MR C. HADDON CHAMBERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1945, 4 June 1891, Page 36

MR C. HADDON CHAMBERS.

The favourable verdict which was pronounced on "The Idler" when it wa3 produced has been confirmed by thj great majority of playgoers who have since visited the St. James' Theatre. There was, perhaps, a time when unknown talent did not stand much chance of being either recognised or encouraged by theatrical managers ; but the reproach was finally removed when Mr Beerbohm Tree produced, in the height of a London season, at the Haymarket Theatre, a play by a dramatist whese very name was unknown to the actors and the public. The scene at the close of the first performance of " Captain Swift " that Wednesday afternoon will not soon be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The enthusiasm of the fashionable audience was intense ; and when the curtain fell there were tremendous calls for the author. It was not until they became irresistible that they were responded to, and Mr Haddon Chambers, overcoming his natural shyness, appeared on the stage and astonished nearly everybody in the building because he looked scarcely more than a lad in bis teens. It was known he was a young beginner, but that a boy should have written "Captain Swift" was alcnost incredible As a matter of fact, Mr Chambers was eight-aud-tweuty when he scored his first great »uccess. And now, before he is in the thirties, he has scored a second ; or rather a third, for though " Devil CaresiSpot " did not create a sensation, it is a clever' play, which mi^ht have received more attention if it had not been overshadowed by " Captain Swift" and "The Idler." It ought, however, to be safe to assume that the future of Mr Chambers is assured.

Sir Chambers, whatever his shortcomings or mistakes, does not allow his story to drag. He makes you wait with eagerness for the next eveai, instead of causing you to v wonder what has become of the plot. This is why " Captain Swift " was an immediate hit ; and this is chiefly why "The Idler " is likely to have a long ran. But " The Idler " is more powerful than " Captain Swift," and inspires the conviction that the author will do butter still before he is many years older. In one respect he cannot do better — Ik- c mnot improve in his conception of a pure wife or a devoted mothtr. The love of Mro Cross for her son reminds one of the love of Mrs Seabrook for " Mr Wilder," and Lady Harding is a companion picture to Stella. -Vlr Chambers was not born in the Unreel Kingdom, but his parents lived in Ulster. Ho is a native of ydney, New South Wale?, where he resided during his boyhood. When he bad finished, bis education be obtained, an

appointment in the New South Wales Survey department, but his heart was not in his work, and at the earliest opportunity he relinquished it.. A biief visit to the Old Country increased his desire to settle here, and so far back as 1882 he was a contributor to some of the magazines. It must be confessed, however, that he did not make his mark in literature until, in what must have been a moment of inspiration, he decided to go in for the literature of the stage. At once the aspect of affairs was ofaanged. From obscurity he rushed into fame with the prospect of a fortune. " The Idler " has made him more famous, and the fortune looms nearer, if, indeed, he has not already enjoyed the pleasures of realisation. At any rate the young colonial has become quite a man of fashion in London. He lives in style, he carries a license to drive a hansom cab, and is said to have driven very eminent actors ; he is at home in society, he has entirely ceased to be nervous, and has been known to indulge in badinage with a duchess. It is to be hoped that he will turn his more recent experiences to account, and that his subsequent plays will be as strong in comedy as the previous ones have been in melodrama. He does not lack earnestness of purpose, imagination, ingenuity, insight into character, and sound judgment ; but he is wanting in lightness of touch. If he can remedy this deficiency, or supply it by means of collaboration, he may, before he is 40, be one of the foremost dramatists of the day.