ALEXANDER WATSON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20191, 31 August 1927, Page 12

ALEXANDER WATSON.

THE OPENING RECITAL. Among platform entertainers of th* present day the name of Mr Alexander Watson occupies a deservedly prominent position. He is recognised as an elocutionist whose ability stretches far beyoiid the usual limits which confine followere of his art —a man to whom the best verse and prose in the English language are as plastic material for the fashioning ot living word pictures- Though six years have passed since he last toured New Zealand, those who enjoyed his recitals on previous occasions have retained pleasant memories of his work and personality, with the result that ljurns. Hall proved entirely inadequate for the numbers who attempted to gain admission last evening, when the first recital of his 192'. Dunedin season was given. Every seat in the building was occupied, and many were turned homeward, regretting that the booking oliice had n t appealed to their prophetic sense. It was evident from the commencement of the recital that the passing of time has not in any way detracted from the power and charm of Mr Watson’s platform personality. Perhaps he is a trifle more reserved, a shade more conservative ui ins interpretations, but in all that is important in elocution he is .the Alexander Watson of six years ago, equipped with a variety of new and delightful studies. The programme was distinctive in that it embraced not only selections from the well-trodden fields of literature, but ga\e prominence to gems from modern poets whose works are comparatively unfamiliar to audiences. For instance, there were three charming selections from A. A Milne’s quaint study of childhood—" When We Were Very \oung. These have become exceptionally popular since their first appearance in Punch, and promise to occupy a high place in English literature; but it has remained tor Mr Watson to show bow lightly and delightfully attractive they become when interpreted by a master of elocution. -to a lesser extent the same comment applies to his inclusion of “The Traveller' (O. Fox-Smith), a dialect piece by a writer who has also achieved fame through the columns of Punch. Surely there were few in Burns Hall who have not enjoyed the reading of Mrs Fox-Smith’s clever verses, and for that reason their inclusion in the programme was heartily welcomed. “ The Traveller ” was given the rich fullness of a ballad, and the marked contrasts of a descriptive poem. Among the most popular items of the evening were three poems selected from the works of John Masefield, each redolent of the atmosphere of the sea, and breathing the thoughts of sailormen. “A Ballad of Cape St. Vincent” struck a glowing patriotic chord, and was delivered with a grandeur of expression that thrilled Mr Watson’s hearers. “ Bill’s Ghost,,, a piece containing a wealth of humour, found him in totally different but equally effective vein, and hearty laughter was followed by a round of applause that stamped the. recital as the most popular item of the evening. " Cargoes, ’ that concise and captivating fragment, shone if only by reason of its departure from dialect work. Used by way of a change, dialect studies arc excellent, but too many of them tend to produce a longing for pure English, and ” Cargoes"’’ came as a pleasant relief. “ The Kelpie of Corrievrecken ” (Charles Maekay), a fanciful ballad with a semi-humorous moral, written in vigorous and arresting style, was given admirable treatment within welldefined lines of elocution. Here one might digress - to observe that Mr Watson does not mix his art with that of the actor. In that respecl he differs from Professor Newlands, who appeared in Dunedin some three years ago. Professor Newlands showed us how entertaining a poem could be made when embellished with every possible expression, gesture, and action. Mr Watson discloses the beauty lying dormant in the words of a poem, and presents them simply with a unique exhibition of vocal expression ar.c( intonation. The whole of the first half of the programme was devoted to excerpts J. M. Barrie’s —“The Little Minister.” This long and intensely interesting selection found Mr Watson in his best yein and an eager audience followed him in imagination into the Scottish village of Thrums. The selections dealt with the beginning of Gavin’s work as the Little Minister, and covered his meeting with the gipsy, the riot, the escape of the gipsy, her earlier association with the Little Minister, the humorqus discussion of a Sunday sermon, and the scene in the village kirk when Gavin finds that the gipsy has scrawled a message on his Bible. They wei« enjoyed to the last syllable by an audience whose taste for the works of Barrie had been accurately guaged, and in their settings they covered a wide range of quaint, laughable, and stirring incidents. Had they been shortened, a programme of wider variety would have been possible, but the quality of the spell woven by the recn«r was such that one forgot the passing cf time and was content to follow indefinitely an interesting story, wonderfully told. TO-NIGHT’S PROGRAMME. At his second recital to-night Mr iTat- ■ son will give Charles Dickens’s masterpiece of humour and pathos, “Dr Marigold’s Prescriptions,” little-known work of the great writer’s which appeared in a Christmas issue of Household Words. The inimitable entertainer, with his rare humour, his swift change to pathos, his subtle touches of dramatic intensity, and above all, with the underlying humanity o his work, is able to conjure up the liveabl old cheap-jack and his strange life, with its joys and sorrows. “Dr Marigold” has won a host of new friends for Dickens among the younger generation, while their elders smile approval at each phrase of the delightful story. The second pari will introduce Whitcomb Riley’s “The Eit Child ” (better known as “ Little Orphan Annie ”), which brings up a world of hobgoblins and sprites; the old Scottish tale, “Imphm”; Calverley’s “Gemini and Virgo,” with its story of the two schoolboys who fell in love with their schoolmaster’s daughter; John Drinkwater’s beautiful poem, “ The Crowning of Dreaming John ”; “ Bredon Hill,” some verse from A. E. Housman’s book, “ A Shropshire Lad,” and “ Con Goes Hunting,” a humorous excerpt from Boucicault’s play, “ Conn the Shraughraun.” To-morrow night a fine programme includes a Kipling first half, with selections from Dickens, A. H. Miles, S. W. Foss, and two Cautionary Tales by Hilare Belloc. On Friday a Barrie evening will be given, with additional numbers by Crcsbie Garstin, Tennyson, C. F. Adams. Russell Lowell, and James Payn. Particulars of the box plans are advertised.