SHAKESPEAREAN SEASON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18753, 5 January 1923, Page 7

SHAKESPEAREAN SEASON

“MERCHANT OF VENICE” TO-NIGHT. At His Majesty’s Theatre last night Mr Allan Wilkie unci his company repeated “King John,” which they gave, for the first time in Dunedin for many years, on the fourth night of their season. There are groat possibilities in the part of the cowardly, wicked, and unscrupulous king whom Shakespeare has created, and Mr Wilkie got the most out of his role. The other chief characters were admirably represented by the principals of the company, and the acting all through was both imaginative and realistic. The performance won well-deserved applause. To-night the popular tragicomedy “The Merchant of Venice” will he revived, with Mr Allan Wilkie as Shylock. On Saturday night Mr Wilkie will be seen in another historical character. King Richard 111. Parts of “Richard Hl”—the opening lines, f'iuronco’s dream, ami the Bosworth scenes—deserve to be oa well known to the public as anything in, Shakespeare. The greatest English actors have won fame in the role of the terrible figure of evil that dominates the action of this nlay. It is a violent, stormy nlay, in which life after life goes down before the swift and merciless resolution of the ambitious murk, and while it is lit up by magnificent poetry, is to little or no extent, redeemed by nobility in the characters. Richard represents intellect without morals in a character of many facets. Ho is bold, impetuous, masterful, cunning, subtle, treacherous, sardonic, pitil"ss, ambitious, and supremely confident. The part, makes immense demands upon an actor, but. judging from recent characterisations. Mr Wilkie should make _of it one cf ins most interesting presentations.