ENTERTAINMENTS AND MEETINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12269, 13 May 1903, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS AND MEETINGS.

BIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

" SWEET NELL OP OLD DRURY."

TnE welcome accorded to Miss Nellie Stewart last night by the large audience which, despite the wretched weather, comfortably filled His Majesty's Theatre, was exceedingly hearty, the popular actress being made to feel from the outset the friendly spirit of sympathy which pervaded all her listeners. As Paul' Hester's fine play, " Sweet Nell of Old Drury," ran its course this sympathy with its leading exponent was widened and intensified, culminating in a rousing burst of cheering when the curtain fell for the last time. By this sign and by that Miss Nellie Stewart was given to know that here in Auckland, where expectation has run nigh for months past in the knowledge that she—old favourite that she iswould come to play the title role in this much-belauded piece, she has proved her right to the eulogi-.-ms heaped upon her in her native land, and won like honours yet again. The comedy-drama itself will easily stand upon its own merits as a marvellously clever example of the playwright's art. When added to this fact we have, as now, its characters interpreted by a circle of artistes, each one fitted by their parts like gloves, an historical correctness as to dctali in costume, and a magnificent stage setting, is it any wonder that this play succeeds V We may have something to say as to details in the acting, but to deal generally with impressions first we confess to being more than a little infatuated with " Sweet Nell " and all her surroundings. To a remarkable degree Paul Kester's comedy-drama sets up an atmosphere of its own, transports those who witness it to 17th century scenes with scarce an effort of the imagination, and gives a thoroughly satisfying glimpse of the picturesque times of Charles 11., England's " morrie monarch," and his Court. It is only historical in the sense that the characters are taken from the pages of history, but whilst the dramatist has undoubtedly built the delineation of his personages upon recorded data, he has placed them in a set of circumstances more romantic than historical. Such history as he has adhered to in the fashioning of his plotas, for instance, the rise of Nell Gwynne from orange girl to favourite of the Kingis deftly and most delicately turned to account, and the result is a play of sound construction, simple in its cleverness and powerful in its appeal to tho sensibilities and intellect of those who see it. " Sweet Nell" is garnished with many a literary gem in dialogue and sparkles with wit, tho while its emotional situations and dramatic possibilities are handled' with consummate art. It is not a play to miss; rather is it one to see and then to see again. The first act- is laid in the market place otuside the King's theatre, Drury Lane (a fine set by W. It. Coleman). Here gay courtiers and impudent gallants, with smaller fry, do congregate, and here presently comes Nell ' Gwynno, orange girl and would-be actress. She is just in time to save- from molestation the Lady Olivia Vernon, who is beset by my Lords Rochester and Lovelace in search of a merry adventure. Olivia reveals herself to Nell and tells her that her (Olivia's} lover, Sir Roger Fairfax, has been banished by her guardian, the unscrupulous chief justice, Lord Jeffreys. In her lover's name Olivia begs Nell's aid, and the latter, though evidently more than half in love herself with Fairfax (who was once the means of saving her father from the debtor's prison) sacrifices her own feelings and promises to help the lovers. The King enters, and Nell, not recognising him, shows herself to her monarch as the untutored child of nature, exchanges pretty passages of wit with him, reveals her powers of mimicry in a clever imitation of the chief justice and a noted lady of the Court, and shows her innate trustfulness and good nature by lending Charles Rex her purse, he boii.g without his own. The King is thoroughly captivated, and promises Nell the fulfilment of her desire to be an actress. With the monarch's promise ringing in her ears Nell taunts Lord Jeffreys, and declares she will foil his schemes to separate Lady Olivia from Fairfax and marry her to Lord Rochester. In the second act we see Nell in the midst of her nowly-acouired wealth in her palatial .house in Pall Mall (another beautiful set by Coleman). Here she entertains two old and needy friends, and these give way to more distinguished visitors in the persons of Lady Castlemaine and the Duchess of Portsmouth, two less favoured rivals in tho eyes of the King, who arrive with Rochester and Lovelace to see Nell "perform" the act of giving almshouses to the poor of London. There is a good comedy scene, redolent with witty repartee and epigram between the three women, Nell, rough and uneducated as she is, aping the manners of the others, and finally bringing them to complete discomfiture before the King himself. All this time Fairfax, who has returned from banishment, is concealed in another room, but Nell, by a clever ruse, puts Lord Jeffreys off the scent for a time. The latter, however, returns as Nell is assisting Fairfax to make good his escape, and the latter is arrested on a charge of high treason. The third act is laid in Lord Jeffreys' house, and here we see that arch traitor condemn Fairfax to death, knowing him to be innocent. Nell is in disfavour with the King, Jeffreys having poisoned Charles' ears against her by stating that Fairfax was her lover. Nevertheless, she still fights on for Olivia and her lover, releases tho former from incarceration by assuming the judge's robe and personality in his temporary absence, and sends her in Jeffreys' own chair to intercede with the Queen for Fairfax. Nell's triumphant exit and her mocking raillery of Jeffreys «brings the curtain down on a strong situation. In the last act, a chamber in the palace (this and the last act being Phil. Goatcher's admirable work), the King is shown fondling his favourite spaniel, and at war in his mind with all his human friends. He is torn between his love foi Nell and his belief in her unfaithfulness. Fairfax's death warrant is brought to him to sign, but ere doing so he decides to seo his prisoner. Only at Nell's opportune intercession, however, is Fairfax released and restored to Olivia's arms. In Jeffreys' robe pockets she has found letters which clear Fairfax's name, and these she brings to Charles. The King thereupon releases Fairfax, dismisses Jeffreys and Lady Castlemaine and her friend, the Duchess, and restores Nell to his favour.

Miss Nellie Stewart, as " Sweet Nell," reveals unsuspected depths of histrionic ability. Her depiction of the sweet-faced, audacious little orange girl, barefooted and in rags, is the essence of good comedy, tempered by convincing naturalness. Wo are not too sure, however, but that her emotional work will appeal to some as having a too intense and consequently a little unreal ring about it. She is emotional and turbulent to, perhaps, a superlative degree, and her fervid dwelling upon dramatic or impassioned passages in her dialogue, strike us as being in the way of endangering the value of her otherwise excellent work. Without actually overdoing this phase of her part, the actress certainly goes as near the mark as may bo,-and to our thinking a little more self-restraint and' the exercise- of a greater amount of natural reserve, both in the delivery of her lines and in her serious acting, would still further accentuato the success of her impersonation. We cannot quarrel in any sense of the word with Miss Stewart's comedy work. That is the natural effort of a brilliant and gifted artiste. Her mimicry is indescribably clever, whilst the saucy, bantering and quick-witted side of Nell's character are hit off to the life. A delightful piece of work also is her tender scene in Act 11. with tho King. Here her singing to her own accompaniment on the harpsichord is thoroughly charming. As a complete performance- Miss Stewart's is bewildcringly good, arid even the intensity of her emotional work appeals in one way if not in another. It is certainly a brilliant achievement which enables Her to give a depiction of go complex and difficult a role in so graceful, dainty, and fascinating a manner. A finished performance is that of Mr. Harcourt Beatty, as the King. This fine actor reveals the subtle force and innate powei which eminently fit him for the portrayal of this difficult role. He gives an impersonation of the part which is well-nigh perfect. Lord Jeffreys is portrayed to tho life by Mr. Harry Hill, who gives a repulsive study of unscrupulous villainy. The rovengoful nature and determination of tho scoundrelly judge, with his power to hate well and spare no foe, were wonderfully brought out, whilst the fiendish chuckle in tho hour of elation was diabolically real. Mr. Vernon Steele acted capably as Fairfax, but his stilted diction was a little unnatural. Miss M. Sadler made a sweet Lady Olivia, her appeal to the King in Act IV. being a strongly emotional piece of work of a clover kind. Miss Alice Farleigh was admirable as the sarcastic vixen-natured Lady Castlemaine, and tho Duchess of Portsmouth found a good exponent in Miss Emily Levettez. Mr. Alfred Tapping should not bo overlooked, his character study of Percival, a provincial actor, being, very fine. Messrs. Webster Lawson and Sydney Sterling, as Lords Rochester and Lovelace, portrayed faithfully two typically indolent courtiers. The minor roles were well filled. "Sweet Nell" will be repeated to-night and until iu.lfcu«r nc£ioe..

"THE NIGHT BIRDS OP LONDON."

Anderson's Dramatic Company having terminated a most successful engagement at His Majesty's Theatre, migrated to the Opera House last evening, producing before a large and appreciative audience the sensational drama in four murders and a gas explosion, "The Night Birds of London." Lovers of the good old-fashioned melodrama, wherein villainy plays a losing game with virtue—the dice being loaded in the last act— been splendidly catered for. Vice, clothed in satins and adorned with jewels, chivvies virtue, clad in rags and embellished with bruises, round and round the ring in a truly exhilarating manner. The well-filled gallery greeted each murder with a round of applause, whilst the blinding of a faithless husband.by a mad wife, who manipulated a jar of vitriol with a dexterity of the wrist and an accuracy of judgment surprising in a woman, sent a thrill of excitement through the entire house. An admirably-conceived assassination of a child by poisoning him with gas fumes seemed tame by comparison, and everybody felt glad when the intended victim, assisted by another innocent, got away, and a bold bad burglar went fooling around among the gas with a . naked light looking for hidden jewels. Of course, the sweet cherub whom the gas had failed to act upon thoughtfully removed the treasure ere he said " Ta! ta!" in his little prattling way. But the scoundrelly Sykes did not know that, and when the house went up and he went down he was badly hurt. ""Pis an ill wind that blows nobody any good," says the proverb, and this is where virtue, in the persons of the hero and heroine, who have been taxed with all kinds of crimes which they never committed, and had suffereel in consequence, come by their own. The stage pictures are excellent. There is plenty of good acting. One can bo sure of a thrill every 60 seconds or so. The author has been generous with his wares, and has crowded enough crime into four acts to spread over 40, if judiciously doled out. Mr. Harry Plimmer (Eric Joyce) is a first-rate hero, who puts some solid work into his interpretation of a much-worried man. In the heroine Miss Ida Gresham (Marion Joyce) ho has a powerful support, the role of a cruelly-wronged lady, who finds happiness after many intricate windings through a maze of by-paths, being powerfully enacted. Mr. Harry W. Diver (Robert Carlton) makes a most capable scoundrel. He arranges murders and abductions with an acumen that, but for an unfortunate habit of being detected just as the curtain falls on the piece, would in tirao make a Napoleon of crime of him, a second Professor Moriarty. If fig disgusted the house with his unalloyed villainy, he was none the less a. decided success. Mr. George Hassell (Colonel Joyce) does some really good work, as does also Mr. C. It. Stanford (Rupert Lee). Mr. Frank Hawthorne (Bertio Ferrars), with Miss Katie Towers (Tilly Price) to assist him, is responsible for some genuine humour. Messrs. E. Duggan (Sam Jacobs) and G. Chalmers (Bill Vosper) get through their atrocities with the cheerfulness which marks actors of the Adelphi school. Little Miss Pattie Hughes (Eric, the colonel's grandson) gives a pathetic study in child life, and is associated in her efforts by Miss Gladys Hughes (Maggie). A clever role is that of Stella Carrington, an adventuress, who find's an ablo interpreter in Miss Helene Burdette. Tho mad woman, Hester Lee, to whom the vitroil-throwing is assigned, is not an enviable part to play, but Miss Josephine Thynne certainly excels in it. All the other characters are well represented. In fact, we congratulate the company upon the all-round excellence they display. "The Night Birds of London" will again occupy the boards this evening.

SACRED CONCERT. A sacred concert in connection with St. John's Church, Ponsonby, was held in the church last evening, when despite tho unfavourable aspect of the weather, there was a good attendance. The following programme was very effectively rendered : — Anthem, "Seek Ye tho Lord" (Roborts), solist, Mr. James; song, "The Star of Bethlehem," Mrs. A. E. Hobbs; song, "Tho Song the Angels Sing," Miss Maud Riramer; violin solo, seleoted, Miss Millie Peaksong, "The Death of Nelson" (Bishop), Mr. Aspinall; duet, "How Beautiful Upon the Mountains," Misses Alice and Maud Rimmer; song, "Sun of My Soul (Adams), Miss Tudehope; recitation, "The Women of Mumbles' Head," Miss Dora Edwards ; song, " The Better Land" (Cowan), Miss Ellingham ; instrumental trio, " Allegro Sostenuto " (Eaton Failing), Miss Rosser, Messrs. Wharton Thompson, and J. Hooper; song, "The Song of Roses, Miss Alice Rimmer; song, " Nazareth" (Gounod), Mr. Wilfrid Manning; anthem, "The Day is Past and Over," soloists, Miss Birdie Butler and Mr. Aspinall. Mr. Wharton Thompson acted as accompanist. Mr. Hutchinson moved a rote of thanks to tho performers, which was carried by acclamation. AUCKLAND ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY. Tho Auckland Acclimatisation Society met yesterday afternoon at the Museum Buildings. Present: Messrs. H. Bull (in the chair), 0. E. S. Gillies, A. 0. Whitney, E. Wigmore, T. T. Masefield, H. Walker, and F. Karl. Tho- secretary re-ported that the working account showed a debit balance of £9 4s lOd, but that £100 was due from the Now South Wales Fisheries Board, and that this amount was expected to arrive by any mail; also, that the game license fees would be available next month. Mr. Gillies moved, " That the opinion of the society be conveyed to the New Zealand Acclimatisation Association to the effect that the time has now arrived when a license fee should bo imposed for shooting native game, and that the association be requested to consult the Government in tho matter." This was carried. J. Strathern and others wrote on behalf of persons who had taken out licenses in the Whangarei district at a cost of 10s 6d, asking that they be allowed to shoot in the Auckland district on payment of 10s extra, and that their licenses be endorsed to that effect. It was decided to accede to tho request with regard to settlers in the Whangarei district only. Several matters with regard to jurisdiction over the Rotorua district were referred to the Fish Committee. Tho old committee were re-elected, with tue addition of Mr. Masefield.