ACTORS DRIVEN OUT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 3, 3 December 1931, Page 2

ACTORS DRIVEN OUT

AFFRAY AT THEATRE. Ten actors’ were driven out of the Gaiety Theatre in Oxford Street, Sydney, the other day, following a desperate affray in which several men were injured. , Wooden clubs, hammers, boots and the butt end of a rifle were used in the fight, which occurred for the most part in darkness. Combatants and several of the police were drenched by two men, who used a fire hose as a Inst resort to repel the intruders. Finally police under Sergeant Pascoe quelled the disturbance, and the actors were ejected from the premises. William Maguire, a saxophone player, was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, and treated for injuries to the hack, and James Scot£, commissionaire, had his ribs injured. _ The trouble was precipitated by _ the theatre owners’ decision to discontinue performances as they had proved unprofitable. Ten actors refused to l® 3 ' -6 the building, and made beds on the stage and in the dressing rooms. Mr V. Mack, the actors’ leader, explaining the manner in which they had been ejected, said that about 6 o’clock that morning three large vans drew up outside the theatre in Brisbane Street. Two of the vans contained the eviction party. The other was loaded with wood to barricade the theatre after the occupants had been ejected. The attacking party, about 20 men, soon forced their wav into the theatre. The noise of their coming had alarmed the actors, and the intruders _weie soon struggling in darkness. A\ hen the lights were turned on the became more intense, and the combatants were able to use their improvised weapons. Weight of numbers was beginning to tell when the fire hose was brought into play. The building was drenched. Sergeant Pascoe came on the scene at this stage, and ordered the men with the hose to turn off the water. This was done, and with the arrival of several constables, the fight stopped. The actors then departed without further trouble.