PRINCESS THEATER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2292, 3 February 1898, Page 38

PRINCESS THEATER.

"DJIN-DJIN."

What may perhaps be best described as a gorgeous spectacle redolent of the romantic Japanese country, and styled by the somewhat mystifying title of "Djiu-Djin," served to reintro. duce the Pollard Opera Company to Dunedin theati e-goers at the Pi incessTheat re last Thursday. The company since last they vi-ited us have toured far abroad, and on Boxiug Night, shortly after their arrival from India, they opened another New Zealand tour in Wellington. The season in the Empire City proved an unqualified success in all respect", and at the conclusion the combination sailed direct for Dunedin, airiving here about 11 o'clock yesterday morning, and then proceeding almost immediat-ly to rehearsal. It will therefore be seen thai the season here was not opened under the most advantageous circumstances, for, apart fiom the hurry and bustle which attends the preliminary arrangements for the production of a piece which mainly depends upon its spectacular effect, stepping off a steamboat after a sea voyage does not conduce to that frame of mind and geueral equanimity which enables a performer to enter int) the spirit of his part with zest. The deficiencies that might have bean rea'oaably expected to attend the opsnii-g night's pei foi in ance were commendably fjw. We hwe hewd not a little Ihiongh the medium of the Australian papers of, the extravdganzi " Djin-I ijin " It was received in Melbourne and Sydney with unmistakable signs of ■ favour, and its production was maiksd by an unvarying series of larfe houses. "DjinDjin" is an extravaganza pare and" simple. It ib one gorgeous picture made up of beautiful co-tumes, entrancing sceneij', fairy-like dancers, spa'klitiK music interspersed with topical sings and ludicium dialogue, and incideuts lendeied all the more amusing by the grotesque contrast they present to the general character of the play. The latter is built upon the flimsiest fiamework. The daughter of a Japanese prii.cj is to be married, but the successful suitor to h«.r hand will be he who lv.turn? to the funily a lost heirloom—a talisman which is in the possessi'-n of Djin-I>jin, an evil spirit living in a eistle near Fuji-caw, and which possesses an enchanted gate 1h it h^s the s ( ri tly f .iry-like p?opertie3 of transfurming anyone who patses through it into a reptile, a monkey, or snm^ other Least. The Princess has many suitors, to her hand — a noble of Ik»ly, an English duke, a Scotsman, and otheis,— sll of \v*hom were r« jected on what ap--pirently were good and sufficient leas'ins, >>ut at length a gallant New Zealander, atti-ed in n miner's led shirt t>nd top boot, and rejoicing ia the j:<mie of Prince Eucab'ptus, appears on the scen<°, having been wrecked on' the coast of Japaa when c ui-i >» in his y^cW. II- is at'en<led by his faithful ally Tom Wallaby, who during the tivins t>srpeiicnce of pwimmiiig ashore manfully attached him 'elf (lnsely to Vrtried membeis of the fianv tiib--<, r Jhe colonial, happily enough, was or. th<; look-out for a bride, aiul did not fail to pve^s liii with all the elinracteri-tic ardour of tte iacfl, aad, lik w : -se characteristically enough, tiiumphed o\er the adamant he^it of the chai^nicg young lady. But ths most delicate pait of his amoiou-3 mission had yet lobe fuliilled, and that was to secure the covered talisman. llowevei-, nothiog daunted, he set out in his quest, followed by the whole of the feudal prince's court, including his blubbing biioe and his prospective f irher-in-l.iw. 'I h« evil g'-nius had a most incon-\etii-nt prr.cfipe of tuniing up at en't'cal livmippth, aud h's ill-timed arrivals seemed I to involve tbe expedition in endless trouble. For in-t^ice, ihej r got into tiouble ia a . bamboo farert, which p'oved a perfect -m?ze x but a soi ■; of black tracker in tha (.hape of a monkty piloted them out aj^in into the open oir. The fejicli paity weie now cv-rconie with another deciJcUv disagrat-able circus's tai.ee — uamtly, th it the whole cmntry ar.jimi bjr^ a striking u'cml-lance to the Aicii • region, and Ihe Fuji suv 5u ihe f-u- disraucs re:c el its enow-clad pi-iik fir U]) into the heavens in a most uncotnpiomising fashioi 1 . Tom W.il'aby sstmed fb be ; carrying ?bout a gas s'ove, but pppsara'ices wcut to sbow that he derived but little comfoit from it. Howevir, the good fairy of the f^Tn^ly thi3 time came to the rescue, and with her lftagic \\ and traubfotmed tlvj f.ice of nature into a smiling country, bin ied under a "wealth of cl'ryanthemums and b-iited in the freni*l g'ow of (lib stitumn sun. } When the stronghold of " Djin-Dj-n " was leached, j how- ver, the .somewhat einbarz^assiiig fate awaited 1 them, when they parsed through its portal-, of ! being transform 3d into membtn of the ar-imal kingd«m, bu^ Prince Kuealiptus led the way, and with the aid of his valiant aide de-camp rendt red the evil cne lwrs do combat, debtrojed his mabgn j infliiai cc and secuied the lalisman. The great ! Shojun nnd temporal ruler of Japan was iuceii&ed at the haunted temple bting thus invaded, and gave crde s that the expelitiou should be melted (ifwn, or dism-in^eied, or put through some othsr highly tedious pud tincomfort.-^bl^ process, but when he found the pilot monkey tranyfonned into his 1- ng-lost son he was immediately placated, and duly rescinded his previous resolution. The framewoik of the play will Ihus be seen to be in accords nre with the good old fashioned fairy Wes so reniinitcent of our youthful days, and it lends itself in a peculiar manner to a n'arvellous'y gorgeous setting. The transformation picture lepres^nting Fuji-Saw in winter and in mmnier was on^ of the most buccossful pieces of s-tage mechsni- m ever witnessed here. The effect of the suddtn change of the wiatry landscapa into one glowing, pilpitatiwg scheme of colour was mo<-t enchanting, and the ballet dance which immediately followed enhanced the effeH i£ possible. The bsllet is an exceedingly eft\ctivtly airanf;ed one, and Ihe audie; cc would fain have had an encore, but their persistent appeal proved of no avail Tn the_fnst act f.noth-v pietty pic' ure represented the palaca gardens of JEL jo No-Katni, witti the town of N-igasrki in tl.e distance. A sbin'ng, A'auous, silvt ry baud of water thieadeJ its way in pud out amidst gio\e and garden, under picturesque brHges and 1-y romantic villas till lost in a hazy, romantic d : stanre. The Hall of the Thousa> d Stoik-5 was another beautiful pictute', vi bile the destruction of the haunted tcmpie bj' an earthquake ui'd the eiuptionof a volcaiiic mountain has truly been described as a triumph of stage 1 reali m The ballet in the frozen forest wis an exhemelj' pretty one, and, like the chiy-anthemum ballet, miftht w>;ll have been lepeatcl. The climax in the ballets w-13 r. ached, however, at the te: initiating incident of the pay, when the bctflet dor, or golden ballet, was gone thiouyb. The licb, harmonious colouiiosr, the poetic, vivacious movements, and the inspiriting music, all combined to make up a spectacle too raiely witnessed on a New Zealand sfp£;o. Itegaiding the individual members t-iking part, the audience di i not fail to bestow a hearty welcome on those who have so ofcen enteitained the nniiedln public ia the past. The pait of Djin-Djin was sustained by Sir Erne.st Fitt", who last visited us with the "Matsa" Vaudeville Compmy. He bore a family resemblaiife to Mephistopheles, and his career lent a good deal of truth to his sor g " I am the King of E\il," which he rendeied ■with such admirable effect. His t-ingit.g of "Ljved L'onoie" in the last act was also a particularly floe effort, and Vi 01 thily evoked a persistent demand for an encore, which was responded to viith "Liove's serenade." Miss Mmid Beatty, ponular as in days of yore, was evidently singing und-=r uxtreme 1 y trying circumstances, having what sppuaied to be a relaxed throat, but her impeitnnat'on of the adventurous colonial was miiitel and graceful and artistic throughout. II (M ten<leiing of "llally round the flag, boys" was received with univfi-fealaemonstiationE of approval, and the grouping" of tho s e "taking part mado tip a a staking tableau. Mr Percy was allotted the pait of the faithful Achates of Prince Eucaliptus, and, tuie to h-U instincts as a colonial, he started off on the talisman expedition with a swag over bit-- shoulder and a "billy." Master Quealy was of course associated with him in the mirthI producing element of the play, and as anothev Katisha, who fell in love with every man she met, k pt the audience in a merry mood throughout the whole of the evening. A" duet, which is likely to prove popular, was euug by them, and.