TEE BLAND HOLT COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 47

TEE BLAND HOLT COMPANY.

" THE COTTON KING."

The genial Mr acd Mrs Bland Holt ard their company of popular artists are with us again, »nd opened a short seasou at the Princess Theatre on Saturday xsigh^. iv "Tbe Cotlon King," a four-act melodrama by Mr SutLon Vane. The popularity of the principal* was placed beyond doubt whea on making their appearance at different periods of the first ac 6 they were esch received with enthusiastic cfcerars, the effusion beiag particularly demonstrative when Mr aud Mrs Holt entered, and later in the evening a farther tribute oE praise was bect^wed upon the latter by the presentation to her of a beautifuL basket of flower?, a similar compliment being paid to Miss Elizabeth Watson. The audience, it should be stated, was large, the downstairs portion of the house being packed. In " The Cotton KiDg " Mr Plolt finds a part in which he lia3 any » mount of scope for Lis eccentric ability — a rollicking fellow full v.f gaiety aud fun, who is ever ready to bofriend the helpless and the oppressed and to trample upon thp villainy of the mischiefi-niaker. In ano her way the pay suits Mr Holt's ideas — it is one which to b?> successful requites a great amount or' Ecssuic tff >-c!;, aud with the assistance of an ani'st; like Mr John Bmnton, Mr Holt always makes tais a stroug point in his productions. The plot is a simple one. John O*born, the "cotton king," is in love with Hetty Drayson, who has another suitor for her hand in the person of the villain, Richard Stoskley. The latter attempts ia various ways to bring disgrace upon tbe hero and to poison the mind of his ladylove against him ; but bis cftVrla all end in failure, and his deeds recoiling on himself he is utterly confounded. There are other characters introduced, to fill out the plot to a reasonable lesagbh. The most Bensational of the scenes was that iv which the villain reached the cliurix of his roguery by endeavouring to kill the herouie ia an elevator. Thi* was a representation that was replete with wonderfully good mechanical effects — machinery worked by steam, electric lights, aijd all accessories, — and the audience received it with nproariou3 applause. Ooher settings of a meritorious kind were : The garden at Cottonhurat, in which was shown a wealth of flowers and foliage ; the merrymaking party of: workers, ii s'cm(!!d5 ' c m (! !d a £ in the woods, surrounded with beautifully realistic t-ff . cts ; aud the laburnum walk with which the third act opens. Altogether the staging was what might have b&en expected from Mr Holt and Me Brunton, whose joint effort it always is to make tlie scenic effects as natural as possible. In this connection ifc mRy be said that the accessories of one scene included a couple of bicycles, a horse and trap, several donkeys (ridden by children), and last but not least the popular actor-manager himself driving about the stage, apparently quite at home, in a goat-coat. This display was surely as realistic aa the mosc fasiidious playgoer could wish for. The acting of the company, as well as the mounting of the play, was also appreciated, au evidence of which was given in the hearty piaudifr "t the end of each act, while at the end of the third act the principals were called before the curtain and enthusiastically cheered. Mrs Holt, as Kitty Marshall (a st'rvanl),

" whose chief desire it is to be " The Female Herruks," and Mr Holt, as Benjamin Tupper (a- dyer at tbe cotton mill), had the congenial task allotted to thtm of supplying the bulk of the comic element, and they succeeded to the complete satisfaction ot the audience ; and Mr Charles Brown (a Salvation Army officer) was also very amusing. Tne heroine, Hetty Drjyson, was in tbe capable bands of Miss Eltzubsfh Watson, who gave a forceful and natural rendering of tha character. Mr W. E Baker played the hero, John Osborn, with manliness and power, and res'? to a standard of high excellence in his recital of his incarceration and excape from the lunatic asylum. Mr Albert Norman, as the drunken enginedriver, made the most of his park with every success. Miss Fitzmaurica Gill, as E'sie Kent, had a comparatively email pa>t to fill, and she acquitted hers; elf creditably, as also did Miss Flsra Ansread, who was effectively dignified and sympathetic aa the mt ther of the heroine. Mr J. Cosgrove personified the- unthankful part of the villain with admirakle force, and encceeded so well as t>> esrn the marked opprobrium of the audionce. To Mr J. Montgomery was allotted the parb of Mr De Fonseca, the financier, and it is pleasing to notice that this gentleman, who is a native of Dunedin, is showing decided improvement in his possession His ebacacterisation was capita!, aad his make- ' up perfect. The remainder of the cast was adequately filiedl The orchestra, under Mr , Percy Kehoe, played gome very enjoyable ' music during the intervals. j