ENTERTAINMENTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5219, 8 March 1904, Page 5

ENTERTAINMENTS.

WIRTH BROS* CIRCUS. Wellington has a weakness for a circus. Only a few days have passed since the Fitzgerald Bros’ show A\*ag in full swing behind the Opera House, and the tent Avas filled eveay night; last night a much larger tent was there, and nearly five thousand people swarmed into it. All tho seals Aver© occupied long before eight o'clock, and the management had a party of ushers busily engaged in providing additional chairs. The tent will hold 7000 people, and. for to-night’s performanoe scaling accommodation, for that number will bo-ready. Now for the performance. One circus is very much like another in many respects—it must necessarily bo so—and comparison is made by the public ou the I'cav outstanding ‘‘star” tiols. Thus, as in all other circuses, there is m tho Wirths’ tho usual riding, the usual clowns, the usual acrobats, the usual trained horses. They are all good, all clever, all attractive, but ivhcre the circus took-hold of the audience, as it Avere, and Avhere it avRI bo spoken of and reaiembered, is in its lavo or throe sensational “turns.” For instance, take, the mysterious Howard Bros. One sat in the centre of tire ring blindfolded, while the other rummaged through the audience for nicknacks, coins, watches, anything. Hardly Avas an article in his hand before the blindfolded man was giving full particulars of it at the top of his voice. ‘‘You aro looking at a watch, its’numbcr is to-and-so, it Aras mad’o by Rotherham;” “you are looking at a florin, George IS T . coinage, dated so-and-so. *■’ It didn’t what Was given to the man amongst the people—the man in the ring knew nil aboufcit. Trickery? It i a impossible £° say—it is nil done so quickly and no coiwe-rsation parses between tho brothers. It Avag baffling to the keenest observer. Then, there is Kerr Pagel, avlio was described iii the ring last night by Mr J. Doyle as the only genuine strong man he had seen in the country for the x>ast twenty-five years. The massive German offered to forfeit <£loo to any man A\*ho could lift above his head the weight he lifted himself. Half a dozen .seekers after fame and the purse stopped into the ring and Avere presently chased out by the attendants? for wasting •good time. . Pagel put tremendous weights up, da mod horses round the ring, climbed ladders with them, and lifted a platform Avith twelve men on it. Then ho went into a cage and Avrestled Avith a great snarling lion. One of the best items of the e\ T ening Aras a serpentine daiioe performed on horsebobk ly Mias Phyllis Wirth. Tho programme was quite too long bo criticise in deta.l, but Mons. Regalle, and hia trained Avild animals (imagine, for instance, a tiger that walks on. a ti&ht rope); the Cantons, in their revolving ladder act; the Cherokee Kid, Mexican oowlioy, Avith his la-Ssoo; Miss Marizles Mirth, the* lady wJio juggles while standing on a canboring horse, demand singling out. The great tent is lighted with electricity, and -the arrangements made for patrons’ comfort in such short time arc to be credited to Mr G, L. Petersen, the agent. The menagerie—and it is rarely that such a large one is exhibited m Wellington—is open to thci public every afternoon. Tho fiivstc matinee of the season will be given to-morrow afternoon.

OPERA HOUSE. Mr Charles Holloway's Dramatic Com»pany arrived from Auckland last night and open their season at the Opera House this evening with a performance of "Two Little Vagabonds/ by George R. Sims and Arthur Shirley. Miss Beatrice Holloway, who comes with a fine reputation as an actress, appears in the character of Dick. Other members of tho company. are Messrs Charles Holloway, C. R. Stanford, .N. Edwards, J. P. O'Neill, Misses Alice Deovwyn, J. Marshall, S. Lashman, Ida Gresham, There will be six changes of programme during the Wellington season. FULLER’S ENTIifiTAINEES. Messrs Fuller and Sons re-open ‘ then theatre on Saturday, it having been entirely renovated and greatly improved. The company will be a strong one, several new members arriving from Sydney to-inorrow by the Monowai. BELLEVUE PROMENADE CONCERT. Tho concert at Bellevue Gardens tomorrow evening promises to bo even more successful than the last. It is announced that Mrs Miliar, who is shortly to leave for Johannesburg, will bo hoard for the last time in Now Zealand. The other vocalists who are to assist a-re Messrs E. J. Hill, Ballanoe and Zachariah, Jupp's Band will play new selections: The price of admission has been reduced to sixpence.

Messrs Hall and Valentine, biograph entertainers, gave a very enjoyable entertainment last night at the "Working Men's Club, when there was a large attendance of members and their friends. New and up-to-date animated pictures were shown, in addition to a musical programme, in which Miss Forster, Messrs W. Trent, Ernest Hill, and Bob Hall took part. The entertainment met with much appreciation.