PRINCESS THEATRE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10760, 26 March 1897, Page 3

PRINCESS THEATRE.

'THE SORROWS OP SATAN."

A dramatic version of Marie Corelli's remsrkable work "The Surrows of Satan" wss presented by Mr George Datrell at tho Princess Theatre* last evening. It attracted a les? numerous houee than the reputation of the novel might have bean expected to draw and thtui the draoaa deserved, but the wintry weather was in all probability largely responsible for this. The fact U that Mr Darrell has succeeded in producing a distinctly good play from the mat'rials which he found to his hand The drama is skilfully constructed in each .of its three sets, the two firs'; of which terminate in au *ffeclive situation—in the cUimmg in each ease of » soal by the prince of darkness,—and the piece conclude? with a well-con-ceived "curtain." Mr Darreli's reputation a< a dramatist will certainly not be impaired by this adaptation. buY should on the cantra-y be enhanced by it, though it is perhaps to be rsgretted that ho ohonld have found it expedient to introduce into the t-ait such characters as those of the vul ? *r Chioi-o pork butcher and the equally vulgar Htbreiv moneylender, who have no pkca in the daring novelist's work. The production of tha play, though satisfactory and creditable in most respects, affords leas ground fur congratulation thun the conitructi-m of the piece doss Mr Darrell mates * picturesque Prfnce Lucto Kimantz, bub the tall shadowy figure th*t ia presented in the novel is not realised in him and it would ba idle to nuggest that he gets, to use the expression employed by tho Frsuch, inside the skin of the clm-scter as the novelist has drawn it. He is not miimprefsive, but he Ooes not succsed in sinking bin individuality in the character he impernonntei, and to tint extent hi* reoresentatiou of a part ii\ which ie wera higk'y desirable that be shonld get away from himself as much us prssiMe is disappointing. Unfortunately, also tbu >>ortrayil by Miss Ada Woodhill of the ch*racfe7of Lady Sybil Elgin, the "excellent marketable goods" with the "vampire soul," was hy no means eveu, and was indeed, on tin wnolp, rather unconvincing. Tho scene in which L*riy Sybil prefers her lovo to Lucio afforded Mis< Woodhill an opportunity for the exhibition of real dramatic power, but her a«ti?;g i:i it wa? lacking in intensity. Miss Woodhiil is, howfcver, a youug actress, and, ai Lady Sybil hsrfielf got " out of her groove," ao also may MUa Woodhill h*ve been oat of hecparticul&r groove 4u the endeavour to present the character of this Tiassion-wrought woman who loved not wisely but too well. The other parts were in the main ably sustained. Mr Johnston Weir, <vho was cast as the multi-millionaire, Geoffrey Tempest, made light work of his patt, which he filled very efficiently, and Mr A. Occbrane presented a tolerably faithful study as the aristocratic ruin, Lord Elgin. Miss Marie D'Alton appeared as the authoress, Mavis Clare—who, it is possibly superfluous to mentiou, has been indentified with Marie Corelli herself—and zave an effective reading of the p«t. Miss ISfldaile made her points successfully as Ludy Gertrudo Fitzroy, the maiden aimt of the piece, and Miss Corcoran " took on " the American accent very satisfactorily and whb otherwise well placed iv the pirt of Dimia Ohesney. Mr H. Ashton was rather hard in his irapsi-sona-tion of the libertiue Viscount Lyntou ; but Mr Carabotirue provoked a large amount of merriment by his performance as Nicodemus Ohesney, and Mr Bkke well supported his efforts in his representation of Sam Htrelitz, e uphemistically described on the playbills as a financier. The piece was well mounted, and there was no hitch of any kind to interfere with the smoothness «f the performance. " The Sorrows of Satan" will be repeated tonight, and it may bs recommended to playgoers as being well worth ps,troni«ing.

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LICENSING COMMITTEE

ELECTIONS

Taiep.i.—Tha returns are not yet complete, but jt is probable that the candidates cm the Moderate ticket have all been elected, At Outraixi, where 194- electjrs recorded their votes, the polliug was fairly even, the Temperance candidates having au average majority of 10. The raturns to hand show :—Moderates: O. Samson, 563; W. Kirkiand, 562; W. Snow, 550; j. F. Leary, 525; A. Douglas, 468 ' Temperance ■ J. Allan, W ; A. Ohisholm, 439 ; D. T. Shand, 330; W. Grant, 33* ; W. SMncioe, 293. Oamaku.—The five Moderate candidates were elected yesterday, the independent candidate (Mr Hiddon Deunisou) being a long way behind. Only a small proportion of the votew recording their votes.

AsHBURTOS.—Ths Moderate party secured a decisive victory. The voting was as follows • — Moderates: M-Farlane, 12*9; M'Lean, 1328; M'Quilk'm, 1238 ; Scaly, 1317 ; Thomas, ]366. TeM.peranc« : Ob&pman. 781: Crephane, 715 ; Lead'ey, 738 : Taylor, 785 ; Williamson, 800. Wanganci.—The returns are not complete, but so far three Temperance and two Moderate eaijrtida.ies are leading, and the position is not likely to be altered.

Napibr.—Fair amount of interest was taken in the licansiug election, which resulted in the return of tbe Moderate ticket, comprising Messrs H. Williams, G. A. MUcDitoald, F. Sutton, F. Smith, and Dc Spencer. The two women candidates—-Mrs Hill and Mrs Begg— were at the bottom of the poll. About 1500 votes were polled.