THE QUEEN'S THEATRE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4240, 20 September 1875, Page 3

THE QUEEN'S THEATRE.

"Or Saturday \\ evening, Mr and Mrs George .'JDarrell made their last appearance, for some time at least,, before^the ( _play-going public of Diinedim "';Tfe'Tlieatre waswell atterided, in-i -deed, •■uncomfortably filled in ' the lower parts,; and the piece dcrmsiqnce was Ms George Darrell'B' origmal three-act- drama, "The Trump; :'CarcL" It is' a- matter of 'surprise to us,, and,: "indeed, to,tlie patrons f of the Theatre generally,; -that this piece wai not produced earlier in the; engagement of theß,arrells, for it is undoubtedly' one of the best drama's of its class ever produced; ..cnihe^New Zealaiid'atage.':,. It.wa^ written; we; . believe; 'by Mr-Darrell fof'his fii&t'appearance; :in New York,arid r;{he:l6cai:c'ritics were loud in! praise of ita ; ..merits. ..:r.Again;:iin') Sydney it! achieved an undoubted success; rnft'nin^for-ten; nights? to- excellent: business. ; The /author has; , modi&kihis last / act,.,andiotheiiwiße improved; . the drama'foritgrecent presentation, and it is' now & compact," well iftitten,' and unusually, exciting play, the interest being, thoroughly! maintained from' the'risVto tlie fall of the chr-! i tain. The^cetielslaid'in'New York, and thel plot may be briefly■•described as follows.:—1 ' &orge-; iSeatKcoitei & : •' well-W-'do ;; lawyer, 'is siuxounded -in; »hiß Home by his wife • (Eliza), her- son (John Burgess), a ■ nephew . (Kjchard i. Heatlieote)," ami -a rieice (Kiite Neville). The nephew., and niece, are; mutually uttacheflj 'and 'the stepson ".(Burgess)', is .•also in'ioverwith Kate,J"ana iri enmityVwith Bichard; "TfieMatte^is "'wild and dissipated, ; and; "■' worldng''.:!.(pii.: ,'ijWso' ','. faults, r . Burgess . darkens' his "step-father's mind,! against Kichard. Burgess -.>■ robs ,. ,-his ; <stei>-f ather, - implicates''Eicnard, who is expelled the house. The old man' revokes his will, cxc cuting one in favmlr bf' Burgess and Kate. To ; gain th£-money, Burgess {poisons the old man, . anil again'! ingeniously fixes ; the ■- crime on Bichard. The firttact'closea'on a very eifectiye taMeiix—-Eichard,' Under arrest .for murder, registering his oath to track the murderers of his uncle to their doom.- Subsequently, Burgess discovers that the codicil which his stepfather had written:had;been ■■ destroyed almost as soonaif ratinedj'a'nd he h"a*V therefore,'steeped his hands in blood for na'tight. Kate now succeeded to'-the'"property, -and-Burgess again -rWewjs }lis:iprdt(Sstatibris"of love. Failing in this, he detoinmes to poison -heiv'the money reverting to his motherland himself at Kato'd death. Meanwhile, Richard has escaped from i prison, and is. under, disguise, endeavouring to clea^ himself and discover the, real murderer of his uncle. An accidental rencontre with^pne Fowler,'an old clerk .of George Heathcote, and a discarded accomplice of Burgess,, enables him to gain proofs of Burgegs's guilt, and, amed with "■these;"he'd.eterniine3to,confronthisenemy. ■I; resh conrplic1 atiohd arise.''.; ;Fowler disappeai-s," and Ilichard narrowly escapesjecapture, but, aided Tiy Katfe, he" secures :hfs freedom,'.find the •second .act^ends^vith one of the most effective [situations'we have ever witnessed.. In the. 3rd actfwp iind Burgess .determined to make-all ••sure, t and strike for the whole stake at once, At a grand reunion given in honour of Kate's 'BrtKday,' he'seizes an opportunity of tampering with a tonic, which the girl was in the habit of takin"; Eichard enters at the moment, surprises him in the act, and the fox is unearthed at last.- The doctor declares his patient, Miss Neville.'to bo suffering from slow poison, and Richard accuses Burgess of administering the -same ; also, of having "killed his uncle by the same means. .This Bnrgess denies,, and Eichard iias no proof, but Fowler turns up at the nick of time,- and confesses.to.having'witnessed the act. *" This-virtually ends the drama. We have, of course, sketched -but the main incidents, which are admirably detailed and worked out. There are several other characters, well marked and effective, notably a Professor Cullyford, a very cleverly written character part, ihere •were three double calls before the curtain Mr Darrell's assumption of Eichard was'forcible, and very effective, and his son" of "Up ' a tree," was again enthusiastically encored. Messrs Stoneham and Savillo are deserving of praise' for their admirable presentation of difficult characters, and the cast;-generally" was efficient. Having bowed his acknowledgments for a very enthusiastic call, Mr Darrell said, that on the occasion of Mrs Pan-ell's ahd his last appearance lie might once more present his sincere thanks for the generous'patronage they had received •during their nine weeks' engagement, ihey had produced several Shakespenan. and other le»itimate plays, as also four of his own writing, all of which, he might say without egotism,, had proved successful. 'He had every reason to be satisfied with the kindly criticisms of/the Press and the appreciation of the public. He was an oldDimedmittyanrlhe was very proud that his success had been recognised in this town—the scene of. his early'labours. I heir absence might not be long, and when Mrs Darrell had entirely recovered, he trusted to return and win more laurels amongst the Dunedin people. He concluded by thanking the management and the hk:ii!)3b of the company individually for their efforts to make the season successful, and also the audience for their generous assistance before the curtain. Mr jDarrell's pertinent speech was loudly applauded. Mv 3 Darrell was announced to 'recite Poe's beautiful poem,

" The Bells;" but owing to indisposition, shi. substituted "The Gambler's Wife." This pathetic selection she gave' with precision and-, effect, securing a double call before the curtain. The sth act of " Richard III.," "with MrDanell as Richard, brought the entertainment to a close. Those other favourites, Mr and Mrs F. M. Bates, will make their re-entree to-night in the grand play of " Elizabeth, Queen of England."