THE STAGE IN AUSTRALIA. Notes by Scalfax.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 28

THE STAGE IN AUSTRALIA. Notes by Scalfax.

Mblboubnb, May 7*, The past week has been a very quiet one in every respect. We have had glorious weather, all the time —warm, sunny days and fine bracing nights, nights that are sure extinguishers ,of mosquitos and other birds of prey. There has been nothing now at the theatres,, and only a, change of programme at one, as you will find when you nave perused the following bright and airy lines. This is self-praise, an article which is cheap and filling, as the man found who swallowed the toy balloon. Mr Bland Holt has been keeping on " The RuliDg Passion " at the. Royal, bat the attend-?

ahce has been jn no way remarkable.^, As I have gently insinuated.! before, we are tired. of the murd£c and lunatic asylum, tragedy j wherein, the author is subjugated, by the scenic artist, and the scenic ; art>ist by the fire and explosion man. '< As I. have remarked before, this, sort, of, thing passed here five or six years ago, but we have changed all that now. We are, as fond as ever, of sensation and effect, but we want it to be truer to, nature. "New Babylon," will, be revived, for six nights oply^ on Saturday next. Professor Smith (why are all theatre, gas-men professors ?), the , very , clever gas. engineer of the theatre, has invented a new system by which the lights, on the stage and footlights can be covered with various, coloured, glasses by work-. ing\ handles from the pfompt bpx whenever effect demands a change of colour. „ ; , /'Hamlet*' and.MfMiln are proving, more attractive than Shakespeare usually does at the Opera House, and we are enjoying the unusual, sensation of seeing the .tragedy quite, likely, to run, for, three weeks to good business, If the lamented a,utbpr .can, revisit, these glimpses of the moon ; he must feel rather flattered, and doubtless would think that we were becoming intelligent at last. I mentioned the little trouble the students who came to see Mr Mi]n got into last week. When the case came, before the court the charge was withdrawn by the police as i b was shown that there) was no intention of insulting the " foorceV and the students' behaviour otherwise was beyond reproach. A deputation of students has waited on Mr Miln to ask him whether he would accept a testimonial for his kindness in bailing out the victims and generally. course he accepted. Yesterday a meeting was held at the theatre by Me Miln's invitation to consider what step should be taken to show sympathy with the eminent American actor Mr Edwin Booth, who, we learn by cablegram, has neen stricken with paralysis. Mr Musgrove and others addressed the meeting, and, , for the present, a cablegram expressing sympathy has been sent. , , , " The Yeoman of the Guard " is not doing so well as was expected at the Princess Theatre. Public opinion is not. greatly in its .favour, and it is rare to meet with anyone who speaks well of it as a whole. I myself am not so enchanted with it as my first impression made me, think I, should be. The new singer, Miss Ameris, is the cause of much speculation as to why she was put in the cast. Mr Leumane's voice seems to be getting very throaty, and he does not display the energy that his part requires to raise it to the pitch of perfection. Miss Nellie Stewart aots and sings as well as she usually does, but Miss I Ida Osborne, and Mr William Elton, the man who is piling up money by steady industry and a careful attention to not spending more than he oan help, are becoming the popular stars of the opera. No ohange is announce "yet at ,this house. . ' I have omitted to mention in my previous letters a novel attraction nowon ab Bridge's Art, Gallery, in the shape of Signor Urbini and his performing fleas. It must take an indefinite amount of patience to train a flea to drag a minute. coach, ride in it, fire' off *a cannon, draw wate^ from a well, fight a, duel with another flea ,with real steel swords ; but all this they do, and more* There was an exhibition of this .kind in London many years ago, when it:attracted an immense amount of attention, and Signor. Urbini is doing almost as well here. He has handbills out offering a large reward, for 'a. flea which answers to the name of' Jumbo, wears a gold collar, and was lost somewhere between the s.s. , Orient- 'And Bourke street. I think I, oan say wherb he has gone if the Orient is like some other ships I know. He has never left the' steamer, and has become good friends with the steward. There will be a passenger who will use bad language on the way Home. ; Professor Kennedy, the mesmerist, at St. Georgefe Hall, invited a large number of medical and press men to a private seance dn Fridayllast, and succeeded in making his patients perform ' eome'very remarkable things. Needles were stuck into them for inches, and the subjects were made to drink kerosene and other beautiful drinks, and contort themselves in most painful looking ways. His doings were very closely ( watched, and Kennedy, was truthful e*hough to state that oneqf, his subjects had been with ,him for two years. He kept him because ., he, was a peculiarly susceptible specimen. The medical men signed , a testimonial in which they stated theyjcould not explain how the business was done,, aid that by mesmerism "or sotne other 1 means " (note the caution of that) he could do things with his. subjects whioh they could only do with their patients when under anaesthetics'. As a consequence the public are taking more notice of' Mr Kennedy, and his audiences are increasing. ' " Modern Wives/ a comedy adapted by Ittr Ernest Warren from M. Albin Valalreque's " Le Bonheur Conjugal," which has already had its day at the ill-fated Bijou, was revived, by' Messrs Brough and Boucicault at the Hibernian Hall on Saturday. The comedy does, not call for any special mention. The' managers, are I meeting with a t large amount of sympathy in their; misfortune, and! a meeting has been held, in Sydney to arrange, a 'monster benefit for them. ' ' ' ; ', Mr Wilson is now having the ruins of the ; Bijou removed, and as soon as the inquiry into' the fire, which' commences to-morrow, is finished, he will invite competitive designs from all the colonies for the new theatre, which is to surpass even the Princess in magnificence. A committee of experts will examine the designs, , and their decision is to be' final. , . Miss Isabel Morris was granted a farewell benefit at the, Opera House oh Saturday afternoon, When all the companies now in town appeared in acts from their most popular plays. Miss Morris and Mr George Miln appeared in the wooing scene from "Richard III." Miss Morris was enthusiastically received, and will carry away a cheque for about £100 as the , result of the afternoon's work. She leaves for San Francisco by the' outgoing Oaliforaian mail. Miss Maggie Moore (Mrs J. C. Williamson) has also gone to 'Frisco on,' a visit to a beloved ; sister. Mr Garner's new English comedy company produced " New Men and Old Acres " at the Adelaide ,Royal on Saturday, and special mention is made of Miss Olara Cooper's ability. ' Miss Lydia Yon Finklestein, the well-known lecturer on the Holy Land, has returned from Palestine, and gave her first lecture in Brisbane last night. The Governor and Lady and Miss > Norman were present. Sydney follows. ; An " actress " at the Victoria Hall, named Minnie Solomon, had an unpleasant experience at the Palace Hotel very early, in the morning of Thursday last. She states that about 1 o'clock ,a ma'nnamed Henry Solomon (no relation) made his way into her room and attempted an assault. Her husband was away at the time, but her cries brought assistance, and Solomon was given lin custody. He is an elderly, man, rather bald, and white-haired, and a commercial traveller by occupation. He was not a lodger at the hotel, and had only taken a bed for the night. The case was remanded for a week. , . II Shamus O'Brien," that very Irish drama, is still in full Bwing at, the Alexandra Theatre, and appears likely to run for, a few, weeks!; longer.. As may be imagined the bloated Sassenach* gets it particularly, warm, and th&ipjoble Irjab.maji |s. a ma^qh , f or. hal£ a dq^on of ; them at anytime. Mr Sampler, ha\ surprised everyone, by making the Alexandra pay, for. it. was ,coßfident}7,^x-. .

pected that, it, would, lead, him to the- Insolvent Court jlike his predecessors. „>;'.. ' , < Miss Nellie Stewart became indisposed last night, and her under*study, Miss May Pollard, took her place in " The Yeoman of the Guard.',' There are nowi people who assert, that Miss ,Stewatt would not, have' been ill if the opera, looked }ike turning out a, success. , Sydney, programmes are as they were last 'week, and the pnly information my correspondent is able to afford me is, that the public does .not think so much of the massive Edith Blande (Mrs Justin Brereton) as her friends expected it would. ' , 1 . A telegram has , just come to hand stating that the American tragedian, Mr Edwin Booth, has already recovered, and is playing again. The American press comments fayonrably on our telegram of condolence. ;