PRINCESS THEATRE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10598, 19 February 1896, Page 3

PRINCESS THEATRE.

"SAVED FROM THE SEA.

The return season.of Mr Bland Holt's Dramatic ! Company was opened last evening in the Princess Theatre under the most favourable auspices. A: large audience was present, every portion of tho house being crowded, and a cordial welcome back : to Dunedin was extended to trie company, every member of which may be said to be a favourite, with the theatre-going public. The piece chosen [ for the opening of the season was one of Mr Holt's ■ most recent purchases—a piece which has proved signally successful on its representation id. both the West Mnd and East Eiid of London and also in the provinces. "Saved from tho Sea," which is its title, tells an old story in a new dramatic cover. - The hero is an honest, brawny fisherman named Dan Ellington, whose wife, saved from th« aea by him some years before the action of the play begins, is the lost heiress to a fortune, and in thn only obstacle standing between h«r cousin, Richard Fentou, and wealth Fentoti,' urged on by a worthless fellow named Scalcher, plots with sill the cunning of the orthodox melodramatic villain to remove Nancy out of his way, and to that end utilises Ellingtou's fishing comrade, Jim Weaver, whose jealousy of D,iu causes i him readily to surrender himself a tool to Fenton. Failing the removal of Nancy, the villains would be satisfied to have Ellington himself out of the way so that Fenton might then marry Nancy'and make sure of the fortuue1, and they succeed in getting the hero condemned to death on a false charge, but when he is conducted to the scaffold the drop thrice refuses to act and the prisoner is reprieved, a precedent which actually happened at Exeter in 1882 being followed in this gruesome incident. And so the plotting and counter- ! manoeuvring goes on through four acts, embracing ] J2 sceocs, but in the end, in accordance with a pood old -fashion, the two surviving villains, having between them killed the third m»mbar of their party,'fall out and the honest man, ju tha person of Dan ElliugtOn, gets his due, which is. liberty, ami a return to his wife and child." The theme, it will he conccduJ, is not an original one, but Messrs Shirley i"id Landeck have, in their -treatment of it, contrived to heap incident upon incident, ai<d upon a foundation that has stood considerable | service to build a play which will doubtless com- \ mend itself strongly to the tastes of the public, i The literary quality of the piece is not con- I spicuously brilliant, but the comedy ecenea, in which there is nothing particularly nnw, go with a? much liveliness as if they wore all a novelty, and the comic element is fortunately given a large place in' this piece—fortunately, because something lively is undoubtedly required to neutralise the depressing influence of the scene in the prison yard, where, the audience ara presented- with a view of the procession to the Bcaffold,, of the caol officials, the chaplain, the condemned man with his arms pinioned, and the hangman, while a warder stands in readiness to hoist the black flag the moment the expected execution is over. , The completeness with which Mr Holt mounts all his plays impels him to make this scene as realistic as possible, and, gruesome though it is, it must be remembered that we havehad previous instances of similar scenes on the local staee, notably in the Majeronis' "Marie Antoinette,"-as well as in plays by companies of leas note. Of the other incidents in tha piece the most thrilling i« the blowing up by dynamite of the1 hero's fishing craft, with a mechanical change to the open sea, whereon is seen, plunging upon the waves, the open bout in which Ellington escapes through the aid of bis wife. This scene was managed with admirable effectiveness, and the curtain fell upon it amid loud and sustained plaudit*. The scene in the quarries, where the prison gang is discovered at work, is also carried out with remarkable attention to detail, and a couple-'of pastoral scenes evoked admiration and applauoe. All through the performance the scenic effects were of the most appropriate' and complete character, and in respect of them nothing was wanting to make the performance a decided success. ,

The play acted by Mr Holt's company that did not go' smoothly has not yet been seen, and the manner in which the performers generally acquitted-themselves in the piece under notice merits' the warmest ■ praise. Pressure upon our Bpace precludes ua from individualising at any length, but it may be said that as Nanoy —llington, and more particularly in the emotional scenes. Miss Watson fully realised the expectations which, based upon her previous artistic performances in this city, had been formed respecting her, and that Mr Baker's representation of the wrongfully accused Dan was earnest." and forcible, but quiet and unaffected. ■■;' Mesers\ Norman and Cosprove both .acted' effectively as Scalcher and Weaver respectively, but Mr Harford's Fenton was somewhat weak. Mrs Bland Holt played' picturesquely in a comedy part, and Miss Anstead, Mr Bland Holt (who, making his first appearance in a black face and a coloured blazer, escaped gmeral recognition), and Mr Brown all assisted.her ably in providing the comic relief. A, number of minor parts were well filled: The play was received with enthusiasm, Mr Kehoe's orchestra did good service, The'atrocity of au advertising drop was revived, but a word of protest must be urged against it. ■ "Saved from the Sea "will be repeated fora few nights, and- "may be expected to draw a fall house each night it is staged. .