THE RIGNOLD COMPANY AT THE PRINCESS THEATRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 39

THE RIGNOLD COMPANY AT THE PRINCESS THEATRE.

"HENRY V." i There are some few dramatic artists whose j names are at the present, and always will be, ] associated in New Zealand with particular j characters, but the indissoluble connection thab ; exists between the name of Mr George Rignold j and the character of Henry V haa aiach nioro than a merely colonial recognition, for in Great) j Britain and America also the actot who is now with us has brought himsftlf fame by hi 3 repre- ! sentation of the hero of Agincourfc. Sevepteen j years have elapsed since Mr Rignold fli-it visited ' this colony and gt,ve hia well-remembered per- i formance of the character, but as practically a j new generation of playgoers has sprung up j since then, the production of Shakespeare's fine historical play should now possess all the interest of freshness There seems, besides, to be somethiof? peculiarly opportune in the staging of " Henry V " at the present period. I The British people the world over are, throughout the length and breadth of that kingdom on | which the sun never nets, about to celebrate the I fact of the most glorious reign in the history of their country being also the longest, and their patriotic feelings are not unfifclingly being aroused not only by ths vmiqueness of the occasion irself, but by the reeount&l of the deeds of valour that in the past coDtribated to making their Empire what it is to-day ; and among the most noteworthy of those deeds wxs the achievement of King Heury V in winning tbe field of Aginconrt against over wheming odds j and at trifling loss in his own army. Mr Rig- I nold's representation of Henry of Monmoubh is hardly less robust than that given by him i»o many years ago, and the different moods of tho \ character were all expressed by him exceedingly artistically and effectively. The stirring address by the king to the tooop3 in front of ; Harfleur — Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once • more ; i • — is that whioh ha« lived most enduringly ia ' the memory-of those who had the privilege of j witnessing Mr Rignold's former impersonation ! of the character, and ifc win delivered on Saturday night with fine declamatory force and splendid effect, the artist receiving an enthusiastic call at the close of the scene. It was nob merely from the elocutionary point of view, as i presented in the speeches in tront of Harfleur j ; and at Agincourt that Mr Rignold's performance was signally successful and distinctly memorable. In the scene in which the king condemns the noble conspirators Mr Rignold j not only delivered the monarch's reproaches | with tailing tenderness, but his acting also showed how powerfully the king was affected by the treachery of the "three corrupted men," and especially by thafc of the friend of his youtb, Lord Scroop, whose revolt was "like another fall of mau," while rich iv suggestion was the incident when Scrcop being led away to execution, turned, in a mute appeal for mercy, to the king, aud when the latter, by the expression on his face, betrayed the sorrow with which he motioned the traitor away, and then brushed the tears out of his j eyes prior to dismissing the disagreeable I episode from his thoughts by throwing himself energetically into the great enterprise he had before him. Mr Rigoold spoke with admirable - effect tha soliloquy, upon the night before Agincourt, .which has for ita subjscb the hollowness of the royal rank, and a well-marked vein of light comedy was displayed in the scene in v/hich the English king woos the French princess, in all the varying moods of which there is such a surpassing union in the part of King Henry, Mr Rignold maintained the dignity of the charaoter, and when it is added that his natural advantages of face, figure, aud voico

combined to make him •• every inch a king," enongh has probably been said to saggest that the rendering which was given of the leading rdle was one of considerable excellence. The merits of the performance were freely acknowledged by the audience, who, throughout the three hours and more that the production occupied, displayed not the slightest symptom of weariness, but on the contrary by their appreciative silence evinced the greatest interest in the progress of the play. This was in itself a tribute to the artistio success achieved by Mr Rignold, for the character of King Henry is in every respect the most important in the piece, and its representative is seldom absent from the stage, while there are only a few among the other 40 characters that make any great demands upon the histrionic resources of the psrformars entrusted with them. On the other hand the necessity of "doubling" characters where so many parts have to ba provided for, oast upon a majority of the members of the company a sufficiently heavy responsibility. The amusing pedantry of Fluellen was well expressed by Me Hawthorns ; the frothy vapourings of Pistol were delivered with capital effect by Mr Douglas ; and B»rdolph, Nytn, and Williams were suitably represented by Messrs Harcourt, Roundley, and Hazlitt respectively. The parb of the Duke of Exeter was in the safe hands of Mr Stirling Wnyte ; while Mr Diver, Mr Crossley, and Mr Overton respectively filled the part; of the French King, the Dauphin, and Mont joy. Miss Hughes had a light parb in that of Princess Katharine, but she effectively contributed her share to the charming piece of comedy comprised in the wooing acene, and Miss Watts-Phillips, as the attendant upon the princess, lent able assistance. Miss Smilhson doubled the parts of Dame Quiokly and the Queen of Franoe, and represented these extremes very capably. Special commendation is due to Miss Ada Guildford for her delivery of the lines allotted to Chorus, these being elocutionary efforts of uo mean order and being recognised as such. Those who are acquainted with " Henry V " know that it is mere than a play, for it is a pagaanb as well, and Saturday night's performance was from the .spectacular point of view no less successful than it was from the dramatic. The production was mounted in the most complete manner, special features being the tableau depicting the battle of Agincourfc, the only exception that could be taken to this being the absenoe of movement in it, and the oue representing the triumphal entry into London of the -King, mounted on a white charger, after the battle. The curtain had, in response to the plaudits of the house, to be raised a second time upon each of these tableaux, and another capital soene was the "sat" for the English entrenchments in front of Harflaur. The mass before the battle of Aginoourt and the song of thanksgiving on the King's return to London were both sung with good effect by a number of trained voices. The audience, which was so large as to crowd the theatre in all it« parts, received the production with every token of approval, calls being both numerous and enthusiastic. " Henry V " was repeated for three nights. For Wednesday — the last night of the season — arrangements were made with the management to reserve a portion of tbe theatre for the professorial staff and students of the university.