FITZMAURICE GILL COMPANY

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12679, 12 February 1904, Page 2

FITZMAURICE GILL COMPANY

THE BANK OF ENGLAND.”

Miss Fitzmaurice Gill's Dramatic Company opened a short season in the 1 heat re Royal last night, presenting a new and powerful play entitled “The Bank of England.” Tfiere was a large and most appreciative audience, and the performance ran smoothly and effectively from the rise till the fall of the curtain.

“ Ihe Bank of England” is a drama of the highly sensational order, and contains enough in the way of exciting incident and thrilling situation to sufiioe for two or three ordinary productions of the kind. . From the very outset the air is laden with the blackest crime. As the story progresses, forgeries, homicide, and offences of a minor nature follow each other in quick succession, and it is not until the end is actually reached that all apprehension of further and jreviously unsuspected happenings can hj: safely abandoned. The plot is, however. deeply interesting, and commands dose attention. It is based on the weakness of one Bank of England director and the scoundrelism of another, (he forming having been brought to the verge of ruin through the machinations of the latter. Lord Sydney Barraclough. the virtuous but unfortunate director, is the victim of a clever series of forgeries, and to save his home and reputation consents not only to defraud the bank, but also to bestow the hand of his only daughter. Lady Sylvia, upon the very unworthy Hartly. The young lady’s affections, however, are bestowed upon another, a poor but exemplary young man who holds a subordinate position in the bank, and against whom the villain’s machinations are specially directed. After a trying lime for hero and heroine, and many tribulations lor others, everything comes right, owing principally to the efforts of an amiable American widow named Aminta J, Beane and the übiquity of the marvellous Sherlock Holmes, and the drama comes to a highly satisfactory conclusion.

Last night’s production of the drama was in every way creditable, each of the numerous characters being ably represented, while the staging was excellent. Miss Fitzmaurice Gill took the part of Mrs Aminta J. Beane, and acted with charming vivacity. Her accent was capitally assumed, and otherwise her impersonation of a real, live, ’cute American woman was a marked success. Miss Nellie Mylrae was graceful and effective as Lady Sylvia, and Miss D. Reslelle acquitted herself well as Margaret Dane. Sherlock Holmes found a strong and masterful representative in Mr Charles Blake, who has been seen in Napier on other occasions, and hnc always won favour. Mr Wilton Power’s Stephen Hartly was a conscientious and capable effort. Mr C. Lawrence was a satisfactory Barraclough, Mr Boyd Irwin was appropriately inane as the Honourable Bertie. Mr W. H. Welsh made the most of a dismal part as Godfrey Dane, and Mr Ryan’s Eric was an unexaggerated performance. Most of the fun was supplied by Mr E. Grattan Goughian, whose Tommy Sprouts was a diverting bit of genuine comedy. To-night, another exciting play, entitled “The French Spy,” will be produced. H is new to Napier, but was recently a notable success in London, and is at present being played by a nnmber of companies in the English provinces. It is also sensational in character, with a vein of humour that makes it additionally attractive and entertaining. The plot is laid in Russia, t lie land of political intrigue and conspiracy, and is based upon a theft of State papers from the British Embassy. Tlie leading elements are ambition, revenge. and passion, a very strong situation being one in which the heroine, who has taken an oath to identify the assassin of a Russian official, deliberately destroys her eyesight when she finds that the man to be identified is tbci man she loves.