THEATRE ROYAL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12063, 27 January 1902, Page 2

THEATRE ROYAL.

‘•PYGMALION AND GALATEA.”

A good house welcomed the second night of tho Waldorf season at the Theatre Boyal on Saturday. The piece i, produced was that old favorite, Gilbert'# 1,1 comedy, “ Pygmalion and Galatea." §! Although the etory is not in accord with the old Grecian idyll, it ia cleverly woven, the dialogue bristling with telling points from beginning to end. Tho plot resolves itself upon the saoredness of the married tie, conjugal bliss being interrupted by the mystical intervention of Galatea, the sculptured work of Pygmalion, quickened to life by tho gods. In the Athenian State, if the classics are to be believed, the marital relation was scarcely so strictly defined aa represented. Socrates, indeed, the great philn osopher, had a bard time with bis shrew a of a wife Xanthippe, and ia one of tho d first recorded instances of a hen-pecked e husband. Pygmalion, however, is struck blind as tho result of his impulsive, illey gitimate passion temporarily felt for tho o beautiful Galatea, and then his passion e dissipates. Cynisos, bis wife, relents on u the plea of Galatea, when the erring 3 sculptor shows his remorse. The cause 0 of all the trouble, the animated statue, a goes back to her stony state crying fare--3 well to hor creator Pygmalion. t Tho plutocrat Chrysos—they had them b even in those days—and his wife Daphne, 1 provide most of the comedy. Pygmalion { scorns to rate his art below wealth, and i and makes tho bulky Chrysos attend on . him to supply his artistic wants. Yet in t those days it is questionable whether the y majority do not place wealth on a higher 0 pedestal than art, and the arts were then f supremo in tho Athenian state. Miss t Janet Waldorf as Galatea gave another ; lino representation. She is unquestionably 1 a groat actress, no detail escaping hor, - and her perfect enunciation and the ’> energy and strength she puts into every f part of hor acting keep the attention i rivottod upon her. Mr Norval Macgregor ■is Pygmalion played in his usual artistic stylo, and rovoilod iu the character. C, uisca was admirably played by Miss Mario O’AUon. Tho bulky Chrysos and his wife Daphne, Mr F. E. Patoy and Miss Alice St, John, provided tho fun. The remaining characters were adequately depicted, and tho play went well throughout. ” THE LADY OF LYONS.” This evening tho company will appear iu Hulwer Lytton's powerful and poetic drama " Tho Lady of Lyons,” the beautiful freshness and simplicity of which has □ever failed to pleaso all classes. In this play Claude Molnctte, tho handsome and ambitious son of a gardener, aspires to tho hand of the beauteous and wealthy Paulino Deschappelles, but is unable to gain her ear owing to hie lowly circumstances, though thanks to a liberal education, ho baa all tho instincts of ft true gentleman. M. Heaseant, a vindictive suitor to Pauline, finds ia Molaatte a willing victim for a plot to avenge the insult imagined by Pauline’s refusal to become his wife. Molnotto, in a weak moment, consents to impersonate the Prince of Como, and supplied with ample funds by Boass-ant, completely captivates and marries Pauline. Then the awful awakening comos when Claude leads his young wife to his mother’s lowly cottage, disillusionises her, and telle her tho whole story. At first righteously indignant, she ultimately trusts her future to her newmade husband, despite tho horror of her family at tho mutch. Claude resolves to redeem himself in tho eyes of the world, resolves to enlist in tho army, and war being in active pregres- ho w ins honor and renown, and returns just in time to prevent Heaseant forcing Pauline to marry him, by reason of him having the power to ruin her father. Miss Waldorf has achieved a great reputation ns Pauline, and tho Claude Molnotto of Mr Norval Macgregor is said to bo one of his best impersonations.