THE GAIETY COMPANY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 444, 29 September 1877, Page 2

THE GAIETY COMPANY.

" Rip Van Winkle " drew a capital attendance to the Masonic Hall last evening, and proved highly entertaining. The piece was placed upon the stage in a manner far superior to what we anticipated, the Gaiety Company making the very utmost of the limited space at their disposal. In addition to many other little things there was the welcome attraction of some very excellent new scenery, which formed a pleasing relief from the mi-erable pictures we havo been forced to gaze upon for some time past. Mr. J. L. Hall, a3 Hip Van Winkle, took the audience by storm. We have seen Mr. Hall pourtray the character many times di ring a large number of years, but seldom if ever has he been more successful than he was last night, fhe audience were not slow to mark their approbation of the finished piece of acting pi iced before them, for from lirst to last Mr. Hall drew forth rounds of applause and bursts of laughter, according to the nature of the scene. More especially was the enthusiasm of the audience aroused during the scene in which old Hip awakens after his twenty years' sleep. The acting of Mr. Hall at this point was simply grand ; it was, in fa~t so natural as to become something beyond acting. Mrs. Hall made a good Dame Winkl-, while Miss Wiseman is to be complimented on her performance of the part of Rowena. Mr. Oily Deering gave an actor's rendering of the old Burgomaster, Derrick Van Slaus, and Mr. Love as his son Herman was scarcely less successful. Knickerbocker found a capital representative in Mr. Wilkinson, and Mr. O'Brien did justice to the part of Gustave. Master Harry Hall, as Snaggerine, one of the spirits of the Ivatskill Mountains, really surprised the audience by the excellent manner in which he acted the part, and elicited a genuine round of applause. The remaining characters were wc.l filled, and the piece was an undoubted success. To-night, Mr. Hall's company appear for the last time, when a dramatised version of Ohas. Dicken's beautiful story "Nicholas Nickleby" will be presented.