HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19736, 12 March 1926, Page 10

HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.

“THE GREEN GODDESS,”

GUY BATES POST SEASON

The first change of programme in the present dramatic season at His Majesty s Theatre was made last evening, when the distinguished English actor, Guy Bates Post, who has won such favourable opinions for his clever work in "The Masquerader,” appeared in “ The Green Goddess.” The large audience that gathered indicated the widespread interest in the occasion. "The Green Goddess” is an up-to-date melodrama pervaded by an Eastern atmosphere of sinister mystery. It is interesting to recall that it was written by the well-known London dramatic critic, the late William Archer, as a reply to the challenge that it was all very well to criticise plays but quite another thing to write them. The play bears all the marks of Archer’s literary skill, polished wit, and knowledge of stagecraft. It is, indeed, a brilliant reply. The scene of the story is laid in the imaginary State of Rukh, in a wild region of the Himalayas.

fhe central figure is the Rajah of Rukh, i man of English education, who deep jeneath his Cambridge culture conceals in undying hatred of the British masters if his land and people. His race antipathy is roused to fierce passion by the fact that at the commencement of the story three of his brothers are under

sentence of death for a political murder. The play opens dramatically enough with the landing of Major and Mrs Crespin and Dr Treherne from an aeroplane that has crashed in the sacred precincts of the temple of the Rajah of Rukh. The wild, angry cries and excited talk of the natives

n their own tongue at once introduces :he element of the unknown and the sense >f impending evil. Into the midst of this icene comes the Rajah himself, attended jy his retinue of servants and troops. Speaking in faultless English, he offers :he strangers every courtesy and hospitality and has them escorted to his palace. Remote and inaccessible as his nountain stronghold is, the Rajah is nevertheless able to offer Mrs Crespin a lewildering choice of superb Paris gowns, md, more important for the development

of the story, he is in touch with India by wireless. From this source he learns that his three brothers are to be executed at sunset in two days’ time. This news decides in his mind the fate of the three English hostages whom chance has placed in his hands. All the surface polish and courtesy of the West mingle with the diabolical cruelty and lust ot revenge of the East in the manner in which the Rajah makes known to his guests their approaching doom. Considerations of humanity move him not at all, and only through his passion to possess Lueilla, wife of Major Crespin, is he capable of being influenced. He has as his valet and personal attendant a rascal named Watkins, with a cockney accent, . who seems to be living there because he does not care to live anywhere within reach of the police. He renders his master service as his wireless expert, and in this fact the prisoners see their only hope of escape. It is to convey a message regarding their desperate plight by wireless to some British outpost. After much bargaining, Watkins agrees to help them at an extortionate price, but the major finds him playing false. Treherne and he in their desperation gag him, and hurl him from an upper window to his just doom. The major is caught by the Rajah in the act of transmitting the message himself, and the Rajah shoots him down. “Lying like a gentleman,” as the Rajah afterwards comments, the major, with his last breath, declares that he has failed to reach the outside world. The fourth act, in which the Rajah, with due formality and ceremonial, sets about ending the lives of Treherne and Lueilla, hardly maintains the exceedingly high standard of what precedes, and the straining of the emotions over the impending agonies of the victims is pushed a trifle too far. The Rajah exhausts every device of devilish cunning by playing upon Lucilla’s love for her children and for Treherne to induce her to submit to him, and eventually he appears to break down her resistance, but at the fifty-ninth minute of the eleventh hour the whirr of

aeroplane wings is heard. Flight-lieut. Cardew lands to make terms. Planes laden with bombs circle over the Rajah’s palace, and in the circumstances the rascal is constrained to admit that “the game is up.” The philosophy of the East expresses itself in the idiom of the West, when he remarks, looking after Lueilla rescued from his uower, “She would probably only have been a damned nuisance anyway!” In the part of the Rajah Mr Post found full scope for his rich arid varied talents, and created a characted that will live long in the minds of all who witnessed the performance. His appearance and every movement as well as his words suggested that ugly and sinister figure—a man in whom all the learning and graces of what we call civilisation has failed to touch or restrain the elemental animal passions. At the same time his creator made it clear that there is something to be said for his point of view, and at times one felt that the Raiah scored heavily with some pointed contributions to the eternal controversy between East and West. Without an any way detracting from the Rajah’s outward charm of manner Mr Post always gave a subtle and indefinable suggestion of something ulterior and not to bo trusted. As Lueilla Miss Eileen Sparks gave a spirited and graceful characterisation of a true woman, courageous to the death in the face of fearful danger. She was. perhaps, at her best in the scene alone with the Raiah in his snuggery as ho seeks to tempt her with the promise to restore her children to her arms. “What,’’ he flashes back, “would be the good of having them in my arms if I could not look them in the face/’ “I wish she had worn the purple frock,” remarks the cold-blooded savage as she retires after this tense prolonged interview, Mr Leslie Victor gave an orthodox and distinctly humorous portrait of Watkins, and really was responsible for most of the humour that is to be found in the play. Mr Winnington Barnes showed Major Crespin as a rough, hard-swearing Englishman, with no manners and a strong addiction to whisky. At times he shouted in a way that, seemed unnecessary, and made himself a little difficult to follow. As Terence, Mr Eric Mnxon had a far more pleasing part, and ho played it quite satisfactorily. Another of the company who made an important contribution to the success of the piece was Mr Ashton Jarry, as the bearded and fanatical high priest of Rukh. A large number of supporting actors made up Lie picturesque servants in waiting, regular and irregular troops, priests, musicians and litter bearers. , . . ...... The mounting of the piece is artistically designed and finished to the detail, and there are many most impressive and dramatic stage effects such as that achieved at the end of the second act, when the Rajah, having dismissed his guests to bed crosses the room to the fireplace and lights a cigarette in the dark. A very pleasing overture and entr’acte were contributed by the orchestra, under Miss Scrivener. The interest in the play never fails for an instant, and largely on account of Mr Post’s consummate art the audience is gripped and held till the last curtain falls. It was only then that they relaxed to express their enthusiastic appreciation of the play and the manner in which it had been presented. “The Green Goddess” will be staged again this evening and to-morrow evening. “THE BAD MAX.” It is claimed that no play staged during the past decade has created the same amount of enthusiasm among playgoers of Australia and New Zealand as ‘“The Bad Man,” and no drama of recent years has attracted such large audiences as this picturesque Mexican comedy drama. Of course, it owes its phenomenal success to the magnificent characterisation o Paneho Lopez by Mr Guy Bates Post, and critics in Australia were unanimous in their declarations to the effect that in it, as the dare-devil and picturesque bandit, he reaches the zenith of his nonius in both drama and comedy. His broken English is, it is said, perfectly delightful to listen to, and his original method in the delivery of the screamingly humorous dialogue has proved a revelation to playgoers. From the moment Paneho Lopaz makes his dramatic entrance in the first- act right until the curtain finally falls interest is centred on the bandit’s movements, and the audience is kept in a state of excitement throughout. The comedy is rich and original, and the drama itself is one of the best constructed plays that has yet been presented on the English-speaking stage. It is not often that playgoers of Christchurch are raised to such a pitch of enthusiasm as they were on Friday last. When the curtain was finally lowered there were cheers from all parts of the theatre £o. Mr Post, and he had

to come before the curtain no fewer than eight times before the delighted audience would leave their seats, and they rose en masse at the finish to give the actor the most enthusiastic “send-off” ever known in the Theatre Royal of that city. The booking is already heavy for “The Bad Man,” and it is likely that it wil prove as successful here as it did in Wellington and Christchurch.