ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12544, 11 April 1904, Page 6

ENTERTAINMENTS.

» . ANDERSON DRAMATIC COMPANY. An ingeniously-constructed drama of constant interest, and not a littlo sensational in character, is "In the Shadow of Night," which the Anderson Dramatic Company produced for the first time in New Zealand at His Majesty's Theatre on Saturday night. The piece appealed very forcibly to a large audience. Its absorbing scries of incidents had a good deal to do with this, and probably its remarkable stage effects had more. One scone alone should make the run of the play a success—that in which, in the third act, a petroleum store is set on fire by the villain-in-chief's accomplice, who is left tc be consumed in the fire by his chief, the hero and heroine being doomed to the same fate. The spread of the fire and the subsequent incidents were splendidly managed; indeed, no more thrilling effect lias been so daringly or effectively carried out in any stage production we can remember. The situation was watched with bated breath by the spectators on Saturday night, and at the climax their excitement broke all bounds and they nearly cheered themselves hoarse. Another sensational scene was provided earlier in the play, when the hero escaped the police by descending from the upper part of a windmill clinging to one of the arms thereof. Spectacularly, the piece has much to commend it. noticeably good being the farm scene and the lawn of the manor in the first act, the windmill scene in the next, the scene of the fire by the riverside in the third, and the final scene of the play, depicting the Thames near Westminster. The atmosphere of the piece proved melodramatic for the most part, but quite frequently reasonably human. As usual, there was much of the comedy element introduced, some of it original enough and laughable withal, but some of it needlessly attuned to unrefined tastes. The latter wants ruthlessly cutting out. _ Again, thero was a scene between the villain and the heroine in the third act in which the dialogue should be toned down. Miss Ada Guildford played the heroine, Violet Kingston, sympathetically, rising well, to its dramatic exigencies. Mr. George Cross, as the hero, Gordon Allington, acted very satisfactorily, but allowed a melancholv expression to rule in tho delivery of his lines. Mr. Walter Dalgleish, as Clifford Yorke. was a villain of the deepest dye imaginable. He plotted and carried out murders and felonies with Rreat sang froid. He sustained a heavy role throughout with a coolness and audacity that suited it. Mr. Temple Harrison gave a clever character study as Jake, the villain's accomplice, ever ready to do atrocious deeds. .Miss Pattie Hughes, as a littlo tramp. Bob, who befriended the hero and heroine to good purpose, acted capitally. The little chap's rescue of Molly, the farmer's daughter, from the river in the last act was made farcical, however, by the disparity in their sizes. Miss Hilda Eraser, as Molly, with Mr. Frank Reis for a soldier lover (Tom Nainby). sustained the chief comedy roles bright.lv. Their parts would neither of them surfer'if they omitted certain portions of their dialogue. "Mr. J. L. Lawrence was good as the hero's stern parent and died well on being murdered. Mr. Harry Douglas was John' Bull personified as Farmer Woodstock, and played in a vigorous manner. His lines were, however, a. little astray now and then. Mr. Horace Denton's impersonation of the Rev. Nathaniel Hope wag rather too much of a caricature, but showed promise. Mr. Joseph Grant, as an old postman, overacted the part a little, and mixed his dialects. Credit is clue to Messrs Charles Lock, Frank Banfield, and Charles Bellow, and their assistants for the mechanical effects, properties, limelight effects, etc. The piece was really weH staged. It will be repeated to-night and for a few following nights.

DAMPIER DRAMATIC COMPANY, The dramatisation of Alexandre Dumas' stupendous novel, "Monte Cristo," is obviously a big undertaking. The book teems with sensational incident and furnishes a galaxy of characters. A dozen capital dramas might easily be constructed out of its. pages. These limitations being recognised, however, it must frankly be confessed that the stage version enacted by the Dampier Dramatic Company at the Opera House on Saturday night last was brimful of interest. The author had set out with the idea of bringing together as many as possible of the principal participants in the game of destiny played around the sombre figure of the Count of Monte Cristo, whose personality is a fourfold one, embracing, as it does, not only the millionaire lord of a mysterious island, but also the happy-go-lucky sailor of the prologue, Edmond Danr.es, the mysterious prisoner of the Chateau d'lf, and the impenetrable Abbe Busoni. Love and hate, as ruling passions, arc depicted with a rapidity of movement and a vigour characteristic of the story, which was written, as all the world knows, when the elder Dumas was at the height of his power as a literary artist. Behind the destiny which, thanks to his millions, Dante seems able to mould as he wills it after his escape from the dungeon wherehe has lain buried alive for 14 years, there is the sublime principle of justice, and this it is which makes the play, like the novel, a vitally human document. In the prologue, which ends with Edmond Dante's incarceration in the Chateau d'lf, Mr. Alfred Dampier is a cheery, happy-go-lucky sailor, thinking of nothing but his beloved Mercedes, whilst Miss Lily Dampier is a heroine worthy of tho mariner's devotion. It is in the subsequent story, however, that Mr. Dampier is at his best. The relentless, almost omnipotent, eerie Count cf Monte Cristo is a character admirably suited to his si vie of acting'. One is inevitably reminded of the wise proverb, "The mills of God grind > slowly, but they grind exceeding small," as the enemies of Monte Cristo, lons immune from punishment, one by one meet. with their just deserts. The infamous trio, Danglars (Mr. Edmoud Hollowav), De Morcerf (Mr. A. Neville) and Villefort (Mr. Alfred Rolfe), all capably represented, were treated with a quite poetie justice, to the evident delight of the audience, whose sympathies were wholly with the stern hero of the story. In the two duel scenes Mr. Dampier was seen to considerable advantage. Miss Lily Dampier was an admirable Mercedes throughout. Mr. Alfred Bolfe's Villefort was a capital performance, as was also the Abbe Faria of Mr. Henry Beaumont. Other satisfactory parts were Bendetto (Mr. Everitt), Colonel St. Merin, Governor of (he Chateau d'lf (Mr. Alfred Dampier, jun.), Captain Morel (Mr. Leon Roche), Gaspard Caderousse (Mr. Grattan Coughlan). Mdle. Danglars (Miss Bruce), Mdme. de Yillefort (Miss Norris), and Mdme. Caderousse (Miss Emily Lambion). The caste is a long one and the company worked well together. The piece is satisfactorily mounted and was received with evident approval by the large audience on Saturday. It will be repeated to-night. ,

MAORI ENTERTAINMENT. The entertainment provided at the City Hall on Saturday afternoon and evening by a number of Rotorua and Urewera Maoris attracted exceedingly good audiences. The programme, which was submitted by some 30 natives, was of a unique nature, and one seldom seen in town, and accordingly the items were highly appreciated. The poi dances, contributed by a number of Maori girls, were decidedly pretty, and the performers were heartily encored. The hakas, given by some 20 warriors, and musical drill, by several Maori volunteers, were also greatly appreciated. Several solos were rendered by the members of the company during the evening, and were well received.