ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19166, 4 November 1925, Page 15

ENTERTAINMENTS.

"THE FUTURISTS." Messrs,. G. W. Desmond and C. Northcote will present The Futurists Costume Comedy Company in the Town Hall Concert Chamber next Saturday evening. ' Tlie Futurists " are a company of 23 star artists, including the " Cabaret Kittens ' ballet and orchestra. They have just completed a successful season of 12 weeks at the Bijou Theatre, Hobart, thus concluding a most gratifying Australian tour. programme is described as a packet of originalities and surprises, ranging from grand opera to potted revues." Dazzling costumes and catchy jazz tunes are promised. The box plans are at Lewis R. Eady and Son, Limited.

EVERYBODY'S AND TIVOLI. The final screening of " Code of the West" at Everybody's and the Tivoli Theatres will take place to-morrow. On Friday " Charley's Aunt," the most popular farce of the English, Australian and American stage, which has now found ils way to the films, will open at oth theatres. For the last 40 years " Charley's Aunt " has been synonomous with laughter. The play made its debut in Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk in 1892 with W. S. Penley in the starring role. Its laughter convulsed England after the play had been presented at the Royalty Theatre in. London, and it was then transferred to the Globe Theatre, where it ran continuously for four j'ears. In the matter of long run stage successes no play has succeeded in supplanting " Charley's Aunt " Its fame spread and the famous farce was translated into every language, including the Scandinavian. Some of the great stage stars who have played " Charley's Aunt" aro W. S. Penley, who is said to have made £1,500,CC0 out of it, Lynn Harding, Brandon Thomas, Miss Nina Boucicault and A. E. Matthews. While always described as a farce, the original play was billed as a " three act comedy," and the following were the members of the first cast: —Stephen Spetfcigue, E. Hendrie; Sir Francis Cliesney, Brandon Thomas; Jack Chesney, Percy Lyndel; Charles Wykeham, H. Farmer; Lord Fancourt, Babberlev, W. S. Penley; Brasset, C. Thcrnbury; the new footman, G. Graves; Donna Lucia D'Alvardorez, Ada Branson; Amy Spettigue, Kate Gordon; Kitty Verdun, Nina Boucicault; Ela Delahy, Miss E. Cudmore. The selection of Syd. Chaplin for the role of Charley's Aunt should undoubtedly prove a most happy one. His long experience as a pantomimist,- as a director and as a screen star, fit him to bring out all the points of this inimitable production. Syd. Chaplin had seen the play many times in London, and when the cast was being assembled for the screen production James E. Page who had played Spettigue for years in London was induced to go to America. The play appeared times without number in Australia, and also in New Zealand. One of the companies to play it and make it famous was that of Dion Boucicault and Mrs. Brough. Since then it has held thousands with its poww for laughter. An additional attraction at the Tivoli Theatre will be " The Tomboy," starring Herbert Rawlinson and Dorothy Devore.

PRINCESS THEATRE. The current programme at the Princess Theatre headed by " Thundering Hoofs" and "Just Like "a Woman," will be screened for tb° last time to-morrow. The principal attraction on Friday will be " The Dancers," Emm«,tt Flynn's latest production for William Fox. It is an adaptation of a popular stage success of the same name by Gerald du Maurier. The cast is an unusually strong one, headed by George O'Brien, Alma Rubens. Madge Bellamy, Freeman Wood and Walter McGrail. The story tells of a young man who leads an adventurous life in the Argentine, but always remains faithful to the memory of his childhood sweetheart in London, The girl, however, joins a circle of dance-mad friends, and forgets her lover. The hero returns to London only to find that she has been untrue to him. After confessing her guilt she takes poison. George O'Brien appears for the first time in a new type of role as a polished, neatly-dressed young man.

NATIONAL AND LYRIC. Javanese dancing girls, Sikhs, coolies, Chinese, sailors of all countries, halt' castes, and " wharf rats" of all nations provide the Oriental setting for " The Half Way Girl," the First National feature which comes to the National and Lyric Theatres to-morrow. Doris Kenyon and Lloyd Hughes are in the featured roles. '"The Half Way Girl" is a drama of the Orient with its locale in Singa pore and the Indian Ocean. Real natives were procured to portray the various types. For example, one scene is laid in the interior of a notorious Malax street cafe. Real natives are seen in it. The only white men and women are the principal characters in the picture. All the others were selected according to their nationality. In this cafe Lloyd Hughes enacts one of his most stirring scenes, a battle with a thieving cafe owner, and then is pursued by a drink-crazed mob. The second feature is " The Timber wolf," Buck Jones' latest production for Wil liam Fox. It is a fast-moving Western drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Jackson Gregory.

BRITANNIA THEATRE,

"A Thief in Paradise," a First National picture, will head the new programme at the Britannia Theatre to-day. The film is adapted from Leonard Merrick's novel, "The* Worldlings." Doris Kenyon, Ronald Colman, and Aileeri Pringle are the featured players. Vaudeville items will be given by the Conn Musical Quar tette, Miss Davison, soprano, the Dorothy Duo and Victoria Petersen.

EMPRESS THEATRE,

An excellent double-feature programme will be screened at. the Empress Theatre this evening. The principal attraction will be " Three Weeks," a First National adaptation of Elinor Glyn's famous novel which created a sensation when it was first published. The second film will be " Frivolous Sal," featuring Eugene O'Brien and Mae Busch.

CAPITOL THEATRE.

The remarkable Universal-Jewel production, " The Price of Pleasure," starring Virginia Valli and Norman Kerry, heads to-day.'s programme at the Capitol Theatre. It is an excellent society drama telling of "a girl who expressed a longing for one week of pleasure. She is overheard by a wealthy young man, who invites her to pose as his sister for a week. The girl enjoys all the advantages of wealth for that tome, but finds the price she must pay much greater than she had expected. Charles Valentine, ventriloquist, will be an additional attraction. REGENT THEATRE. " Into the Net," a remarkable story of the disappearance of a beautiful New York heiress, will be the principal attraction at the Regent Theatre to-day. The story was written by Commissioner Enwright, chief of the New York police. The climax is reached after a series of thrilling scenes showing the police cordon gradually closing round a gang of desperate criminals. " The Knight That Failed," will be the second feature.