le and that is saying a good deal. The is drama is highly sensational, yet it offern y occasional opportunities for genuine ia emotional acting, which were fully taken Is advantage of by individual members of y the company. This remark does not ?, apply to Mr Darrell himself, for at no 'i time does he rise to the heroic, of if ■1 be attempts it he fiantiob be taken a seriously, He was flippant last night 8 —too much so thought the mnjotity— [f and exhibited a levity inconsistent with c tbe frank generosity of the ideal character 1 which he himself created, but from y which he detracted as the authorship o proceeded, and which therefore natur- '• ally falls short in the interpreta--0 tion,_ There is nothing henlthy or atn tractive or even manly about a person d who is jocose ab the bedtide of a dead i. Man— even of a drunkard — in the presence f of n daughter of (he deceased more S especially. Such o picture is repn.'sive, 1 not edifying or elevating. We want our friend to ralee his tone. Mr Darrell is fond of his profession, and if he obtrudes his personality he is so good-humored and artistic about it that he may well be forgiven, For instance last nlgbt be gratuitously risked his life to rescue another fellow's girl from a bnrnlcg building while that other fellow stood by and yearned with an unutterable yeartilDg lo bring about this delicate experiment in salvage on his own account. Bat none of tbese things prevented the other chamcters from launching ont into prominence. Tbe acting ot Miss Harrle - Ireland wan especially noticeable. Some of ber passages evinced Immense dramatic power, and her impersonation was highly realistic nil through; Mr Collett tJobson made a very robust villain, occasionally Introducing the briebranger into bis impersonation of a docttir, Hat otherwise acquitting hfmself very well. Mr Athol- 1 wood has evidently made a special study of the part of Ernest Montrose, and made a decided hit in the part. Mr Edwin Kelly proved himself an actor capable of infinite variety, and gave a truly pathetic representation of the life and death of a conecieoco - stricken drunkard. Mr G. R Ireland played the .double part oi John Eames and the dumb witness with strict fidelity. Mr Fred Cambourne, as Dave Styles, was cgain quite as home in comedy, and received considerable assistance in thfc direction from Miss Stuart, as Maggie O'Shannessy (though ber brogue should be sent oat immo.liately tor repair*-) The bushranger and bis m»te were both considerably overdone by Messrs Patterson and Watson for the sake of comic effects, Sergeant Jobnboii ai a convincing sorb of peeler with good capable lungs wns a decided acquisition, bub we have not quite made up our minds what to say aboat his diminutive and somewhat feather-headed satellite?. Miss Gill bad n very pretty coquettish part to perform, and .ibe made the very best of H, and fhared the honors with Misa Ireland, Miss Colvlile, hr a trickfal newsboy, filled up a small vacancy very nicely. Tbe scenery und mechanical effects were again right up to date, and the equine stage parade created quite ft furore. To-night " Tbe Doable Event," which produced a record attendance on the opening night, will be reproduced, and we hnve been rrqaested to Intimate to Hastings patrone, for whom a special train has been arranged, tbat three rows of seats in the circle will be reserved for those coming in by the train