AMUSEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11191, 13 August 1898, Page 6

AMUSEMENTS.

. _ . __ — ALHAMBRA THEATRE. ' The marvellous performance given by Professor j Dante was agaiu a fruitful source of surprise, if : not of utter bewilderment, to the audience whicli aesembled at the Alhambr.i Theatre last night. To say that the feat's .of legerdemain were j marvellous can scarcely-convey the true feelings j of those who witnessed tbem. Tbe spectacle of a j fair cycliste performing graceful gyrations in midair had something uncanny about it; while the. disappearance of another lady, the ringing of bells and the mltling of icstviiiiienls' by unseen hands, arid mariv other'mysterious; events went, in the direction of showing that ."nothing superior to the entertainment given by Professor Dante bas ever been given bete bsfore ' Thin afternoon a performance will be given foi- the young folks, and j the entertainment is e>n« that will appeal most ; strongly to the minds of the little ones. To-night,; another programme will be submitted. j PRINCESS THEATRE. \ The Princess Theatre was closed last uight ' owing to the Lucas-'Haiclie Company's extensive ! preparations for the' production to-nigbt of , " Little Lord Fauntleroy,": and to give the com- i pany an- opportunity-of-having a full di ess and scenic rehearsal. This popular comedy-drama 1 has not been staged iv Dunedin for several years, and its rovival should prove successful. If her clever interpretation, of Cissy. Denver in "The Silver King" is a standpoint to judge from, '. little Gladys Hughes should be seen to advantage . as Little Lord Fauntleroy. ' Miss Constance ; Hardie (the leading lady) will no doubt give an . acceptable representation of " Dearest." Mr Chas. It. HiU's humour should obtain plenty of scope iv the congenial part of - Hobbs the grocer, Mr George Harpur will display bis versatility as Dick t the bootblack,' aud -, the. 'remainder- of ttie > characters are well arid judiciously allotted. The scenery and costuming will'be entirely new. DUNEDIN SHAKESPEARE CLUB, 'lhe readings which tire.given from time to time by the i Dunedin Shakespeare Club are, as a general rule, a source of keen enjoyment to the very large audiences who are iv the 'habit of attending tbem. Last evening when a reading, i which comprised selection!! from "Hamlet," was ! given there was a numerous gathering, and the entertainment provided, by the club proved a' peculiarly attractive one.'- The stage was artistically decorated for tbe occasion. The president (Mr A. Wilson) was to have beeu present, and to have occupied- the chair,, hut''Unfortunately' circumstances presented his-filling this position. Mr T. W. Whitson (the vic;<-president) introduced i the Rev. Mr Hewitson, who. delivered an address ■ before the reading commenced The Rev. Mr Hewitkm, whose remarks yvere listened to with : rapt attention, stated that in the play of j " Hamlet" they had the story of the failure of a j man to do his duty, and the-consequences to liim-. j self and to others which: flowed- froih the failure. ! The speaker sketched the underlying features of the play, and indicated tlie main incidebts which surrounded the central figures. The address was a most interesting one, and at its conclusion the audience gave expression to its feeling.-) in an unrestrained outburst of applause. In the reading the selections were taken from Acts 1 and 2, 3, 4, aad 5. Four of these were allotted to younger members—. namely, Messrs T. B. Arlidge (Guildenstern and the Priest). Fyfe'(Ghost),-J. Taylor (Marcelius), aod J. Kingston (Horatio)... All of these acquitted ! themselves in » highly creditable style, and if any [ Bhould bs singled out for an t-special meed of praise it would be perhaps Messrs Fyfe and Kiugston. Mr Fyf,;'was decidedly,effective in the few words he had: to deliver'in the closet scene: Of the other "snd older members, Mr Hanlon, as Hamlet, as misdit be expected, secured the bulk of the honours of the .'evening A competent -'critic described his reading as splendid, i, and the praise was uot exaggerated. The famous soliloquy and " Oh, that this.too, too'solid fles'o " were delivered with peculiarly striking effect. Mr Wbitnon, as King Claudius, .delivered the lives allotted to his part with, ppint and effsct. Mus Wilkie was castas Ophelia, and her reading may be referred to in terms of very high commendation indeed. Not only did she interpret the part well, but rendered the music with skill and taste. MUs Whinam, as the Queen, was also successful, and he:' efforts werejustly rewarded with cordial applause during the evening. Mr J. Webb invested the reading of the lines of the Firdt Gravedigger with all the interest which is attached to the part, and . also tahg the music with soma degree of effect. Mr GThonison as the Second Gravedigger, MrW. Brugh as Laertes, Mr Sawell as Polonius, and Mr Thomson as Rosencrantz all read their parts in a way which-left but little room for adverse criticism. The proceedings were pleasingly diversified by musical items. The vocal duet " A night in Venice" was prettily rendered by Mrs Kobiusoh and Miss Kempthorne, while Mr~Taylor played in musicianly style a couple of morceaux de concert by Grieg. THE'NORTrI-EAST VALLEY. BAND.... An entertainment;was given in the North-East Valley Public Hall last night in aid of the.funds of the Nortb-Eaßt Valley Baud, and was well attended. ■ The. performance for the most part consisted of exhibitions with the graphophoije and kinematogiv-ph, .and these were highly, appreciated. Mr C. : D. Ross had charge of the instruments, and uuder his able manipulation the results produced were really good and well worthy of the warm recognition bestowed. The North-East Valley Band, under the direction of Mi- R. Conk, played a selection from " Le3 HugueuotS" at opening, and subsequently they gave the " Soldier's dream." The records put through the graphophone were exceptionally good, some of them coming out witb unusual distinctness, and at interval* Mr Ross gave some amusing little anecdotes. One of the records was a reproduction of a (.election played by; a local cornetist, who, entirely successful at the commencement, had failed towards the end, the failure oilling f,.ith sundry uncomplimentary remarks fiom the listener, all of which were duly reproduced by the recorder: This was ooe of the best items given with the graphcipbone, and caused considerable merriment. Towards the close of the performance a record of the playing of the band was taken, and reproduced with capital . results. The views piit' through the kinematograph met witli decided approval, and the entire entertainment may be considered as one of the most enjoyable given in the Valley. ASSAULT-AT-ARMS. The fund which is being raised with the object of improving tbe High School cricket ground should be considerably augmented by the proceeds of the grand assault-at-arms whicli was given in the Agricultural Hall last evening by the boys of the school, assisted by several members of the Pirates Football Club. The parents and frienda of the boys turned np in large numbers, though the weather'wan anything but inviting. Under the direction of Instructor Htfrnia tbe various gymnastic exercises on the horse, parallel bars, and rings were smartly given,.and those present were prompt to notice and applaud any j special ability on tbe pwl of any of those taking j j part. An exhibition of dumbbells was aa neatly ] l carried out- as anything on the programme, and . j the exercises with the wands and Indian clubs j j and a display of rope climbitig \vs:e also fairly : i interesting. "The two brothera"—two juveniles j ! —had a short bout with boxing gloves, and this, j ! needless to aay, pleased the younger portion of ] j the audience considerably. Messrs F. Jones • i and R. D. M'Donald showed considerable ! I skill in a short combat with quarter ; staves. The same may be said of a feuc- | iug bout with foils, which took place between j Messrs M. Thomsou and Hanna. A squadron of boys went through a few bayonet exercises, and sword exercise was also given by another set of boys. The various pyramids by the boys were , also heartily applauded. The Dunedin Mandolin : Band played quite a number of selections during i the evening, contributing in no small measure to ■ the enjoyment of the performance. Mention ! must also be made of the clowning, the individual ! who undertook this duty showing considerable i j originality in hia " business." Before the pro- ! gramme was concluded, Mr Wilson, rector of the \ i school, took an opportunity of expressing his : 1 pleasure at the ready response to tbe appeal for - 1 assistance made in connection with the entertain- ] . ment, and thanking the l»die3 and gentlemen j outside the school who had helped to make it the I success it had been. He also mentioned the \ great efforts Mr Campbell had made in connection j j with the matter. In regard to Mr Hamia, the j ' Rector ssdd it was not necessary to say anything , about his efficiency. The boys all kuew the spirit | and enthusiasm he put into his arduous work of j ■. training them. At the request of the Rec.or i i three hearty cheers were given by the boys for ! !_) their instructor.