ENTERTAINMENTS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 274, 4 November 1916, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

“PEG O’ MY HEART.” “Peg o’ My Heart,” the comedy of youth that J. and N. Tait will stage iu the Municipal Theatre, Hastings, next Saturday evening, is one of the most successful of modern comedies. The fact that it ran for 604 consecutive nights in New York, and in London has been the rage since the commencement of the war, and has also had .ong funs in Sydney and Melbourne is surticient proof of the fact that it is a world’s record breaker. Miss Laurette Taylor, the wife of the author, J. Hartley Manners, protrayed the title role of Peg more than 1400 times until the actual strain of the work made it absolutely essential that she should take a rest far away from the stage. Then Miss Sara Allgood, the doyen of the famous Irish players, of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, took her place, and it is this vivacious bubbling young Irish girl, with a touch of the brogue, and charming ways, and a deep sense of real comedy, who is coming to New Zealand to delight audiences here. Miss Allgood was a find. Previously she had played solely dramtic ro es, middleaged and elderly women in thoughtful plays—plays with a purpose. As Peg, she came into a new environment, and the author’s wisdom in the choice of her as the exponent of this remarkable character was proved up to the hilt. With Miss Allgood the leading men wiL be Mr. Cecil Brooking, who plays Alaric Chichester, a typical young English dude, and Mr. Gerald Henson, who is Peg’s lover. Mr. Brooking is one of the most brilliant of young English character actors to-day, and Mr. Henson learnt his work under the aegis of Sir Johnstone Forbes-Robertson. His training has made him a clever actor, worthy of his master’s mantle. The box plan will open at Hall’s on Thursday morning next.