THE STAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2331, 3 November 1898, Page 47

THE STAGE.

Oootributlona from the Fro 'ession chronicling their movements an I doiiifH arc itnit-d. All communii'ntio as to be a f . dressed " Pasquiu," OUgo Witness Offico, PRINCKSS THEATRE BOOKINGS. Pollard's Opera Company — November 19 'o December 3. , R. Heruy — December 26 to January 8, 1899 Williamson and Musgrove — February 11 to 27 Pollard's Company— May 20 to 30 K. Brough— August 16 to 26.

THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES.

Bt Pasquin.

TUESDAY, November 1. ; Tho final production of " The White Squadion" by Mr Alfred Woods's Dramatic Company took place at the Princess Theatre on Saturday night. The piece seemed to thoroughly hit the taste of the audience, who showed their appreciation of the efforts of the performers in a very demonstrative manner. Mr Woods and Miss Maud Williamson especially coming in for a large share of the applause. On Monday night Sydney Grundy's musical and farcical comedy " The Arabian Nights " was staged by the company for the first time. The piece abounds in amusing and complicated situations, and it may be mentioned that on its first production in the Globe Theatre, London, it had a run of 500 consecutive nights. On Wednesday evening it is intended to stage Henry Pettitt's nautical comedy-drama " Hands Across the Sea." Tho friends of Mr W. J. Coulter, who is stage manager and right-hand man of the Henry Dramatic Company, which opened at xluckland on the 18th ult., will be pleased at the prospect of meeting him once more in Dunediii at the end of the year. The show is a good one, and Mr Coulter speaks in glowing terms of his principal. Opening to a fair house, business has steadily improved in Auckland, a sure indication of the popularity attained by the company. They open at Dunedin Princess on Boxing Night, their previous dates being Auckland till November 4-, Gisborne till the 12th, Napier 15th, and Wellington till December 3. The company at present performing twice a week at the Alhambra Theatre appear determined to live down their ill-luck. In the face of a dispiritingly small attendance on Saturday evening they kept faith with those who did patronise them, and, as announced, appeared in the amusing musical comedy of " Boxed Up," in which the characters were taken by Misses Robinson, Masters, Messrs 'Ihomas, Phillips, Bryant, Crawford and Hinds. During the progress of the comedy the songs and duets " The wrong man," ""Mooulight at Killarney," "Old pal Jack,"' arid "Pretty Polly" were introduced, and met with much favour. The second part of the programme consisted of a variety entertainment, in which a number of novelties were given, and a successful performance was brought to a close with a farce entitled " The Clock Maker." ■ An Auckland syndicate, with Mr John Fuller at the head of affairs, has been formed to run a novel series of entertainments at the Agricultural Hall during the exhibition season. Mr Ben Fuller and Mr Beattie leave for Sydney to secure novelties in the way of waxworks, illustrations, Punch and Judy show, and a mechanical exhibition. It is proposed to open at tho Agricultural Hall about the second or third week in December. Fanny Davenport, the American actress, died suddenly on Septembei 26. Her death was caused by overwork during her long career upon the stage. Miss Davenport's death is a serious loss to the American stage. The dressing in " The Red Robe " at tho Princess Theatre, Melbourne, is beautiful and picturesque, and at times the stage, with its picturesque grouping of wonderfully-garbed peasant folks, soldiers, and the more richly dressed "salt of the earth," is transformed into a series of striking pictures. J. F. Sheridan (Widow O'Brien) and Miss Grade Whiteford have struck oil with George R. Sims's musical comedy " When the Lamps are Lit." The one hundred and fiftieth per-

' formance of the piece was given at Newcastlei on-Tyne recently. . ; Mr Beerbohm Tree told his press friends ' that his profit out of " Julius Caesar " was ' £10,000. . ! " What Happened to Jones," Charles Arf Hold's latest success, attained its century at the London Strand on the night of the 30th of September. All the London papers, beginning with The Times • and Daily Telegraph, speak in the most comj plimentary terms of Mr Arnold's performance. Mr Best Loach, manager for Mr Charles ) Naylor (" Cookoo ") the Australian tenor, i writes me from Auckland to say that Mr Nay- ' lor has been engaged to sing at a series of 12 • high-class concerts in Christchurch this month. I In view of the reported sensation caused by the production of " The Christian " in America i the following paragraph from a Home paper • just to hand is of interest : — Miss Viola Allen, the popular young American actress who will : "create" Mr Hall Caine's curious heroine, 1 Gloria Quayle, when " The Christian " is done at Washington on September 26, has been visits ing the novelist in the Isle of Man. Mr Frank ] Worthing will be the "Father" Storm, j In 25 years Madame Sarah Bernhardt has, it is announced, been paid nearly £250,000 for her exertions on the stage, and she is now fulfilling a comparatively short engagement which will add about another £50,000 to that large sum. In the last 10 years her average gains have been £12,000 a year; in the last five , £20,000 ; jet in 1872, at the Odeon Theatre, $ she earned only, £8 a month. J The Paris Exhibition of 1900 will contain j the largest theatre in the world. According | to the report of M. Raulin, the architect who has been, entrusted with its construction, it will surpass any other building of the kind from the point of view of size and -seating 5 capacity. It will be erected within the wellj known " Galerie dcs Machines," and will ac1 commodate from. 12,000 to 15,000 persons. The auditorium will consist of five circular tiers t rising one above the other and sloping backj wards till the topmost reaches the very roof ' of the " Galerie," while these circles at the rear } will present the appearance of enormous arl cades supported by colossal columns. Here is a charming story about Verdi, just hot from Italy. A farmer, living in the depths of the country, -was very desirous to hear one of the illustrious composer's operas. So, better late than never, he took his ticket, travelled up to Milan, and, securing a good seat, heard " Aida." He was very much disappointed, and wrote to Verdi to say so, adding that he did not like the music at all, and that under these circumstances he hoped Verdi would see the reasonableness of at once returning him his money. There was his railway fare, his ticket of admission, and his supper at Milan, for which he enclosed the bill. The grand old maestro entered fully into the humour of the situation. He wrote back a polite letter regretting that his music had failed to please, and enclosing the railway faro and the price of admission. But he added i that, as the farmer would have to provide himself with supper at home, he could not admit the justice of that part of his claim, and i he absolutely declined to i>ay for his supper at Milan. Apropos of the revival of " Our Boys " at Terry's Theatre, London, a remarkable phenomenon occurred when Byron's comedy was first produced. It caught on tremendously, and ran for something like three years. The actors and actresses engaged in it played it so often that they bega,n to forget their parts, and had to be sent away for long spells, and their places were filled by others. The repetition night after night of the same words became so mechanical that in time the words lost their meaning, and the slightest interruption caused them to lose all idea of the sequence or connection of the dialogue.

PKINCESS THEATBF.

"THE WHITE SQUADKON." " A play for the times " may bo said of " The White Squadron," a nautical and military drama in four acts, which was produced at the Princess Theatre on Friday night, and waa received with uncommon demonstrations of enthusiasm by probably the largest house of the present dramatic season. A laige number of members of the Otago Hussars occupied seats in the dress circle, and their uniforms, contrasting with the evening dresses of the ladies, of whom there was a good attendance, gave to that portion of the auditorium a distinctly picturesque appearance. " The White Squadron " is not a play for which any great literary merit can be claimed, but it is brimiul of stirring situations, and it appeals very strongly to the British national sentiment. An indication of what some of the situations are will show that this is so, especially at the present juncture in the history of the empire to which wo belong. The scene of the play is laid in Brazil. Ships of wai from several nations, including Great Britain, have assembled in the harbour of Rio Janeiro to protest against attacks that have been made against citizens of their respective countries by a band of brigands, whom the Brazilian Government are powerless to extcirninate. Tho reason' of the helplessness of the authorities becomes early apparent when it is said that Demclrio de Romacio, a general in the Brazilian army, is actually the secret reader of the bandits, and that his nephew, Francisco de Ttomncio, a colonel in the army, is also associated with the lawless band. The commander of the British warship Titan is Robert Staunton. A junior officer in the British service, who is not acquainted with Staunton, is entiustcd with the delivery of an important despatch to him. This despatch Francisco by a trick gets into his possession, and hands il to his uncle, and they open it, but are disappointed to find that its contents are in cipher. Staunton, fioin a place of concealment, witnesses the proceeding, and at the proper moment esuosea it. tb-avtrina hia own

i seal ring from Francisco's finger and snatching the despatch from the general's breast pocket. The situation is a highly dramatic one, of which I Mr Alfred Woods, in the role of the British commander, makes the most, and the plaudits amid which the curtain descended upon it were sustained until there had been a treble call. The third act also produced a very dramatic situation — indeed, it produced a series of dramatic situations, culminating in an exceedingly effective " curtain." it is the act in which the congress of the navies takes place to formally protest to the Brazilian Government against the treatment of the foreign residents. There are present representatives of the navies of Spain, France, Germany, and the United States, as well as Staunton, representing Great Britain, and it was curious to note, as a reflection of what may be regarded as the national feeling of the times, that while the entrance of the United States admiral was loudly applauded, and the German admiral also was cordially applauded, the French representative was actually hissed. The entrance of the British commander was of course the signal for another demonstration, which was renewed when he shook hands effusively with the United States admiral, and with him alone — surely a glaring pandering to the popular sentiment of the hour. When, however, Demetrio de Roniacio, representing the President of Brazil at the congress falsely denounced Staunton as a murderer, and the latter claimed the protection of the British flag, and th<* United States admiral extended to him also the protection of the United States fleet, the enthusiasm of the audience again broke bounds, nnd a treble call once more followed the fall of the curtain. All through the play the British commander is constantly turning the tables upon his enemies in a way that is unexpected, but none the less extremely gratifying, to the -patriotic Britons in front of the footlights, by whom the overthrow of the Brazilian general in the [ end, through the timely intervention of the British tars, was hailed with great delight. Tlie play, while intensely dramatic at times, has also a large vein of comedy that occasionally is broadened into burlesque running turough it, and the result is that the audience is kept alternately cheering and laughing. It is a plfty that is distinctly soothing to the national pride, and on that account it should do exceedingly well at the present time. Miss Maud Williamson was not overburdened with work in it, but she played her part with artistic skill, and waa weH assisted by Miss Nation. Mr Alfred Woods made his points very effectively in a part in which he had the audience at his back all through. Mr Boothman, Mr Russell, Mr Blake, Mr West, Mr Charles Woods, and Mr Crane all, in their respective roles, capably sustained the serious interest of the play, and the comic element was capitally supplied by Miss Nina Burns, Miss Leete, Mr Beaumont (who should, however, have madp the character he represented an American and ■not an English pressman), Mr Wilson, Mr Seagrave, and Mr de Chateau. The piece was well mounted, and the music provided by the orchestra was thoroughly appropriate. " THE AKABIAN NIGHTS." It is a thousand pities that the weather in its bitter unseasonableness should be so unkind to the dramatic artists now appearing in the Princess Theatre. Miss Maud Williamson is unquestionably one of the most accomplished actresses who have within recent years visited New Zealand, and Mr Alfred Woods and the members of the company with which he has suirounded himself present a distinctly strong all-round combination, with powerful claims upon the public patronage. The stars in their courses have contended against the company since their arrival here, and now that the merits of Miss Williamson, Mr Woods, and their dramatic colleagues are beginning to be more fully recognised it. is most unfortunate that weather of wintry severity should have set in. It was, under the unfavourable climatic conditions of Monday night, not to be expected that there would be a full house at the production of Sydney Grundy's version of " The Arabian Nights," and it was surprising that the audience was of the satisfactory dimensions that it reached ; but those who were present thoroughly enjoyed and relished the performance. The Woods-Williamson Company are not suited to farcical cornedy — and " The Arabian Nights " is the most farcical of farcical comedies — so well as they are to serious drama, but for all that they gave a representation of the piece that kept the audience in a continual state of merriment, and even provoked roars and shrieks of laughter. " The Arabian Nights " is by no means new to Dunedin, but, for the sake of those who have not seen it, it may be explained that Arthur Hummingtop, in the absence of his wife from home, acting upon the example of Haroun-al-Raschid, sallied forth one night for an adventure which eventuated in his encountering and befriending an ingenuous girl, round whose neck he wrapped his pockethandkerchief as a protection from the cold. She turns up at his house next morning, when he learns that she is a female acrobat from the Aquarium, and, to account for her presence, he passes her off to his mother-in-law as a niece he expects from America. The arrival of the real niece and also of his wife, and his inability to get rid of the " guttapercba girl " produce the most bewildering complications, ; the unravelling of which is attended by the most ludicrous results. The cast of the play is a small one, a heavy burden being cast upon the majority of the performers, and the production was in every way satisfactory. Miss Williamson (as the dread mother-in-law), Miss Burns, Miss Nation, Mr Woods, Mr Beaumont, Mr Blake, and Mr De Chateau all rendered good service, and a gratifying surprise was furnished by Miss Eva Leete, who, having had small parts to play in each of the preceding pieces of the season, now sustained with all the requisite diablerie the important character of the self-possessed guttapercha artist.

STAGE GOSSIP.

Specially Written fob the Otago Witness. Dear Pasquin, — Alfred Woods, after Dunedin, goi>3 north to Oamaru, Timaru, Ashburton, and Wellington, where a three-weeks' season opens on November 7. The Manawatu follows, opening at Pahnerston, afterwards going to fie Waiiarapa, playing race nights at Masterton, December 8 and 9. Westland follows, Boxing Night being booked at Reefton. Mr Edwin Geach (one of the two whitest mea in front) has arrived in London. The Music Hall and the Theatre Review of September 23 contain an interview with the smart young Australian manager anent his tour round the world with Carl Hertz. From the interview I talte the following:— Starting for the East from Melbourne Carl Hertz and party opened at Bombay. Everyone advised Mr Geach not to revisit Bombay, as the plague was rife at the time and the deaths numbered over 100 a day. However, he went, billed the place thoroughly, and as no amusement company had been there for nearly two years, owing to the plague, he took £80 a night, and stopped tvo weeks. A journey overland Luting two days lauded th& company at Calcutta, where society received them with open arms, and with an evening performance commencing at ]0 o'clock, to suit the habits of the official classes, and with children's matinees, £110 a day wa3 taken. An easy and comfoitable tour* through Burnish nnd the Straits Settlements found them at Hong Kong in April, with the harbour full of warships of every nation. This meant enormous business 4 , and the City Hall was packed every night. A visit to Janan was made, more as a sight-

seeing excursion, and although the business was good Mr Geach hardly thinks this an encouraging field for entertainments. The return to China was made at Shanghai, and this, in spite of many prognostications of failure, was found to be the best town in the East — at least for Carl Hertz. Six nights was the time announced for his stay, but it was extended to six weeks, and even then his welcome showed no signs of cooling. The secret of this phenomenal success was that he managed to interest the Chiuamen, who as a rule never visit a European theatre, and they flocked in their thousands, i>aying white man's money to see the " Devil," as they termed him. The Chinese found in Carl Hertz a man they could not, wily and cunning as they are, quite exactly fathom. In the French settlement of Saigon, continues Mr Geach, a curious custom obtains of giving the theatre free, and finding a band for every entertainment the mayor may approve of; the fact being, the volatile Frenchmen are only too glad to get any amusement company to visit their barren shores. Here Hertz stopped a week, and the Governor-gene-ral took a box for the whole time, and he had no reason to regret his journey. He gave his whole perfoimance in French, so was highly popular. Next, this much-wandering company visited the Dutch settlements in Java, and a month was pleasingly passed between Batavia, Sarnarang, and Sourabaya. A return was then made to Singapore, which may be termed the Charing Cross of the East, and here the company broke up. Mr Geach, concludes the interviewer, travelltfl through Marseilles to England, where he is looking out for fresh business in exploiting talent in a field of activity somewhat neglected as yet, and Mr and Mrs Ctivl Hertz took boat to San Francisco, with th.3 intention of breaking the journey at Honolulu. He is expected back in London in November. Charles Godfrey is once more "knocking 'em" in the London Halls. His latest selection oi songs includes " Oh, what a beautiful atory." a neat and pungent satire intended for those who come under the description of " gay deceivers." This i 3 followed by a descriptive ballad, a portion of which is recited. The character impersonated is a poor, blind miner, whose loss of sight resulted from an accident which happened whilst he was following his occupation. The afflicted workman has, however, one consolation. lie has a loving wife — the "light of his life" — who he joyfully declares '' has eyes that can see for me." Mt Godfrey succeeds in putting pathos and passion into his dramatic impersonation, and when finally the blind miner is led off by his devoted wife the audience gives vent to its feelings by loud applause. On his last tour Mr Alfred Woods was tendered a champagne dinner at the Trocadero, Wellington, when a few friends took occasion to present tho actor with a gold-mounted uir-brella. Mr Woods, in thanking his friends for their generous gift, was quite overcome, but on discovering the umbrella to be his own he fell over himself, and his very emotional speech ended with "So help me, Godfrey!" Mr Woods was recently relieved of the umbrella by some kind friend in Wanganui. "Alec Nelson" (in private life Dr Edward Bibbins AveHng), who died recently in London, was well known in London theatrical world as a writer of plays. His first effort was a new version from the French of Andre Theuriet's " Jean Marie " entitled "By the Sea," produced at the Ladbrook Hall, 28-12-87, when the author (" Alec Nelson ") played Auld Rtbin Gray. " The Bookworm,' 1 a very pretty little play, came next at the Athenseuni Hall, Tottenham Court Road, 18-4-88. Perhaps "Alec Nelson's" first ambitious work was a dramatisation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's " Scarwith a prologue by Charles Charrington, at let Letter," which under that title was played, LoLdon Olympic, 5-6-88, with a cast containing Dolores Drummond, Janet Achurch, and Mr Charles Charrington. Others from his pen wero the original one-act drama, " FoV Her Sake," London Olympic, 22-6-88; "The Landlady," comedietta, Shaftesbury, 22-6-88; "Dregs," Vaudeville, 16-5-89; "The Jackall," three-act comedy, Vaudeville, 28-11-89 ; " Madcap," comedietta, Comedy Theatre, 17-10-90; "A Hundred Years Ago," musical pastoral operetta, in conjunction with Henry J. Wood, the composer, who set the libretto, Royalty, 16-7-92 ; " Frog," three-act comedy drama, Royalty, 30-10-93. Perhaps his least successful contribution to the stage was "The Jackall," which, on account of its Ibsenite flavour, was not very successful. " Alec Nelson's " last and perhaps best effort was " Judith Shakespeare," produced at the Royalty, his favourite house, 6-2-94. This, founded on William Black's novel, and supposed to relate an incident in the life of William Shakespeare, was well received on its initial production, and has several times been revived. During a recent performance of " The Silver King " at Adelaide Royal, just as Wilfred Denvar discovers Geoffrey Ware and admits that he has killed him, a man in the stalls cried, out, " Gam, you blanky fool. You haven't killed him. He ain't dead at all." Then the excited individual made a rush for the stage to demonstrate his proposition, but was seized by a burly usher and yanked put on hi 3 ear. " Yankee Doodle Dandy " is the title of a, comic opera running at New York Casino. Bland Holt's Dramatic Company closed a 28 weeks' season at Sydney Royal October 22, and opened at Melbourne Royal October 29, in Cecil Raleigh and Seymour Hicks's four-act drama, " Sporting Life. ' Mr Bland Holt has purchased two new dramas recently produced in London. The more important of these is " The Great Ruby," staged at the Drury Lane Theatre on September 15, of which accounts by the mail have not yet reached Australia. Mr Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton, who did so well with "The White Heather " last autumn, are the authors, and Mr Arthur Collins, who seems to replace perfectly the late Sir Augustus Harris, is responsible for the production. The great spectacular scene of the new piece shows a military tournament at tbe Agricultural Hall, Islington. Concerning " The Great Ruby," Mr Bland Holt has received a cable message from Mr Arthur Collins, in which the chief words are " immense success." On August 31 " The Gipsy Earl" was staged at the Adelphi Theatre. Mt G. R. Sims is the author, and the piece, which is described as a " romantic melodrama," was cordially received. Mr Frecl Terry and his wife, Miss Julia Neilson, so long in society comedy with Mr George Alexander, replaced the late William Terriss and Mis& Miliward in the leading parts at the Adelphi. Referring to " The Gipsy Earl," Mr Arthur Shirley, the dramatist, wrote to Mr Holt that the new piece " appeared to be exactly what was wanted." The Australian actor-manager has also secured Messrs Shirley and Landeck's "Women and Wine" (iv which Edith Bland plays the heavy lead in London), and Messrs Shirley and Field's " How London Lives." All these, with " The White Heather," " Sporting Life," and " Straight from the Heart," are likely to be presented to Melbourne p!as'goerg for the first time. Bristol's American Circus will not fulfil their original dates in this colony, and if the Muorilaud tour docs eventuate, the show will com- over about Februaiy. The name of the show hacs been altered to Warren and Bristol's Great Eastern Variety and Circus, and they closed a very successful season in Sydney October 29. " Every Day London " received its first colonial representation at Sydney Criterion by Alfred Dampier's Company, October 22. Johnny Coleman (round with the Matsa Vaudeville Company) has discovered another James Nome (of "Sweet Maiie" fame), iv a Sydney

newsboy, and was to bring him out last weeKF at Sydney Alhambra. , Mr R. H. Beattie, who ,has a world-wide reputation, and Mr Ben Fuller (of Fuller's Myriorama Co.) are now in Sydney securing novelties in the way of waxworks, illusions^ Punch and Judy show, and a mechanical ex-h-bition, and other attractions, in the interest^ of an Auckland syndicate (headed by Mr Johnj Fuller). Their intention is to run a series of novel entertainments at Auckland Agricultural 1 Hal) during the exhibition season. Messrs Beattie and Fuller return in about a fortnight, and the show should be ready for openinc about December 17. Daddy (L.J.) Lohr is looking all Sir Garnet, with, the exception what with sleep-* ing on trains and bunking on steamers, he is rather travel-worn after his record trip to Maoriland. On hearing of Dante the Great, Mr Lohr hurriedly packed his satchel and caught the express for Sydney, where he took passage by the Mararoa, and in eighfc days found he had travelled over 3000 miles. On the night of his arrival in Napier he witnessed the opening performance of Dante. Next morning he signed and sealed the engagement for the management of the Australasian tour, and the afternoon saw the prince of theatrical agents returning to Sydney, where, immediately on arrival, he started to work the Dante boom, commencing with a column interview with the Sydney Referee. Mr Lohr is very confident of Dante's success in Australia, especially after the very genuine and great success he made in Maoriland, "where you are hard to please, though very constant and willing," says Mr Lohr, "when we give you anything up to your hall mark, which is 42 carat. lam arranging short dates for Danto m Australia, to enable us to get back to Maoriland for the summer, for two reasons first, because his success in the four big citie3 emphatically proves that he did not half exhaust your colony; and secondly, because both Danto and M. B. Curtis express great regret at not seeing enough of the wonders of Maoriland, God's own country, owing to their rapid tour, and both express a wish to visit the hot and cold lakes. They also wish to 3eo old friends again, for Mr Curtis tells me that neither he nor Dante ever experienced such, genuine and kindly hospitality in all their travels as they did in the Land of the Moa." It is pleasant to find show people who can. realise that Captain Cook did not discover thii country for their individual benefit. It is a very rare occurrence in the colonial theatrical world that two new plays by tho same author go up in the same city on the samo night. This occurred in Sydney on the opening day of this month. Two of Frank A. Scudamore's many common-place four 7 act dramas were produced for the first time in Australia— "The Flight for Life" and "The Dangers of London," each of the sensational order. "The Flight for Life," in four acts, by F. A. Scudamore, staged for the first time in Australia at the Sydney Lyceum, under tho management of J. and C. M'Mahon, on Saturday, October 1, is a conception of the sensational order, having for its main feature the escape of the hero from a very unpleasant predicament in African wilds by means of a flying machine. "The Dangers of London" is the other fouract play of Scudamore, which received its first colonial production at Sydney Criterion, under the management of Dudley Ferrers anil F. E. Hiscocks, played by a company headed by Mr John Cosgrove, y/ho assumes tho hero, Frank Forest. The chief sensations are the binding of the hero hand and foot in a den in the east end of London, and placing him oin the railway line just outside tho house. The curtain falls just as the slow express comes deliberately to a standstill within a yard of the prostrate hero, the locomotive whistling and blowing off steam all the time in the most; approved fashion. The realism of this tableau was not such as to convince the audience, but the management succeeded much better in. fho rescue of the hero from a raft tossing in. mid-ocean. The steamer that shot forwuci with its portholes blazing with light proved a most ingenious illusion, and here the scene closed to genuine enthusiasm. A preposterous scene in which a coster girl cries "Kiss me, Percy," at intervals, and calls on two burglars to force the unfortunate young weakling, whois her husband, to do so, causes some amusement. The following was the full cast in " The Dangers of London." Walter Forest (ship builder) .. Mr John Bruce Frank Forest (his son) . Mr John Cosgrove Dick Royal . . . . Mr Johnston Weir Raymond Stanhope (a ruined merchant) Mr De«ring Percy Weir (a ne'er-do-well) . . Mr Roy dishing Shadrack Brander (a thief) . . Mr Robert Nelson Nimrod Brander (his son and assistant) Mr Tom Cosgrove Tora Logan (sailor of the Blue Bell) Mr W. Arrowsmith Jacob Jessett (sailor of the Blue Bell) Mr W. Bruton Shanks (of the force) .. Mr W. J. Ryan Detective Gripp Mr J. Ruspell Mr Abrahams Mr J. Baker Mr Percyval Smith (a lodginghouse-keeper) Mr Clifford Mary Stanhope Miss Louise Chatterton Gertrude Weir (an adventuress) Miss Inez Bensusan Lettie Shadrack .. .. Miss Nancy Stewart Margaret Cloud (a passenger of the Blue Bell) MJ33 Annie Kerr Annie Miss *Mary Bruce The Eavesdropper . . . . The Phonograph R. D'Orsay Ogden, the well-known actor, is running Sydney, Royal Standard, which has been occupied for two years by Robert Henry's Dramatic Conroany, now in Maoriland. Associated with D'Orsay Ogden are Sam Pools, Nellie Oakdene, Mrs Dunbar, and others. Miss Millie Collier and George Coppin, jun., ioined on the Bth, when Dion Boucicault's " The Willow Copsp " was staged Professor Mackay, Highland piper and step dnncer, assisted by the Scottish tenor Miller Fraser and Miss May Glendinning, is giving popular entertainments at Sydney Protestant Hall.— Yours truly. Biz. Poverty Point, October 17.