THE PHILANDERER'S DILEMMA

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7027, 15 January 1910, Page 3

THE PHILANDERER'S DILEMMA

FBOM OTO SPECIAL COEBESPONDEKT. -Th« ,ri Becember 3. , The dilemma of a man of the world on a ■: point ■ of involving: issues ot life and death is the theme, of "The House Opposite/' a new.."play -by: Mr Parcival London, produced this week in •the West End by Mr H. B. IrvinItichard Cardyno is a "picturesque philanderer, a . libertine, a person of handand deliberate passions In the course of his sentimental journey he. arrives at in the: boudoir of a certain Mrs' Rivers; They talk matters over in the dark, and daring the. talk Mr Cardyno sees strange things, happen in the ,house opposite. Afterwards we discover that'a man. has in-.thp;:house' opposite, that,,;his„ housekeeper.-, has - been .charged with.,the < crinie, and'that 'nobody "but Mr Cardyne—-"who hapnened to, pec* on that eventful night a strange man armed with a kniie; "enter-into tho -murdered [person's f>roV6 tho'' unfortunate: woman's, innocence. Mr Cardyne, as, you will see, is-at bnc<s impaled upon, the ;horns, of a-very unpleasant dilemma:-*;: If he publishes what he raw he will, necessarily confess' to .having been in Mrs Biters'. private apartments. If lie seals his lips an innocent woman .will die. -'.;;-:.,:"':;'■', ■ , ,-.■. :,. Thevplay-turns-on this dilemma. In the . end , the', situation is .-■ relieved for the distracted couple by the real murderer confessing to his crime. But Mrs Rivers has had a lesson.which, she is not likely to forget durihir the rest''of her. life, and Eiohard Cardyne, too, has discovered 'hb-jv the pursuit of light;loves may lead himvinto a terrible impasse, in ■which the conventional , and the . real sense of the "word "honour" are tossed to and. fro : - , ■■.„''.'; :• . "..". ■-.;

'; It is" a clever and original .piece of work,' and for a first'attempt" at' dramatic, composition,; distinctly "-promising. "While' on theatrical subjects,, it \is interesting to note that "Mr QranTille'Barker, the. producer, of '■ so * many : of Bernard Stanv^Si.plays,'.and himself a; dramatist'of first rank, said this week that a London West End- theatre-had to pay as rent anything from .£BOOO to .£12,000. On the v whole, it costs about .£IOOO a week to run.. That meant, about 5000 persons-going , in ; *at'4s a head,''and unless3o,ooo people went in. in six weeks *h» manager would call the play a direct failure. '

Therefore, they.could not get'a play produced in London unless the manager thought 30.000 people wanted to see it—and probably "he would not- produce it unless he'anticipated that 100,000'people wanted to see it. *