THEATRE ROYAL.—"OTHELLO."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6341, 15 March 1882, Page 5

THEATRE ROYAL.—"OTHELLO."

Otiiello was produced at the Theatre Royal last night, Mr. Harkins, of course, personating the Meor. The attendance was only moderate, but it could scarcely be expected otherwise, considering the unfavourable condition of the weather. But if the audience was rather scanty it was certainly enthusiastic, for not only was the applause frequent and hearty, but the leading players were called before the curtain at the conclusion of some of the acts. The character of Othello found in Mr. Harkins a representative well qualified to do it justice. He is a powerful rather than a subtle actor; he is brilliant in invective and declamation, and that is precisely the qualification most required in Othello. His impersonation was I strong, grand, yet simple, and he carried his audience completely with him. Shakespeare, it is said, is not popular, it is not underStood, and does not pay to produce. It may be so. Yet last night, judging by the tone of the audience, they enjoyed one of his plays as much as a modern sensational drama or a sparkling comedy. They admired the chivalrous, deluded Moor ; they sympathised with the sweet, innocent, and slandered Desdemona; and they expressed their hatred of the cunning villainous lago. Tβ them Shakespeare was easy to comprehend, and his genius took possession of them. Frequently Mr. Harkins was exceedingly striking. Thus his delivery of the passage, "I had rather be a toad," &c, evoked prolonged applause. The lago of Mr. J. P. West was a very good impersonation of the orthodox type.' Still it is just open to question whether lago should appear such a dark, or, to use a. Scotticism, a dour-looking personage, with forbidding mien. Throughout the play we find that no one distrusts him. His wife confides in him, Othello thinks him honest, and Cassio and Roderitco think well of him. Is he not more likely to be a clever man of the world, biding his evi] nature under a pleasing exterior? The gentle Desdemona was expressively represented by Miss Maggie Knight. The other characters were all creditably sustained. To-night the brilliant comedy, "London Assurance," is underlined.