THE MYRA KEMBLE COMPANY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8888, 26 May 1892, Page 5

THE MYRA KEMBLE COMPANY.

"SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW." The change of programme submitted by the Myra Kemble Company at the Opera House last night was a change indeed, a change from the broadly farcical to the pathetic, from the ridiculous almost to the sublime. For six nights large audiences

roared at the absurdities of "Dr. Bill," but on the seventh the patrons of the theatre followed, with ever - increasing interest, a poetic story, simply, clearly, and yet most effectively told. Sunlight and Shadow" is the history of a great and unselfish love, the love that alters not, though " it alteration finds," the pure and exalted passion of a man whoso only desire is for the happiness of the woman he adores, though that happiness must mean to him a blighted, lonely, empty, and cheerless existence. With the prize within bis reach -he has but to stretch forth his hand to seize it— performs a heroic act of selfabnegation, the very strength and nobility of his love dictating the sacrifice of his heart s most cherished longings. This hero is a village choirmaster, and the object of his love the daughter of the village doctor. There comes upon the scene an old friend of the family returned from many years wanderinors abroad, and between this friend, Mark Denzil, and the young lady, Helen Latimer, a mutual affection is formed. or tunately in his early youth Denzil contracted a rash marriage with an unworthy woman, believin" her to be dead, he declares his love to Helen, and has the felicity of learnin" that it is reciprocated. At this point the former wife turns up alive and well, and over the sunlight about to brighten these two lives a great shadow darkly falls. Denzil determines to leave England again, and probably for ever, and to enable her father to obtain a lucrative appointment which his poor circumstances render greatly to be coveted, Helen agrees to marry the choirmaster, George Addis, for whom she has all along cherished a deep but only sisterly affection, and then there comes to Addis a letter announcing the death ot Janet fcelton, the first wifeof Mark Denzil, so that the only obstacle to the re-union of the lovers is removed. A terrible temptation besets the choirmaster. No one but himself knows of the woman's death, and he has only to remain silent to secure Helen for his wife, and send Denzil beyond the seas. *or a moment he hesitates, almost yields, but his better nature prevails, his nobility of soul triumphs, he declares the truth, unites the hands of Mark and Helen, and the curtain falls. This is the whole of the story ; no intricate and involved plot, no double-dyed villany and persecuted virtue, no hysterical heroics, nothing but a simple tale, as already stated, of a great love and p. great sacrifice. The dramatist, Air. R. C. Carton, has succeeded in constructing from these materials a very charming and refreshingly unconventional play. The incidents"are few in number, and upon the dialogue and its interpretation the whole responsibility rests. There are dramatic situations it is true, and situations all the more effective because they _ are unforced and natural, but it is in the powor of the lines by which the varying emotions of the characters are pourtrayed that the strength and the beauty of the drama lies ; and this power is the power of artistic simplicity. The author has been fully aware of the fact that anything like hich-Hown sentimentalities would, in the development of an idyllic romance, be incongruous and absurd. It will easily be understood that, with such a play, talent of no moan order on the part of the players is an imperative necessity, and it is gratifying to find that the members of Miss lvemble s company j are fully equal to the occasion. They enter, one and all, into the subdued spirit of the tiling, recognise and respect the dramatists meaning, and present his creation in tho manner that must have been originally intended. Throughout the performance, therh is a total absence of apparent effort, there is not the slightest suspicion of straining after effect, and while every point is made, none are unduly emphasized or injudiciously forced. To those who had only previously seen the company in the droll extravagancies of "Dr. Bill,'' their first representation of "Sunlight and Shadow came as a revelation, and proved thou veisatileability. Miss Kemble was the heroine, Helen, and in the most womanly, natural, and graceful manner did she play the part. This lady's "emotional" acting is not of the convulsive order, not of the distressingly violent and passion-tearing description so popular among third rato Lady Isabels or Lady Audleys, but is subdued, deep, and quiet. Her pourtrayal of Helen was free from the faintest tinge of exaggeration, and must be classed as ft histrionic achievement of considerable merit. The hero of the evening was unquestionably Mr. H. W. Diver, who really astonished the audience with the excellence of his acting. The part lie took was that of George Addis, and his impersonation thoughout was even, consistent, and highly though "nobtrusively dramatic. Theintensity with which he invested the character, and the ability he displayed in each of its different phases, most "agreeably surprised and delighted those whoso only experience of his quality up till then had been gained from his appearance as a dudish imbecile in the first of the company's productions. It is clear Mr. Diver has exceptional ability, and as he is only a young man now, he may yet attain a place in the front ranks of his profession. Miss Ada Lee had a congenial part in that of the chirpy and lively Maud, Helen's sister, and played it with her accustomed cleverness and vivacity. Maud's little love affair with Mr. Adolphus Bamfield (Mr. E. Lester) forms the thread of light comedy which runs through and brightens the drama. Mr. Harris was a manly and capital Mark Denzil, and Mr. Leopold made the most of his opportunities as Dr. Latimer. To represent tho adventuress, Janet Pulton, was Miss Lyons task, and uieietoriously she performed it. "Sunlight and Shadow will be sented for the last time this evening. Tomorrow night "Jane"is to be produced, and it is said to be a farcical comedy even funnier than 'Dr. Bill.'"